Loading this page…
Return homePlease wait while the next page arrives.
Luminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Prioneris autothisbe
Lepidoptera / Pieridae
Prioneris autothisbe is a Javan sawtooth butterfly with strongly contrasting wing surfaces. Historical descriptions record white dorsal fields, a black forewing apex and yellow ventral hindwings divided by black veins.
Read the species account
Prioneris autothisbe belongs to Pieridae. The Florida Museum catalogue recognizes it at species rank. [1]
Boisduval’s 1836 account describes white upper wings with black margins, the forewing apex forming a broad dark triangle containing two rows of elongated white spots. Beneath, the hindwings are yellow with black veins and a black border enclosing yellow spots. The dark basal area bears a yellow spot and two red streaks. [5]
Wallace’s later account records a female with predominantly black upper wings. [2]
In Weymer’s comparison, autothisbe has seven large yellow spots in the ventral hindwing border and two red markings near the base. The West Sumatran males he described as hypsipyle have four much smaller marginal dots and a single basal red patch. [6]
The ventral hindwing displays the yellow ground, dark venation and basal red markings. The upper surface presents a different balance of white and black. [5]
Bold contours and flat colour emphasize the sawtooth’s wing outline, pale fields and contrasting dark borders.
Keep framed specimens away from direct daylight and damp conditions. Handle the enclosure and retain the specimen’s identification and locality records. [3]
University of Florida Lepiverse; Catalogue of Life 2026-08-26 XR · Accessed 2026-10-09
Alfred Russel Wallace; scholarly transcription hosted by Western Kentucky University · Accessed 2026-10-09
Canadian Conservation Institute; Fiona Graham · Accessed 2026-10-09
Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology · Accessed 2026-10-09
Jean-Baptiste Boisduval (1836) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Gustav Weymer, Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung 48 (1887) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Sources checked 2026-10-11. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
Return to the Entomological Atlas ↑