Great Orange-tip

Hebomoia glaucippe, the great orange-tip, belongs to Pieridae. Linnaeus described it as Papilio glaucippe in 1758. [1][3]

In the Taiwanese form formosana, males have creamy-white upper wings with an orange-red forewing tip enclosed by a dark border. Females are yellower and have more extensive black markings. The underside has fine dark transverse mottling across the outer forewing and hindwing. [2]

The Florida Museum account gives a wingspan of 6.4–8.9 cm. [5]

The species occurs across South and Southeast Asia into southern Japan and China. Taiwanese records include evergreen broadleaf woodland at low and middle elevations. [2][3]

On Zamami in the Ryukyu Islands, adults occur around gullies and streams for much of the year, with a short winter interruption. Crateva formosensis is a local larval host. [6]

Observations of boholensis on Bohol describe green larvae with small coloured projections and distinctive head markings. Before pupation the body becomes paler; the developing wing region of the pupa has an orange area. The observed immature stages came from a garden at approximately 300 m elevation. [7]

Indian records include Capparis moonii, C. sepiaria, C. zeylanica and Crateva adansonii as larval hosts. The Chicago Botanic Garden account lists Capparis, Crateva and Cleome and records adult feeding at Lantana flowers. [3][8]

The Taiwanese account describes powerful flight, visits to flowers and males taking water from wet ground. On Zamami, resting adults hold their wings in a V-shaped posture. [2][6]

A 2012 study detected glacontryphan-M in wing extracts from specimens collected in Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. This peptide had previously been identified in the cone snail Conus marmoreus. The authors proposed that its location in the wings could contribute to predator defence. [4]

The original combination was Papilio glaucippe. Regional names include formosana in Taiwan, australis and boholensis; these are subspecies names within Hebomoia glaucippe. [2][3][7]

The upper view shows the orange forewing tips and their dark borders. The reverse shows finely mottled fields crossed by darker lines. [2][5]

Bold contours define the wings while restrained internal lines retain the mottled underside. The orange tips, dark borders and pale wing fields remain separate colour regions. [2]

Keep a physical display out of direct sunlight and protect it from dust, moisture and pests. Handle the enclosure rather than the specimen. [10]

How do the two wing surfaces differ? Bright orange tips dominate the upper forewings, while the underside carries fine mottling resembling a dry leaf. [2][5]

Which peptide was found in the wings? Glacontryphan-M was detected in the 2012 study. The authors proposed a defensive role for the wing-localised peptide. [4]

Regional accounts document host plants, flight and immature stages. Bae and colleagues’ 2012 study provides the chemical evidence for glacontryphan-M in the wings. [2][3][4][6][7]