Delia’s hairpiece?

Oh no, I tell a lie —

it isn’t Delia’s wig,

it’s a butterfly.

Delias harpalyce,

that’s its proper name.

(Harpalyce rhymes with Alice,

so say it once again.)

Their wings look like they’re painted,

and with black they’re lined,

but my complaint is,

they’re very hard to find!

Photo by James Aitchison

Teacher’s note: This butterfly was photographed by Philip Webster in his garden at Wattle Glen. The wingspan of Delias harpalyce reaches about 60–70 millimetres. The upper surfaces of the forewings and hindwings are a whitish with black margins and a row of small whitish spots on the apex of the forewings. In the females the black outer edges of the wings are wider than in males. The undersides of the wings are chequered whitish and black, with a yellow band on the apex of the forewings and a red band on the middle of the hindwings. They are found only in Australia’s eucalyptus forests.