Bedford-Russell's Tree Nymph

For over 100 years, the only known species from Sulawesi was Idea blanchardii (Marshall 1845). Therefore, Major A. Bedford Russell's discovery of a new Idea species is of noteworthy importance. As seen from the classification table, the butterfly caught by Major A. Bedford Russell is placed in a singular category Idea idea. As Major A. Bedford-Russell recounts in his article entitled, "A Spectacular New Idea from Celebes (Lepidoptera, Danaidae)", it was between March 5 and 10, 1980, that, on four separate occurrences, he and some colleagues first observed both female and male specimens of this unique form of butterfly. While the specimens exhibited the same graceful flight patterns which have earned the genus Idea such names as "forest nymph" or "paper butterfly", upon closer observation, it was evident that the butterflies displayed some divergent physical characteristics which distinguished them from butterflies common in this geographical area, the Idea blanchardii species. On March 10, 1980, Major A. Bedford Russell was able to capture a female specimen and consequently, was able to document the unique traits which characterize these butterflies. …