Delias descombesi - The redspot Jezebel is a butterfly found throughout Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Wingspan for males typically stretch 68 to 88 millimeters; females are larger at 80 to 90 millimeters. The difference between sexes is also evident in coloration; males have pale forewings and yellow hind wings, while females have black forewings and dusky hind wings. Both sexes have a distinctive elongated red band crossing the upper hind wings, a reflection of their name.
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Viet Nam was controlled by China for over a thousand years. In 938, General Ngo Quyen defeated the Chinese to achieve independence for Viet Nam. The Vietnamese state became know as Dai Viet and began to expand by absorbing Champa, parts of Khmer, the central highlands, and the Mekong Delta. Viet Nam fell to French colonialism in the late 1800’s. It was occupied by Japan from 1940 to 1945, and endured a long and bitter civil war; the war ended in 1975 with Viet Nam’s reunification.
