Mylothris agathina

Mylothris agathina, the eastern dotted border or common dotted border, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, particularly East Africa and southern Africa. In South Africa its range has spread westwards around the coast in the late 20th century, and it now occurs north of Cape Town to somewhat beyond Saldanha.

Eastern dotted border
male and female
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Mylothris
Species:
M. agathina
Binomial name
Mylothris agathina
(Cramer, [1779])
Synonyms
  • Papilio agathina Cramer, [1779]
  • Mylothris richlora Suffert, 1904
  • Cathaemia xantholeuca Hübner, 1819 in Hübner, [1816-[1826]
  • Mylothris chloris f. leucoma Talbot, 1944
  • Mylothris agathina ab. carminea Dufrane, 1947
  • Mylothris agathina ab. radiata Dufrane, 1947
  • Mylothris agathina ab. dawanti Dufrane, 1947
  • Mylothris agathina f. maureli Dufrane, 1947
  • Mylothris chloris ab. macrosticta Storace, 1953
  • Mylothris intermedia Aurivillius, 1910
  • Mylothris chloris f. agathinoides Talbot, 1944
  • Mylothris agathina f. bicolor Berger, 1981
  • Mylothris agathina f. unicolor Berger, 1981

The wingspan is 50–60 millimetres (2.0–2.4 in) for males and 52–65 mm (2.0–2.6 in) for females. The slow-flying adults are on wing year-round, with peaks in October and from late February to April. The gregarious larvae feed on Tapinanthus oleifolius, Tapinanthus rubromarginatus, Erianthemum dregei, Teighemia quinquenervia, Ximenia caffra, Osyris lanceolata, and Osyris compressa (formerly Colpoon compressum). The pupae resemble bird droppings.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.