Leptosia alcesta

African Wood White
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Tribe: Anthocharini
Genus: Leptosia
Species: L. alcesta
Binomial name
Leptosia alcesta
(Stoll, [1782])[1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio alcesta Stoll, [1782]
  • Papilio narica Fabricius, 1793
  • Pseudopontia cepheus Ehrmann, 1894
  • Leucophasia sylvicola Boisduval, 1833

The African Wood White or Flip Flop (Leptosia alcesta) is a butterfly of the Pieridae family, found in Africa.[1]

The wingspan is 30–40 mm in males and 35–42 mm in females. The adults fly year-round, peaking from March to May.[2]

The larva feed on Richea species, Capparis fascicularis, and Capparis brassii.[2]

Subspecies

  • Leptosia alcesta alcesta (Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo)
  • Leptosia alcesta inalcesta Bernardi, 1959 (Uganda, southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland)
  • Leptosia alcesta pseudonuptilla Bernardi, 1959 (Democratic Republic of Congo to Ethiopia)
  • Leptosia alcesta sylvicola (Boisduval, 1833) (Madagascar)
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References

  1. ^ a b Leptosia, funet.fi
  2. ^ a b Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town:Struik Publishers, 2005.
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Last modified on 7 May 2013, at 14:03