Pontia edusa
| Pontia edusa | |
|---|---|
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| Dorsal view | |
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| Ventral view | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Genus: | Pontia |
| Species: | P. edusa |
| Binomial name | |
| Pontia edusa Fabricius, 1777 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Pontia edusa, the eastern Bath white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Description
Pontia edusa is a small to medium-sized migrant butterfly, with a wingspan reaching about 45 mm. The upperside of the wings is white, with black stains on the top of the forewing and hindwing. The hind wing undersides have greenish-gray spots. The butterfly is nearly identical to Pontia daplidice. Investigations of the genitals are the only way to distinguish between these two types.
The adults fly from March to October[1][2] with two to four generations depending on the latitude. The eggs are laid singly and have an incubation period of seven days. The caterpillars are present from May. They are greyish-greenish, with black dots and broad yellow stripes, quite similar to the larva of the Cabbage Butterfly (Pieris brassicae). The larvae feed on Resedaceae species. Pontia edusa hibernates in the chrysalis stage.
Distribution
It is found from the South East of Europe (Southern France, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia) up to Central Europe and Middle East in Iran and Iraq. It is a migrant who can also be encountered in Belgium, Holland, northern Germany and Poland, in the Baltic states and in southern Sweden and Norway.[2][3][4]
Habitat
This species can be found in any open grassy or flowery areas, in stony or rocky places and in roadsides, especially where the host plants grow, at an altitude of0–2,300 metres (0–7,546 ft).[2]
Subspecies
- Pontia edusa edusa (Fabricius, 1777) (Finland and NE-SE Central Europe, Italy, Turkey, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Russia)
- Pontia edusa persica (Bienert, 1869) (Iran, Afghanistan)
- Pontia edusa nubicola (Fruhstorfer, 1908) (Turkestan)
- Pontia edusa amphimara (Fruhstorfer, 1908) (China (Szetschwan), Yunnan)
- Pontia edusa praeclara Fruhstorfer, 1910 (SW-China)
- Pontia edusa moorei (Röber, 1907) (Kashmir, Baluchistan, Tibet, Yunnan, SE-China, Thailand)
- Pontia edusa avidia (Fruhstorfer, 1908) (S-China, ? Korea)
- Pontia edusa davendra Hemming, 1934 (Siberia (Ussuri) [5]
References
- ↑ butterfly guide
- 1 2 3 euro butterflies
- ↑ Fauna Europaea
- ↑ Funet.fi
- ↑ Heiner Ziegler - Pieridae der Holarktis
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Wikispecies has information related to: Pontia edusa |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pontia edusa. |
- M.Chinery et P.Leraut Photoguide des papillons d'Europe Delachaux et Niestlé
- Guide des papillons d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord de Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington, éditions Delachaux et Niestlé, 1998