Belenois gidica

Belenois gidica, the African veined white or pointed caper, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the Afrotropical realm.[1]

Belenois gidica
Male B. g. abyssinica on Distephanus angulifolius flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pieridae
Genus:	Belenois
Species:	B. gidica
Binomial name
Belenois gidica (Godart, [1819])
Synonyms
Pieris gidica Godart, 1819 Belenois occidentis Butler, 1898 Pieris gidica f. tschadica Aurivillius, 1910 Pieris gidica var. sulphurea Gaede, 1916 Pieris gidica f. masculina Hulstaert, 1924 Anapheis gidica gidica f. albata Talbot, 1929 Anapheis gidica gidica f. arida Talbot, 1929 Pieris abyssinica Lucas, 1852 Pinacopteryx doubledayi Wallengren, 1857 Pinacopteryx westwoodi Wallengren, 1857 Pieris allica Oberthür, 1878 Pieris gidica var. westwoodi ab. simplex Rebel, 1914 Pieris gidica var. pallida Gaede, 1916 Pieris gidica abyssinica f. texturata Ungemach, 1932 Pieris gidica abyssinica f. crassilinea Ungemach, 1932 Anapheis gidica westwoodi f. nigrescens Talbot, 1943 Anapheis gidica westwoodi f. nigrifusa Talbot, 1943 Anapheis gidica westwoodi f. masformis Talbot, 1943 Anapheis gidica westwoodi f. subochracea Talbot, 1943 Anapheis gidica occidentalis ab. deficiens Dufrane, 1947 Glycestha gidica westwoodi f. androides Storace, 1948 Anapheis gidica centralis Stoneham, 1957 Pieris gidica hypoxantha Ungemach, 1932

In Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

The wingspan is 40–55 millimetres (1.6–2.2 in) in males and 40–53 mm (1.6–2.1 in) in females. Its flight period is year-round.[2]

The larvae feed on Boscia, Capparis, and Maerua species.[1][2]

Subspecies

The following subspecies are recognised:[1]

• B. g. gidica (Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, northern Nigeria, Niger)
• B. g. hypoxantha (Ungemach, 1932) (Ethiopia)
• B. g. abyssinica (Lucas, 1852) (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, northern Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland)

References

1. Belenois at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.

External links

• Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 13
• Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 12