Overview
Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Costa-Spotted Mimic-White
Description
Family Pieridae
'The Pieridae are members
of the Superfamily
Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Worldwide in distribution, most species are found in the tropics. Adults
have medium to small wings
that are white, yellow, or orange, with some black or red, and many have hidden ultraviolet patterns
that are used in courtship
. Species with more than one generation usually have distinct
seasonal variation
in appearance
. Adults of all species visit flowers for nectar, and adults of both sexes have three pairs of walking legs
. Males patrol in search of receptive mates, and females lay
columnar
eggs
on leaves, buds, and stems. The majority of caterpillars of North American whites and sulphurs feed
on legumes or crucifers (members of the Mustard family
). Typically, temperate
species overwinter in the pupal or larval stage
, while tropical
species overwinter as adults.
'[1]
Subfamily Dismorphiinae
The mimic-whites are members of the Family Pieridae. Their distribution is mainly limited to the neotropics (South America, Central America, and the Caribbean). Only one species is found in North America.
Physical Description
Species Enantia albania
Small; forewing smaller than hindwing . Upperside of male yellow; female pale yellow to white with black at apex and outer margin . (ref. 104791)
Color:
Small; forewing smaller than hindwing . Upperside of male yellow; female pale yellow to white with black at apex and outer margin .
Size/Age/Growth
Wing span : 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 3 cm).
Habitat
Low- to mid-elevation tropical forests , coffee plantations.
Biology
Diet
Caterpillar hosts: Probably in pea family (Fabaceae). Adult food: Flower nectar and bird droppings in forest understory .
Behavior
Flight: Long period in Mexico; September in south Texas.
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
()
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
()
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
()
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
()
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
()
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
()
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
()
- Superorder:
Panorpida
()
- Order:
Lepidoptera
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
()
- Family:
Pieridae
()
- Whites and Yellows (Sulphurs)
- Subfamily:
Dismorphiinae
()
- Mimic-Whites
- Genus:
Enantia
()
- Specific name:
albania
- (Bates, 1864)
- Scientific name: - Enantia albania (Bates, 1864)
- Specific name:
albania
- (Bates, 1864)
- Genus:
Enantia
(
- Subfamily:
Dismorphiinae
(
- Family:
Pieridae
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Superorder:
Panorpida
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Comment: ST
([f], O. Salvin & F. du Cane
Godman leg
., coll. O.
Salvin)
Last scrutiny: 28-Jun-2008
Similar Species
Members of the genus Enantia
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 4 species and subspecies in this genus:
E. albania (Costa-Spotted Mimic-White) · E. jethys (Bold Mimic-White) · E. lina (White Mimic-White) · E. mazai (Mazai Mimic-White)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
Notes
Contributors
- GloBIS (GART): Global Butterfly Information System. Release date: November 23, 2008
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 26, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
- LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index
- Opler, Paul A., Harry Pavulaan, Ray E. Stanford, Michael Pogue, coordinators. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Mountain Prairie Information Node. March 26, 2007.
- Opler, Paul A., Kelly Lotts, and Thomas Naberhaus, coordinators. 2009. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Big Sky Institute. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ (Version of April 17, 2009).
- Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 26, 2008:
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (Costa Rica): Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2603219
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Gar-1846
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1583401
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=15&sci=Pieridae&com=Whites and Sulphurs [back]
