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Colotis ione

(Purple Tip)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Purple Tip, Bushveld Purple Tip

Description

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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 Pierinae

Whites, marbles, and orangetips are members of the Family Pieridae. In North America, 31 species are included . Adults of most species are predominantly white above with some black pattern elements , and their hindwings often have a pattern of yellow and black scales that appear green. Sexes of most species are only slightly dimorphic , though male orangetips have bright orange wingtips. Nearly all adults are avid flower visitors. The males of almost all North American species patrol open, sunny habitats for females, although males of some tropical whites (e.g. Mexican Dartwhite) perch along ravines . Caterpillars of most western whites feed on mustards, though some use capers and others, pineneedles. All species overwinter in the chrysalis stage, and some orangetips and marbles may pass several unfavorable years in the chrysalis stage before hatching .[2]

Habitat

Biome: Terrestrial [3].

Ecology: Generally speaking, this species occurs widely throughout the dry zone of Africa, particularly in dry to mesic , frost-free savannah. However, habitat choice varies across its distribution. In West Africa it is found primarily in Sudan savannah (Larsen 2005). But it also sometimes arises in dry forest , such as in coastal Kenya (Larsen 1991). It is a poor colonizer of disturbed areas in the forest zone proper.

At high altitudes , in Kenya, specimens spend considerable amounts of time basking in the sun in order to raise their body temperature . Males have a very rapid flight, one to two metres above the ground . Females fly much more slowly and tend to remain in and around thick bush . Both sexes are strongly attracted to flowers.

Larval host-plants include: Boscia, Cadaba, Capparis, and Maerua species (Capparaceae).[3].

List of Habitats:

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Pieris ione

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 03-Feb-2008

As many as 27 subspecies have been described for this species. (Ref. 264597).

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Colotis

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 4 species and subspecies in this genus:

C. eris (Banded Gold Tip) · C. ione (Purple Tip) · C. pennaria (Feathered Thorn Moth) · C. protomedia (Yellow Splendour)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=15&sci=Pieridae&com=Whites and Sulphurs [back]
  2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Creusa&search=Search [back]
  3. Larsen, T. 2011. Colotis ione. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 31 January 2012. [back]
Last Revised: 2012-07-21