Leptosia alcesta
| African Wood White | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Mabibi, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa | |
_underside.jpg) | |
| underside | |
| 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 | |
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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]
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_in_flight.jpg)
in flight
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_face.jpg)
worn specimen appears to represent a face
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)