Mylothris rueppellii

Mylothris rueppellii

M. r. haemus, Johannesburg, South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pieridae
Genus:	Mylothris
Species:	M. rueppellii
Binomial name
*Mylothris rueppellii* (Koch, 1865)^[1]
Synonyms
Pieris rueppellii Koch, 1865 Pieris haemus Trimen, 1879 Mylothris rueppellii kikuyuensis f. kaffana Riley, 1921 Mylothris ruppellii rhodesiana ab. pallidior Hulstaert, 1924 Mylothris rueppellii f. kikuyuensis Bartel, 1905 Mylothris rueppellii kikuyuensis f. kenia Riley, 1921 Mylothris ruppellii kikuyuensis ab. aspilota Hulstaert, 1924

Rüppell's Dotted Border or Twin Dotted Border (Mylothris rueppellii) is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. It is found in most of Africa, south of the Sahara. The wingspan is 48–55 millimetres (1.9–2.2 in) for males and 50–56 mm (2.0–2.2 in) for females. Adults are on wing year round, with peaks in October and from late February to April in southern Africa.^[2] The larvae feed on various Loranthaceae species, including Loranthus, Tapinanthus oleifolius and Tapinanthus rubromarginatus.

Subspecies

Mylothris rueppellii rueppellii (highlands of Ethiopia)
Mylothris rueppellii haemus (Trimen, 1879) (southern Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa)
Mylothris rueppellii josi Larsen, 1986 (Nigeria)^[3]
Mylothris rueppellii rhodesiana Riley, 1921 (northern Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, southern Zaire (Shaba), south-eastern Angola)
Mylothris rueppellii septentrionalis Carpenter, 1928 (southern Sudan)
Mylothris rueppellii tirikensis Neave, 1904 (highlands of Uganda, Kenya and northern Tanzania)

Gallery

Images from the gardens of Fairlawns Boutique Hotel & Spa, Johannesburg, South Africa

male
male underside
female underside
male in flight

References

↑ Mylothris, Site of Markku Savela
↑ Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.
↑ Afrotropical Butterflies: File D – Pierini - Tribe Aporiina

Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 10

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