Butterflies of
Africa
Sabine Albatross
Appias sabina
FELDER & FELDER, 1865
Family - PIERIDAE
subfamily -
PIERINAE
Tribe - PIERINI
Appias sabina,
Bobiri forest, Ghana
Introduction
There
are about
23-28 species
that are currently accepted as members of
Appias, comprising 7-8 species from the Australian
region, 16-20 from the Oriental region, and 6 in Africa. It is
difficult to be precise about numbers as there is uncertainty regarding the status of
some species.
At first glance
Appias sabina can be mistaken for certain
Mylothris species, but in
Appias the apex on the forewing is more acute. In
sabina the black spots are small and do not extend onto the costa of the
forewing. In similar Mylothris species, e.g.
poppea and rhodope,
there is a flush of bright yellow at the base of the underside forewings, but in
Appias sabina the yellow is restricted to the costa
of the hindwing.
Appias sabina is a common and widely distributed species found across
most of sub-Saharan Africa from Sierra Leone to western Kenya, and south to the
northern parts of South Africa. It also occurs on Madagascar and the Comoro
islands.
Habitats
This is a forest species, often seen along logging roads, but is migratory in
behaviour so can turn up in savannah / woodland habitats, botanical gardens and
city parks.
Lifecycle
The larval
foodplants include
Boscia, Ritchiea (
Capparaceae ), and
Phyllanthus ( Euphorbiaceae ).
Adult behaviour
Males are
usually seen singly or in two's and three's amidst aggregations of
Belenois,
Eurema and Mylothris, imbibing mineralised moisture around the edges
of puddles on forest tracks.
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