Butterflies of
Africa
Scarlet tip
Colotis danae eupompe KLUG, 1829
Family - PIERIDAE
subfamily -
PIERINAE
Tribe - COLOTINI
Colotis danae,
female, Nechisar NP,
Ethiopia
© Peter
Bruce-Jones
Introduction
The genus Colotis comprises of 40
species, 39 of which are primarily or entirely Afrotropical in
distribution. The majority of species have pure white
uppersides, with prominent orange, yellow or crimson tips to the
forewings. The undersides
of most are pale whitish or buff, marked with sooty blackish
submarginal spots, and a band of smaller post-median spots.
Males of
danae are pure white, with a suffused blackish sub-apical bar,
and purplish-red wing tips, although in East Africa the tips
tend to be closer to orange. A female from Ethiopia is depicted
above. Females from West Africa are similar, but are paler, and
more lightly marked. The ground colour of dry season forms is
sometimes pale buff, rather than white.
Colotis danae is a widespread
and fairly common insect, distributed from Gambia to Ethiopia
and south to Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa. It
also occurs in s.w Arabia and on the Indian subcontinent.
Habitats
This is primarily a savannah /
Acacia scrub species, but it can also be found on steppes,
farmland, coastal habitats and gardens. It's altitudinal range is
from sea level to about 2000m.
Lifecycle
The larval foodplants include Cadaba,
Capparis and
Maerua ( Capparaceae ).
Adult behaviour
Both sexes commonly nectar at
Cadaba. They are very active
butterflies, rarely pausing for more than a moment or two, flying
rapidly from flower to flower. When temperatures are cool, early
or late in the day, they will bask on bushes or among grasses,
with their wings held half open.
|
