Butterflies of
Africa
Coast Purple tip
Colotis hetaera
GERSTACKER, 1871
Family - PIERIDAE
subfamily -
PIERINAE
Tribe - COLOTINI
Colotis hetaera,
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.
Colotis hetaera is found in Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia.
Habitats
This is a savannah species, but can occasionally be found in
large clearings in the drier forests.
Lifecycle
The larval foodplants include Cadaba,
Boscia, Capparis,
Ritchiea and
Maerua ( Capparaceae ).
Adult behaviour
The butterflies behave like typical
Colotis - they
are very active, and only tend to settle early or late in the day
when temperatures are low. When basking or nectaring, the wings
are usually held in the half open position as depicted in the
photograph at the top of this page.
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