Butterflies of
Africa
Common Dotted
Border
Mylothris rhodope
FABRICIUS, 1775
Family - PIERIDAE
subfamily -
PIERINAE
Tribe - PIERINI
introduction
|
habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
Mylothris
rhodope, Bobiri forest, Ghana
Introduction
The
genus
Mylothris
is confined to the African continent and includes 51 species, most of which are
distributed across the forest belt from Cameroon to western Kenya.
Mylothris
butterflies share a number of characteristics : They have rounded wings, with a
black apex on the upperside forewings. On the underside, fore and hindwings
have a single row of prominent black marginal spots, hence the butterflies in
this genus are all known as Dotted Borders.
The ground colour of the wings varies from
species to species. Some, such as
croceus
have a deep saffron-yellow ground colour, and others such as
humbloti
are greyish-buff. The majority of species however are white, but there is often
a basal flush of bright yellow.
Mylothris butterflies are
sometimes confused with certain
Belenois
species,
but the latter are larger, and have a double row of submarginal spots.
Mylothris
rhodope occurs in
Sierra Leone, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, Gabon, Zaire, Congo,
Angola, Zambia, Ethiopia and western
Uganda.
Habitats
This is a forest species, occurring at elevations between sea level and about
800m. It is migratory in nature however, and can be commonly seen in open
country during the rainy season.
Lifecycle
The caterpillars feed on
Loranthus
( Loranthaceae ).
Adult behaviour
Both sexes are attracted to
herbaceous flowers and flowering bushes,
at which they nectar with the wings held half open or fluttering.
Males are also attracted to mineralised moisture around the edges
of puddles on forest tracks, and can be found singly or in small
groups, aggregating with Appias, Graphium and
Eurema species.
The flight is
slow and deliberate, and in conjunction with the conspicuous
appearance is indicative of the fact ( supported by experiment )
that the butterflies are distasteful to avian predators. It is
likely that the toxins within their bodies are derived from the
larval foodplants.
Mylothris
rhodope, Aburi, Ghana
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