| Ant-heap white | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male | |
 | |
| Female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Genus: | Dixeia |
| Species: | D. pigea |
| Binomial name | |
| Dixeia pigea (Boisduval, 1836) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Dixeia pigea, the ant-heap small white [1] or ant-heap white, [2] is a butterfly in the family Pieridae that is native to Africa.
The wingspan is 40–48 mm for males and 40–52 mm for females. [3] The upperside of the wings of males is pure white with a narrow black forewing tip and small black dots on the hindwing margin. [1] The underside is whitish with two rows of black spots on the hindwings, [1] with the inner row sometimes absent or incomplete. The female has several colour forms, [1] but is usually pale yellowish white on the uppersurface with heavier black markings than the male, [1] and has a dark spot on each forewing. There is a rare female form (luteola [3] ) where the upperside is orange yellow [1] or deep apricot. [3] The underside of females is similar to the male but the rows of black dots are more pronounced and the base colour is pale to bright yellow. Another rare form (rubrobasalis) has orange suffusion at the base of the underside of the forewing [1] and a creamy-yellow upperside. [3] The dry-season form (alba [3] ) has reduced black markings. [1] A distinguishing feature of D. pigea is that the hindwing costal has a yellow streak, unlike other Dixeia species. [3]
This species is found from the Eastern Cape province of South Africa through KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini, Mpumalanga and Limpopo Province, [4] to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, DRC, Angola and Cameroon. [2]
Groups of tiny, elongated eggs are laid on the undersurface of the leaves of the food plants.
The larvae are green; pale green on the back and darker green on the sides when young, and develop two rows of pale green blotches down the length of the body as they grow older. The food plants are Capparis sepiaria and Capparis tomentosa . [1]
The pupae have an unusual shape, with a pointed 'nose' and a notable spike on each side of the body protruding from a broad, flattened area midway down the body. There is a smaller spike both to the fore and rear of each of these larger spikes, and a small spike on each side of the body just to the rear of the head. The larger spikes resemble to some extent the double, hooked thorns on the stems of the food plant, Capparis tomentosa (see image). The pupae may be pale green, dark green or brown in colour. The wing areas show whitish or yellowish with dark spots near to hatching and the body becomes greyish.
The flight period is all year. [1] They have been described as having a medium-fast, random flight pattern [1] or as a rather weak, slow flying butterfly. [5] They keep to open areas [1] in riverine forest and thick bush [5] or the edges of bush areas. [1] Both sexes feed from flowers [1] and are greatly attracted to flowering bushes exposed to the sun. [5]
The meadow brown is a butterfly found in the Palearctic realm. Its range includes Europe south of 62°N, Russia eastwards to the Urals, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, North Africa and the Canary Islands. The larvae feed on grasses.
Colias croceus, clouded yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites.
Euthalia aconthea, the common baron, often called simply baron, is a medium-sized nymphalid butterfly native to Sri Lanka, India and southeast Asia. It flies with stiff wing beats and often glides. The wing is not flapped very far below the horizontal.
Eurema hecabe, the common grass yellow, is a small pierid butterfly species found in Asia, Africa and Australia. They are found flying close to the ground and are found in open grass and scrub habitats. It is simply known as "the grass yellow" in parts of its range; the general term otherwise refers to the entire genus Eurema.
Elymnias hypermnestra, the common palmfly, is a species of satyrine butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia.
Graphium agamemnon, the tailed jay, is a predominantly green and black tropical butterfly that belongs to the swallowtail family. The butterfly is also called the green-spotted triangle, tailed green jay, or green triangle. It is a common, non-threatened species native to Nepal, India, Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia and Australia. Several geographic races are recognized. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Belenois aurota, the pioneer or pioneer white or caper white, is a small to medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in South Asia and Africa. In Africa, it is also known as the brown-veined white, and is well known during summer and autumn when large numbers migrate north-east over the interior.
Luthrodes pandava, the plains Cupid or cycad blue, is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, United Arab Emirates, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Java, Sumatra and the Philippines. They are among the few butterflies that breed on plants of the cycad class.
Geitoneura klugii, the common xenica or Klug's xenica, is a species of butterfly belonging to the family Nymphalidae. It is a southern Australian butterfly that is easily camouflaged because of its resemblance to the ground where it is usually found fluttering. It has a wingspan of about 38 millimetres (1.5 in). The upper and lower side of the forewing is black with brownish-black markings and contains a black spot with a white centre. The orange hindwing is set off by a black border and a black-rimmed eyespot. The underside of the hindwing ranges from grey to brown and consists of darker markings.
Amathusia phidippus, the palmking, is a butterfly found in India and Southeast Asia. It belongs to the Satyrinae, a subfamily of the brush-footed butterflies.
Lethe europa, the bamboo treebrown, is a species of Satyrinae butterfly found in Asia.
Loxura atymnus, the yamfly, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in Asia.
Discophora sondaica, the common duffer, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in Southeast Asia.
Colias palaeno, known by the common names moorland clouded yellow, palaeno sulphur, and pale Arctic clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Lycaena tityrus, the sooty copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Europe.
Sevenia boisduvali, the Boisduval's tree nymph, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. There are four subspecies; all native to Africa.
Acraea cabira, the yellow-banded acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae that is native to Africa.
Eurytela dryope, the golden piper, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, found in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian peninsula and Madagascar.
Elodina angulipennis is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found along the north-eastern coast of Australia.
Elymnias caudata, the tailed palmfly, is a species of satyrine butterfly found in South India. Some authors consider this as a subspecies of Elymnias hypermnestra.