Appias sabina explained

Appias sabina, the Sabine albatross or albatross white, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in Africa. The habitat consists of forests.^[1]

Description

The wingspan is 44- for males and 44mm53mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round.^[2]

The males are known for their fast flight, patrolling specific routes in search of females. However, the females remain near to the undergrowth and fly relatively very slowly.

Female

The upperside is white with a black apex (or vertex), prominent black marginal spots at the ends of veins, which are larger in size than in males. The hindwing is pale yellow, which gradually darkens towards the body. The basal area of the underide of forewing varies, as it can be orange or grey depending on location. It features black marginal markings.

Habitat and distribution

Its type locality is Guinea, and the distribution spans across much of sub-Saharan Africa, including Sierra Leone,Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini, Pondoland, and South Africa.

These butterflies are typically confined to specific areas in forests, due to the restricted presence of food plant. In South Africa, A. sabina adults are noted from February to May in notable localities like Woodbush and Legalameetse in Limpopo Province, Dhlinza and Ngoye Forests and Mvutshini Valley in KwaZulu-Natal, and areas near Mbyoti and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape.^[3]

Life cycle and behavior

The larvae are observed to feed on the following plants (William 2002):

• Drypetes gerrardi (Euphorbiaceae) [Pringle, et al., 1994: 298].^[4]
• Drypetes ugandensis (Euphorbiaceae) [Heath, et al., 2002: 33].^[5]
• Drypetes sp. (Euphorbiaceae) [Larsen, 1991: 146].
• Phyllanthus (Euphorbiaceae) [Larsen, 1991: 146].
• Ritchiea fragrans (Capparaceae) [Larsen, 1991: 146].
• Boscia (Capparaceae) [Larsen, 1991: 146].^[6]

Subspecies

• Appias sabina sabina (western Uganda to Zaire, Nigeria, Sierra Leone)
• Appias sabina comorensis Talbot, 1943 (Comoro Islands)
• Appias sabina confusa (Butler, 1872) (Madagascar)
• Appias sabina udei Suffert, 1904 (northern Kenya (Mount Marsabit) to Malawi and eastern Zimbabwe (Chirinda))
• Appias sabina phoebe (Butler, 1901) (Nairobi)

References

• Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 11
• Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 12

Notes and References

1. Web site: Afrotropical Butterflies: File D – Pierini - Subtribe Appiadina . 2012-05-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084237/http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/pieridae_appiadina.doc . 2014-08-19 . dead .
2. Book: Woodhall, Steve . Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa . 2005 . Cape Town, South Africa . Struik . 978-1-86872-724-7 .
3. Curle . A. . Curle . N. . 2004 . A brief summary of the southerly movement of Appias sabina phoebe Butler, 1901 (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) . Metamorphosis . 15 . 4 . 170–175.
4. Book: Pringle . E.L.L. . Penningtons's Butterflies of Southern Africa. . Henning . G.A. . Ball . J.B. . 1994 . 2nd . Struik, Cape Town. 978-0-947430-46-7 .
5. Book: Heath . A. . The Butterflies of Zambia . Newport . M.A. . Hancock . D. . Lepidopterists' Society of Africa &ARBI, Nairobi . 2002.
6. Book: Larsen, T.B. . Torben Bj%C3%B8rn Larsen . The Butterflies of Kenya and Their Natural History . Oxford University Press, London . 1991.