List of butterflies of Saudi Arabia explained

This is a list of butterflies of Saudi Arabia. About 79 species are known from Saudi Arabia.^[1]

Papilionidae

Papilioninae

Papilionini

• Papilio demodocus demodocus Esper, [1798]
• Papilio demoleus demoleus Linnaeus, 1758
• Papilio machaon syriacus Verity, 1908
• Papilio saharae rathjensi Warnecke, 1932
• Papilio saharae saharae Oberthür, 1879

Pieridae

Coliadinae

• Catopsilia florella (Fabricius, 1775)
• Colias croceus (Geoffroy, 1785) = Colias crocea^[2]
• Colias electo meneliki Berger, 1940
• Colias erate marnoana Rogenhofer, 1884
• Eurema brigitta brigitta (Stoll, [1780])
• Eurema hecabe solifera (Butler, 1875)

Pierinae

Teracolini

• Colotis amata calais (Cramer, 1775)
• Colotis phisadia (Godart, 1819) incl. Colotis phisadia phisadia (Godart, 1819)
• Colotis chrysonome (Klug, 1829) incl. Colotis chrysonome chrysonome (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis evarne (Klug, 1829) = Colotis aurora evarne (Klug, 1829) also mentioned as Colotis eucharis evarne
• Colotis fausta vi (Swinhoe, 1884)
• Colotis fausta fausta (Olivier, 1804)
• Colotis antevippe zera (Lucas, 1852)
• Colotis daira daira (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis danae eupompe (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis ephyia (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis euippe exole (Reiche, 1850)
• Colotis evippe epigone (Felder, 1865)
• Colotis evagore evagore (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis halimede halimede (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis liagore (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis pleione pleione (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis protomedia (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis ungemachi (Le Cerf, 1922)
• Calopieris eulimene (Klug, 1829)
• Teracolus eris contractus Gabriel, 1954 = Colotis eris contractus
• Pinacopteryx eriphia tritogenia (Klug, 1829)
• Pieris rapae iranica Le Cerf, 1913
• Pieris rapae leucosoma Schawerda, 1905

Nepheroniini

• Nepheronia buquetii buchanani (Rothschild, 1921)
• Euchloe aegyptiaca Verity, 1911 = Euchloe melanochloros aegyptiaca Verity, 1911
• Euchloe belemia belemia Esper, 1799
• Euchloe falloui falloui (Allard, 1867)
• Euchloe falloui saudi Larsen, 1983
• Elphinstonia charlonia charlonia (Donzel, 1842)
• Zegris eupheme larseni Pittaway, 1986

Pierini

• Mylothris arabicus Gabriel, 1954
• Belenois aurota (Fabricius, 1793)
• Belenois gidica (Godart, 1819)
• Belenois creona leucogyne Butler, 1885
• Pontia daplidice daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Pontia glauconome glauconome (Klug, 1829)

Lycaenidae

Aphnaeinae

• Axiocerces harpax kadugli Talbot, 1935
• Chloroselas esmeralda bilqis Larsen, 1983

Theclinae

Amblypodiini

• Myrina silenus nzoiae d'Abrera, 1980

• Hypolycaena pachalica Butler, 1888
• Hypolycaena philippus (Fabricius, 1793)

Theclini

• Iolaus glaucus Butler, 1886
• Iolaus nursei Butler, 1896

Deudorigini

• Deudorix antalus (Hopffer, 1855)
• Deudorix dinochares Smith, 1887
• Deudorix livia (Klug, 1834)

Lycaeninae

• Lycaena phlaeas shima Gabriel, 1954

Polyommatinae

Lycaenesthini

• Anthene amarah (Guérin-Méneville, 1849)
• Anthene arora Larsen, 1983
• Anthene butleri arabicus Gabriel, 1954

Polyommatini

• Cacyreus virilis Stempffer, 1936
• Cupidopsis jobates (Hopffer, 1855)
• Leptotes pirithous (Linnaeus, 1767)
• Tuxentius gabrieli Balint, 1999
• Tarucus balkanicus (Freyer, 1843)
• Tarucus rosacea (Austaut, 1885)
• Tarucus theophrastus (Fabricius, 1793)
• Zizeeria karsandra (Moore, 1865)
• Zizina antanossa (Mabille, 1877)
• Zizula hylax (Fabricius, 1775)
• Azanus jesous (Guérin-Méneville, 1849)
• Azanus moriqua (Wallengren, 1857)
• Azanus ubaldus (Stoll, 1782)
• Pseudophilotes abencerragus nabataeus (Graves, 1925)
• Euchrysops lois (Butler, 1886)
• Euchrysops malathana (Boisduval, 1833)
• Euchrysops osiris (Hopffer, 1855)
• Euchrysops philbyi Gabriel, 1954
• Freyeria trochylus (Freyer, [1843])
• Chilades parrhasius (Fabricius, 1793)
• Plebejidea loewii uranicola (Walker, 1870)
• Kretania philbyi (Graves, 1925)
• Lampides boeticus (Linnaeus, 1767)
• Lepidochrysops forsskali Larsen, 1982
• Lepidochrysops haveni (Larsen, 1983)^[3]
• Lepidochrysops pittawayi Larsen, 1983
• Brephidium exilis (Boisduval, 1852)

Nymphalidae

Libythea laius Trimen, 1879

Danainae

Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Satyrinae

Melanitini

• Melanitis leda (Linnaeus, 1758)

Satyrini

• Lasiommata felix (Warnecke, 1929)
• Ypthima asterope (Klug, 1832)
• Hipparchia tewfiki (Wiltshire, 1949)

Charaxini 

• Charaxes hansali yemeni Turlin, 1998
• Charaxes bernstorffi Rydon, 1982^[4]

Nymphalinae

Nymphalini 

• Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758)

Junoniini 

• Junonia chorimene (Guérin-Méneville, 1844)
• Junonia hierta cebrene Trimen, 1870
• Junonia orithya here Lang, 1884
• Precis limnoria limnoria (Klug, 1845)
• Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764)
• Melitaea deserticola macromaculata Belter, 1934
• Melitaea persea sargon Hemming, 1932 (It must be compared to Melitaea acentria arabica)
• Protogoniomorpha anacardii nebulosa Trimen, 1881

Biblidinae

Biblidini

• Byblia anvatara acheloia (Wallengren, 1857)
• Byblia ilithyia (Drury, 1773)
• Eurytela dryope brittoni Gabriel, 1954

Limenitinae

Chalingini

• Hamanumida daedalus (Fabricius, 1775)

Heliconiinae

Acraeini

• Acraea chilo yemensis Le Doux, 1931
• Acraea neobule Doubleday, 1847
• Acraea doubledayi azvaki d'Abrera, 1980
• Acraea encedon rathjensi Le Doux, 1933 = Telechinia encedon rathjensi Le Doux, 1933
• Acraea serena (Fabricius, 1775) = Telechinia serena (Fabricius, 1775)

Hesperiidae

• Caprona pillaana (Wallengren, 1857)

Pyrginae

Celaenorrhinini

• Sarangesa phidyle (Walker, 1870)

Carcharodini

• Spialia bifida (Higgins, 1924), previously known as Spialia zebra bifida
• Spialia colotes semiconfluens de Jong, 1978
• Spialia colotes torbenlarseni (Tshikolovets, 2022)
• Spialia doris (Walker, 1870)
• Spialia mafa higginsi Evans, 1937
• Spialia spio (Linnaeus, 1764)
• Gomalia elma (Trimen, 1862)

Hesperiinae

Baorini

• Borbo gemella (Mabille, 1884) = Larsenia gemella (Mabille, 1884)
• Borbo fatuellus (Hopffer, 1855)^[5]
• Borbo borbonica zelleri (Lederer, 1855) [? requires confirmation]
• Gegenes hottentota (Latreille, 1824)
• Gegenes nostrodamus (Fabricius, 1793)
• Gegenes pumilio (Hoffmansegg, 1804)
• Pelopidas mathias mathias (Fabricius, 1798)
• Pelopidas thrax thrax (Hübner, 1821)

See also

• List of moths of Saudi Arabia
• Wildlife of Saudi Arabia

Notes and References

1. https://abdb-africa.org/locality/Saudi%20Arabia?oid=3 Saudi Arabia at the African Butterfly Database
2. Book: Larsen, Torben B. . Butterflies of Saudi Arabia and its neighbours . 1984 . Transworld Arabian Library ; Stacey International . 978-0-905743-36-3 . Riyadh [Saudi Arabia] : London.
3. Verovnik . Rudi . Kosmač . Marko . Ishag . Alrabea A. E. . Dhafer . Hathal M. Al . Seizmair . Michael . 2024-01-23 . Mount Faifa, a local hotspot of butterfly diversity (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . Ecologica Montenegrina . en . 71 . 41–52 . 10.37828/em.2024.71.6 . 2336-9744. free .
4. Tshikolovets . Vadim . 2022 . Notes on butterflies of Saudi Arabia with a description of a new subspecies (Rhopalocera, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae et Hesperiidae) . Atalanta . 53 . 1/2 . 205-208.
5. Tshikolovets . Vadim . 2024 . Notes on butterflies of Saudi Arabia II (Rhopalocera: Hesperiidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae) . Atalanta . 55 . (1/2) . 248-249.