Karsch’s Dotted Border

Scientific Name
Mylothris jaopura
KARSCH, 1893
Specie in
Family
Karsch’s Dotted Border
Mylothris jaopura Bunso, Ghana – Emily Halsey

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 species share a number of characteristics: They have rounded wings with a black apex on the upperside forewings. On the underside, fore and hindwings of most species have a single row of prominent black marginal spots, hence the butterflies in this genus are all known as Dotted Borders.

The butterflies are sometimes confused with Belenois species but the latter are larger, and have a double row of submarginal spots.

Mylothris jaopura is found in Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and western Cameroon.

Habitats

This species is found in forests, botanical gardens and occasionally in dense savannah.

Lifecycle

The larvae feed on parasitic Loranthaceae.

Adult behaviour

This localised butterfly is normally seen in two’s and three’s, nectaring at flowers or resting on the foliage of sapling trees along the edge of forest roads. As with other Mylothris species the flight is slow and deliberate, which in conjunction with the conspicuous appearance indicates that it is likely to be distasteful to avian predators.

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Butterfly of
Scientific Name
Mylothris jaopura
by
KARSCH, 1893
Family
SubFamily
PIERINAE
Tribe
PIERINI
SubTribe
N/A

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