Brown veined White

Description:

A medium sized butterfly (wingspan to 43 mm), The extensive dark markings on the undersides of the wings tend to be brown in the males and more black in the females. There is often a hint of yellow towards the root of the wings on the underside.

Habitat:

Brown veined Whites are widespread in southern Africa tending to prefer more open country. Their favoured trees for breeding are the evergreen Shepard trees (Boscia spp) which are trees surrounded by superstition and local people refrain from chopping them down so they occur as scattered individuals through cultivated areas. The Brown veined Whites sometimes congregate in enormous numbers when migrating.

Notes:

There are 3 rather similar species in the genus Belenois in our area and I don't know which one this is. B. aurota is the commonest I believe. Other species in the photos include the African Migrant (pale green), Zebra White (light brown & cream)