''Enantia albania'', the costa-spotted mimic-white, is a
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
in the family
Pieridae
The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia.DeVries P. J. in Levi ...
. It is native to tropical
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, but rare strays have been reported from the
Lower Rio Grande Valley in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. The habitat consists of low- to mid-elevation tropical forests and coffee plantations.
The
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
is . The forewings are smaller than the hindwings. The upperside of the males is yellow and the upperside of the females is pale yellow to white with black at the apex and outer margin. Adults are on wing for a long period in Mexico, but have only been reported in September in southern Texas. There are multiple generations per year on Cuba and Hispaniola. They feed on flower nectar and bird droppings in the forest understory.
[
The larvae probably feed on species.][
]
Subspecies
The following subspecies are recognised:[
*''Enantia albania albania'' (Guatemala, Mexico)
*''Enantia albania amalia'' (Staudinger, 1884) (Panama, Nicaragua)
*''Enantia albania nuria'' Lamas, 2004 (Ecuador)
]
References
Dismorphiinae
Butterflies described in 1864
Pieridae of South America
Taxa named by Henry Walter Bates
Butterflies of North America
{{Pieridae-stub