''Gonepteryx farinosa '' , the Powdered Brimstone, 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 ...

found in the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

that belongs to the

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

family.

Subspecies

*''G. f. farinosa'' Southeast, Asia Minor, Syria, Iran, Transcaucasia, Pamirs-Alai, Himalaya *''G. f. turcirana'' de Freina, 1983 Caucasus Minor, Armenian Highland *''G. f. meridioirana'' de Freina, 1983 Kopet-Dagh *''G. f. chitralensis'' Moore, 1906 Ghissar, Alai, Darvaz, West Pamirs

Description from Seitz

''Gonepteryx farinosa'' from West Asia (the occurrence in North Africa is very doubtful), is conspicuously larger than specimens of '' G. rhamni'' from Central Europe or even South France; the scaling of the male is thick, chalky, being lighter above and below on the distal portion of the wings, the whole hindwing, moreover, being somewhat lighter in tint than the forewing; the yellow central spots are more indistinct, being often absent from the forewing, especially in females; the latter still paler than ''G. rhamni'' females. The specific distinctness of ''G. farinosa'' has often been doubted, as ''G. farinosa'' occurs together with ''G. rhamni'' and ''G. cleopatra'' (for instance in southern Asia Minor).Seitz, A. ed. Band 1: Abt. 1, ''Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Tagfalter'', 1909, 379 Seiten, mit 89 kolorierten Tafeln (3470 Figuren)

Biology

The larva feeds on '' Rhamnus'', ''

Ziziphus ''Ziziphus'' is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, distributed in the warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of the world. The leaves are alternate, entire, with three promi ...

'' , ''

Paliurus ''Paliurus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae. The eight species are native to warm, dry regions of Eurasia and North Africa from Morocco and Spain east to Japan and Taiwan. Description They are shrubs or small trees grow ...

References

Gonepteryx Butterflies described in 1847 {{Pieridae-stub