Mylothris asphodelus

Mylothris asphodelus
	Figures 1, 2 (male) and 3 (female)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pieridae
Genus:	Mylothris
Species:	M. asphodelus
Binomial name
	Mylothris asphodelus; Butler, 1888[1]

Mylothris asphodelus is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, north-western Tanzania and possibly Angola.[2] The habitat consists of lowland forests. Mylothris asphodelus, like other Mylothris species, occupies the upper portions of forests where the host plants for their larvae are found.

Males have a large yellow basal area and large black apical area on the forewing upperside. On the forewing underside, the basal area is more orange. The female forewing upperside has a large pale orange basal area.

The larvae feed on Agelanthus krausei.

As Wolbachia carriers

In a study of Wolbachia among butterflies from the tropical forest regions of central Africa, numerous species in the Mylothris and Bicyclus genera were found to be infected, including Mylothris asphodelus. Previously Wolbachia had only been identified, among the Mylothris genus, in the species Mylothris agathina. Of 225 Mylothris butterflies screened, 31% (70 individuals) were found to be infected with Wolbachia. Among these, only Mylothris asphodelus, Mylothris yulei, and Mylothris uniformis were found to carry more than one strain of Wolbachia.[3]

References

Mylothris, Site of Markku Savela
"Afrotropical Butterflies: File D – Pierini - Tribe Aporiina". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2012-04-28.
Duplouy, Anne; Pranter, Robin; Warren-Gash, Haydon; Tropek, Robert; Wahlberg, Niklas (2020-10-20). "Towards unravelling Wolbachia global exchange: a contribution from the Bicyclus and Mylothris butterflies in the Afrotropics". BMC Microbiology. 20 (1): 319. doi:10.1186/s12866-020-02011-2. ISSN 1471-2180. PMC 7576836. PMID 33081703.

Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 10

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[funet-1] Mylothris, Site of Markku Savela

[ATBUT-2] "Afrotropical Butterflies: File D – Pierini - Tribe Aporiina". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2012-04-28.

[3] Duplouy, Anne; Pranter, Robin; Warren-Gash, Haydon; Tropek, Robert; Wahlberg, Niklas (2020-10-20). "Towards unravelling Wolbachia global exchange: a contribution from the Bicyclus and Mylothris butterflies in the Afrotropics". BMC Microbiology. 20 (1): 319. doi:10.1186/s12866-020-02011-2. ISSN 1471-2180. PMC 7576836. PMID 33081703.