Ganyra josephina

Ganyra josephina, the giant white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found from southern Texas through Mexico and Central America to northern South America. The habitat consists of open, dry, subtropical forests.[2]

Giant white
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Ganyra
Species:
G. josephina
Binomial name
Ganyra josephina
(Godart, [1819])[1]
Synonyms
  • Pieris josephina Godart, [1819]
  • Tachyris amaryllis
  • Ascia josephina
  • Papilio amaryllis Fabricius, 1793 (preocc. Stoll, 1782)
  • Pieris josepha Salvin & Godman, 1868
  • Pieris amaryllis josepha f. gervasia Fruhstorfer, 1907
  • Pieris amaryllis protasia Fruhstorfer, 1907
  • Ascia paramaryllis

The wingspan is 73–96 mm (2.9–3.8 in). The cell of the upper forewing of the male contains a prominent round black spot. The wet-season form of the female has a black cell spot and also some diffuse black postmedian spots. The veins are outlined with black near the wing margins. The dry-season form of the female is not so prominently marked. Adults are on wing from September to December in southern Texas. They feed on flower nectar from a variety of weeds and garden plants including Lantana, Eupatorium and Bougainvillea.[2]

The larvae feed on older leaves of Capparidaceae species.[2]

Subspecies

The following subspecies are recognized:[1]

  • G. j. josephina
  • G. j. josepha (Salvin & Godman, 1868) (southern Texas, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua)
  • G. j. krugii (Dewitz, 1877) (Puerto Rico)
  • G. j. menciae (Ramsden, [1914]) (Cuba)
  • G. j. janeta (Dixey, 1915) (Venezuela)
  • G. j. paramaryllis (Comstock, 1943) (Jamaica)

References
  1. Ganyra, Site of Markku Savela
  2. Butterflies and Moths of North America


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