Desert white

Description

Pontia glauconome,the desert white or desert Bath white,is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.It is found in Mauritania,Senegal,Gambia,Niger,Chad,Sudan,Ethiopia,Somalia,Kenya,Arabia,Egypt,the Middle East,Pakistan,Afghanistan,the southern part of the former Soviet Union,Uzbekistan,Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.The habitat consists of sub-deserts.The wingspan is 45–50 mm.Adults are on wing from March to October in three to four generations per year.The larvae feed on Epicastrum arabicum,Zilla spinosa,Caylusia,Dipterygium,Erucastrum,Moracandia,Diplotaxis,Cleome and Ochradenus species.The pupae have a facultative diapause of at least four years.