Pieridae : Coliadinae
Pyrisitia messalina (Fabricius, 1787)
Whitish Yellow
Pyrisitia messalina (Fabricius, 1787)
Whitish Yellow
Description and Similar Species: Wingspan 22-38mm. Sexually dimorphic. Males are white above with a black border on both wings but narrower on the hindwing. Females are the same but the black on the hindwing is reduced to a small patch at the apex. On the underside males are whitish below, sometimes slightly yellowish on the hindwing and the black border of both wings shows through. Females are yellow below with a brown apex and integral black spot on each wing. Males on the underside are similar to Smudged Yellow Eurema lucina but the black mark near the apex is clear cut and not just a smudge.
Range: Recorded only from the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Status: Widespread and common in forested areas.
Nectar Plants: Stachytarpheta, Bidens, Lippia.
Larval Foodplants: Desmodium in the family Leguminosae.
Range: Recorded only from the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Status: Widespread and common in forested areas.
Nectar Plants: Stachytarpheta, Bidens, Lippia.
Larval Foodplants: Desmodium in the family Leguminosae.
Larva
Pupa