LEPIDOPTERA
PIERIDAE Duponchel,1835
LEPTIDEA Billberg,1820
Leptidea duponcheli (Staudinger, 1871)
Leptidea duponcheli duponcheli (Staudinger, 1871)
• TYPE LOCALITY. "Gall.[ia] m.[eridionalis]; Ped.[emontana]; Bith.[ynia]; Pont.[us]" [S. France].
• SYNONYMS: mqjae Alberti, 1969.
• RANGE. S. Europe and Asia Minor to Transcaucasia, the Caucasus and the Crimea.
• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The Crimea, the Caucasus Major - the nominate subspecies; Transcaucasia - ssp. lorkovici (Pfeiffer, 1932). Specimens from the Talysh Mts. and Kopet-Dagh probably belong to the ssp. vartiani Gross et Ebert 1975.
• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Arid sparse woodlands and forest edges, meadows and other habitats with xerophilous vegetation up to 2,000 m a.s.1. Host plants Fabaceae.
• SIMILAR SPECIES. L. sinapis: UPF black apical spot not elongate; UNH with lighl greenish-grey dusting.
Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 1. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 1997