Leptosia nupta, the immaculate wood white, petite wood white or immaculate spirit, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It was described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1873. It is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and on Madagascar.[2] The habitat consists of wet, primary forest.

Leptosia nupta
São Tomé island
São Tomé and Príncipe
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Leptosia
Species:
L. nupta
Binomial name
Leptosia nupta
(Butler, 1873)[1]
Synonyms
  • Nychitona nupta Butler, 1873
  • Leptosia alcesta f. nuptilla Aurivillius, 1910
  • Leptosia medusa medusa f. pygmaea Birket-Smith, 1960

The larvae feed on Capparis species and Rorippa madagascariensis.

Subspecies

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  • Leptosia nupta nupta (eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Angola)
  • Leptosia nupta pseudonupta Bernardi, 1959 (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, western Kenya, western Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe)
  • Leptosia nupta viettei Bernardi, 1959 (Madagascar)

References

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  1. ^ Leptosia nupta at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: File D – Pieridae - "Leptosia group"". Archived from the original on 2015-10-06. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
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