The Psyche

Leptosia nina

Description

Leptosia nina has white wings that are small and rounded. The upper sides of the wings are white with black apical borders and black subapical spots. The underside of the wings is white with irregular stripes of pale green.

Larva: Leptosia nina larvae are cylindrical in shape with a length of 1.8 mm, whitish with a yellowish green base color when hatched. Its body is covered in turbecles with long and emerging setae. At the end of each setae there are tiny droplets. At the 5th instar stage, the caterpillars are yellowish green, the turbecles are darker in color.

Pupa: Leptosia nina pupae are green, have very short and pointed horns on their heads, and protrusions on their back. The length of the pupa is about 13.5 – 14.5 mm.

Population Size

-

Life Span

-

WEIGHT​

-

LENGTH

Wingspan from 35 – 45 mm.

Ar

Arboreal

He

Herbivore

Classification

KINGDOM

:

Animalia

PHYLUM

:

Arthropoda

CLASS

:

Insecta

ORDER

:

Lepidoptera

FAMILY

:

Pieridae

GENUS

:

Leptosia

SPECIES

:

Leptosia nina

Distribution

Leptosia nina can be found in various habitats such as tropical rainforests, mangrove forests, gardens, parks to urban areas.

Geography

Continent : Asia

Country : Leptocia nina is spread over Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, South China, Taiwan, Philippines, West Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java.

Habits and Lifestyle

Leptocia nina is slow and gentle flying, active when the weather is clear and sunnny, frequently visits flowers in search of nectar.

Lifestyle

Arboreal

Biome

Tropical rain forest

Climate Zone

Tropical

Diet and Nutrition

Leptosia nina larvae feed on Cleome rutidosperma leaves, a herbaceous weed with pink or blue flowers. This species shares a host plant with the Striped Albatross and Cabbage White.

Diet : Herbivore (larva), Nectarivore

Mating Habits

Leptosia nina reproduces by laying eggs (ovipar), female butterflies lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves. The eggs are spindle-shaped, standing on one end, 0.3 mm in diameter and 1.2-1.3 mm high. The color of the eggs is bluish green and turns yellowish green when the eggs are mature, the surface has prominent longitude and transverse lines.

Reproduction session : –

Incubation periods: 2,5 – 3 days

Independent age : at birth

Baby name : –

Baby carrying : –

Population

Population status : Not Evaluated (NE)

NE

DD

LC

NT

VU

EN

CR

EW

EX

PHOTO GALLERY

Reference

  1. Khoon, S. 2010. A Field Guide to The Butterflies of Singapore. Ink On Paper Communications, Singapore.
  2. Leptosia nina article 
  3. Life History of the Psyche