Ganyra josephina

Giant white
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pieridae
Genus:	Ganyra
Species:	G. josephina
Binomial name
	Ganyra josephina; (Godart, [1819])
Synonyms
	Pieris josephina Godart, [1819]; Tachyris amaryllis; Ascia josephina; Papilio amaryllis Fabricius, 1793 (preocc. Stoll, 1782); Pieris josepha Salvin & Godman, 1868; Pieris amaryllis josepha f. gervasia Fruhstorfer, 1907; Pieris amaryllis protasia Fruhstorfer, 1907; Ascia paramaryllis;

Ganyra josephina, the giant white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found from southern Texas through Mexico and Central America to northern South America. The habitat consists of open, dry, subtropical forests.^[2]

The wingspan is 73–96 mm (2.9–3.8 in). The cell of the upper forewing of the male contains a prominent round black spot. The wet-season form of the female has a black cell spot and also some diffuse black postmedian spots. The veins are outlined with black near the wing margins. The dry-season form of the female is not so prominently marked. Adults are on wing from September to December in southern Texas. They feed on flower nectar from a variety of weeds and garden plants including Lantana, Eupatorium and Bougainvillea.^[2]

The larvae feed on older leaves of Capparidaceae species.^[2]

Subspecies[]

The following subspecies are recognized:^[1]

G. j. josephina
G. j. josepha (Salvin & Godman, 1868) (southern Texas, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua)
G. j. krugii (Dewitz, 1877) (Puerto Rico)
G. j. menciae (Ramsden, [1914]) (Cuba)
G. j. janeta (Dixey, 1915) (Venezuela)
G. j. paramaryllis (Comstock, 1943) (Jamaica)

References[]

^ ^a ^b Ganyra, Site of Markku Savela
^ ^a ^b ^c Butterflies and Moths of North America

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[funet-1] Ganyra, Site of Markku Savela

[bamona-2] Butterflies and Moths of North America

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