LEPIDOPTERA
PIERIDAE Duponchel,1835
GONEPTERYX Leach, [1815]
Gonepteryx farinosa (Zeiler, 1847)
Gonepteryx farinosa chitralensis Moore, 1906
• RANGE . From the Balkans across Asia Minor and Transcaucasia to the Pamirs- Alai and the Himalaya.
• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The species is represented in the area by the following geographical forms: ssp. turcirana de Freina, 1982 - the Caucasus Minor, the Armenian Highland; ssp. meridiorana de Freina, 1982 - Kopet-Dagh; ssp. chitralensis Moore, 1906 - Ghissar, S. Ghissar, Alai, Darvaz, the W. Pamirs.
• HABITAT AND BIOLOGY. Arid sparse woodlands and semi-deserts where the species inhabits shrubby slopes and canyons up to 1,000-3,000 m a.s.l. in the mountains. Flight period: March-October, with overwintered adults appearing in spring. Host plants (Nekrutenko, 1990): Rhamnus, Ziziphus, Paliurus.
• SIMILAR SPECIES. G. rhamni: UPS uniform bright yellow; HW dorsum more even.
Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 1. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 1997