''Appias lasti'', the Last's albatross or Last's albatross white, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

in the family

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family (biology), family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from Afrotropical realm, tropical Africa and Indomalayan realm, tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern ...

. It is found in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. The habitat consists of coastal forests and heavy woodland. The larvae feed on ''

Drypetes gerrardii ''Drypetes gerrardii'' is a species of small tree or large shrub in the family Putranjivaceae. Common names include forest ironplum, bastard white ironwood, and forest ironwood. It is native to tropical and subtropical central and eastern Africa. ...

'', ''

Phyllanthus ''Phyllanthus'' is the largest genus in the plant family Phyllanthaceae. Estimates of the number of species in this genus vary widely, from 750David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book.'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University ...

'', ''

Capparis ''Capparis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Capparaceae. It includes 142 species of shrubs or lianas which are collectively known as caper shrubs or caperbushes. ''Capparis'' species occur over a wide range of habitat in the subtr ...

'', ''

Maerua ''Maerua'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Capparaceae. It includes 70 species of shrubs and small trees with its centre of diversity in Africa, though some species extend their range as far north as the Levant, and as far east as th ...

'', and ''

Ritchiea ''Ritchiea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Capparaceae. Its native range is Tropical Africa. It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cabinda Province, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, ...

'' species.

Subspecies

*''Appias lasti lasti'' (coast of Kenya, coast of Tanzania and coast of Mozambique) *''Appias lasti natalensis'' Neustetter, 1927 (South Africa: Natal, but this is thought to be a false locality)

References

External links

Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 11
Butterflies described in 1889 Appias (butterfly) Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Henley Grose-Smith {{Pieridae-stub