''Mylothris asphodelus'' is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

in the family

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia.DeVries P. J. in Levi ...

. It is found in eastern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

, the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, north-western

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

and possibly

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. The habitat consists of lowland forests. ''Mylothris asphodelus'', like other ''Mylothris'' species, occupies the upper portions of forests where the host plants for their larvae are found. Males have a large yellow basal area and large black apical area on the forewing upperside. On the forewing underside, the basal area is more orange. The female forewing upperside has a large pale orange basal area. The larvae feed on '' Agelanthus krausei''.

As '' Wolbachia'' carriers

In a study of ''Wolbachia'' among butterflies from the tropical forest regions of central Africa, numerous species in the ''Mylothris'' and ''Bicyclus'' genera were found to be infected, including ''Mylothris asphodelus.'' Previously ''Wolbachia'' had only been identified, among the ''Mylothris'' genus, in the species ''

Mylothris agathina ''Mylothris agathina'', the eastern dotted border or common dotted border, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, particularly East Africa and southern Africa. In South Africa its range has spread westwards a ...

''. Of 225 ''Mylothris'' butterflies screened, 31% (70 individuals) were found to be infected with ''Wolbachia''. Among these, only ''Mylothris asphodelus, Mylothris yulei,'' and '' Mylothris uniformis'' were found to carry more than one strain of ''Wolbachia''.

References

Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 10
Butterflies described in 1888 Pierini Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Arthur Gardiner Butler {{Pieridae-stub