List of butterflies of Saudi Arabia

Location of Saudi Arabia

This is a list of butterflies of Saudi Arabia. About 79 species are known from Saudi Arabia.[1]

Papilionidae

Papilioninae

Papilionini

• Papilio demodocus demodocus Esper, [1798]
• Papilio demoleus demoleus Linnaeus, 1758
• Papilio machaon syriacus Verity, 1908
• Papilio saharae rathjensi Warnecke, 1932
• Papilio saharae saharae Oberthür, 1879

Pieridae

Coliadinae

• Catopsilia florella (Fabricius, 1775)
• Colias croceus (Geoffroy, 1785) = Colias crocea[2]
• Colias electo meneliki Berger, 1940[2]
• Colias erate marnoana Rogenhofer, 1884
• Eurema brigitta brigitta (Stoll, [1780])
• Eurema hecabe solifera (Butler, 1875)

Pierinae

Teracolini

• Colotis amata calais (Cramer, 1775)
• Colotis phisadia (Godart, 1819) incl. Colotis phisadia phisadia (Godart, 1819)
• Colotis chrysonome (Klug, 1829) incl. Colotis chrysonome chrysonome (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis evarne (Klug, 1829) = Colotis aurora evarne (Klug, 1829) also mentioned as Colotis eucharis evarne[2]
• Colotis fausta vi (Swinhoe, 1884)
• Colotis fausta fausta (Olivier, 1804)
• Colotis antevippe zera (Lucas, 1852)
• Colotis daira daira (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis danae eupompe (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis ephyia (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis euippe exole (Reiche, 1850)
• Colotis evippe epigone (Felder, 1865)[2]
• Colotis evagore evagore (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis halimede halimede (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis liagore (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis pleione pleione (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis protomedia (Klug, 1829)
• Colotis ungemachi (Le Cerf, 1922)
• Calopieris eulimene (Klug, 1829)
• Teracolus eris contractus Gabriel, 1954 = Colotis eris contractus
• Pinacopteryx eriphia tritogenia (Klug, 1829)
• Pieris rapae iranica Le Cerf, 1913
• Pieris rapae leucosoma Schawerda, 1905

Nepheroniini

• Nepheronia buquetii buchanani (Rothschild, 1921)
• Euchloe aegyptiaca Verity, 1911 = Euchloe melanochloros aegyptiaca Verity, 1911
• Euchloe belemia belemia Esper, 1799
• Euchloe falloui falloui (Allard, 1867)
• Euchloe falloui saudi Larsen, 1983
• Elphinstonia charlonia charlonia (Donzel, 1842)
• Zegris eupheme larseni Pittaway, 1986

Pierini

• Mylothris arabicus Gabriel, 1954
• Belenois aurota (Fabricius, 1793)
• Belenois gidica (Godart, 1819)[3]
• Belenois creona leucogyne Butler, 1885
• Pontia daplidice daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Pontia glauconome glauconome (Klug, 1829)

Lycaenidae

Aphnaeinae

• Axiocerces harpax kadugli Talbot, 1935
• Chloroselas esmeralda bilqis Larsen, 1983[4]

Theclinae

Amblypodiini

• Myrina silenus nzoiae d'Abrera, 1980

Hypolycaenini

• Hypolycaena pachalica Butler, 1888
• Hypolycaena philippus (Fabricius, 1793)

Theclini

• Iolaus glaucus Butler, 1886
• Iolaus nursei Butler, 1896

Deudorigini

• Deudorix antalus (Hopffer, 1855)
• Deudorix dinochares Smith, 1887[4]
• Deudorix livia (Klug, 1834)

Lycaeninae

• Lycaena phlaeas shima Gabriel, 1954

Polyommatinae

Lycaenesthini

• Anthene amarah (Guérin-Méneville, 1849)
• Anthene arora Larsen, 1983
• Anthene butleri arabicus Gabriel, 1954

Polyommatini

• Cacyreus virilis Stempffer, 1936
• Cupidopsis jobates (Hopffer, 1855)[4]
• Leptotes pirithous (Linnaeus, 1767)
• Tuxentius gabrieli Balint, 1999
• Tarucus balkanicus (Freyer, 1843)
• Tarucus rosacea (Austaut, 1885)
• Tarucus theophrastus (Fabricius, 1793)
• Zizeeria karsandra (Moore, 1865)
• Zizina antanossa (Mabille, 1877)
• Zizula hylax (Fabricius, 1775)
• Azanus jesous (Guérin-Méneville, 1849)
• Azanus moriqua (Wallengren, 1857)
• Azanus ubaldus (Stoll, 1782)
• Pseudophilotes abencerragus nabataeus (Graves, 1925)
• Euchrysops lois (Butler, 1886)
• Euchrysops malathana (Boisduval, 1833)
• Euchrysops osiris (Hopffer, 1855)
• Euchrysops philbyi Gabriel, 1954
• Freyeria trochylus (Freyer, [1843])
• Chilades parrhasius (Fabricius, 1793)
• Plebejidea loewii uranicola (Walker, 1870)
• Kretania philbyi (Graves, 1925)
• Lampides boeticus (Linnaeus, 1767)
• Lepidochrysops forsskali Larsen, 1982
• Lepidochrysops haveni (Larsen, 1983)[5]
• Lepidochrysops pittawayi Larsen, 1983
• Brephidium exilis (Boisduval, 1852)

Nymphalidae

Libythea laius Trimen, 1879[3]

Danainae

Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Satyrinae

Melanitini

• Melanitis leda (Linnaeus, 1758)

Satyrini

• Lasiommata felix (Warnecke, 1929)
• Ypthima asterope (Klug, 1832)
• Hipparchia tewfiki (Wiltshire, 1949)

Charaxini 

• Charaxes hansali yemeni Turlin, 1998
• Charaxes bernstorffi Rydon, 1982[4]

Nymphalinae

Nymphalini 

• Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758)

Junoniini 

• Junonia chorimene (Guérin-Méneville, 1844)
• Junonia hierta cebrene Trimen, 1870
• Junonia orithya here Lang, 1884
• Precis limnoria limnoria (Klug, 1845)
• Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764)
• Melitaea deserticola macromaculata Belter, 1934
• Melitaea persea sargon Hemming, 1932 (It must be compared to Melitaea acentria arabica)
• Protogoniomorpha anacardii nebulosa Trimen, 1881[6][4]

Biblidinae

Biblidini

• Byblia anvatara acheloia (Wallengren, 1857)
• Byblia ilithyia (Drury, 1773)[4]
• Eurytela dryope brittoni Gabriel, 1954

Limenitinae

Chalingini

• Hamanumida daedalus (Fabricius, 1775)[5]

Heliconiinae

Acraeini

• Acraea chilo yemensis Le Doux, 1931
• Acraea neobule Doubleday, 1847
• Acraea doubledayi azvaki d'Abrera, 1980
• Acraea encedon rathjensi Le Doux, 1933 = Telechinia encedon rathjensi Le Doux, 1933
• Acraea serena (Fabricius, 1775) = Telechinia serena (Fabricius, 1775)

Hesperiidae

• Caprona pillaana (Wallengren, 1857)

Pyrginae

Celaenorrhinini

• Sarangesa phidyle (Walker, 1870)

Carcharodini

• Spialia bifida (Higgins, 1924), previously known as Spialia zebra bifida[3]
• Spialia colotes semiconfluens de Jong, 1978
• Spialia colotes torbenlarseni (Tshikolovets, 2022)[4]
• Spialia doris (Walker, 1870)
• Spialia mafa higginsi Evans, 1937
• Spialia spio (Linnaeus, 1764)
• Gomalia elma (Trimen, 1862)

Hesperiinae

Baorini

• Borbo gemella (Mabille, 1884) = Larsenia gemella (Mabille, 1884)
• Borbo fatuellus (Hopffer, 1855)[3]
• Borbo borbonica zelleri (Lederer, 1855) [? requires confirmation]
• Gegenes hottentota (Latreille, 1824)
• Gegenes nostrodamus (Fabricius, 1793)
• Gegenes pumilio (Hoffmansegg, 1804)
• Pelopidas mathias mathias (Fabricius, 1798)
• Pelopidas thrax thrax (Hübner, 1821)

See also

• List of moths of Saudi Arabia
• Wildlife of Saudi Arabia

References

1. Saudi Arabia at the African Butterfly Database
2. Larsen, Torben B. (1984). Butterflies of Saudi Arabia and its neighbours. Riyadh [Saudi Arabia] : London: Transworld Arabian Library; Stacey International. ISBN 978-0-905743-36-3.
3. Tshikolovets, Vadim (2024). "Notes on butterflies of Saudi Arabia II (Rhopalocera: Hesperiidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae)". Atalanta. 55 ((1/2)): 248–249.
4. Tshikolovets, Vadim (2022). "Notes on butterflies of Saudi Arabia with a description of a new subspecies (Rhopalocera, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae et Hesperiidae)". Atalanta. 53 (1/2): 205–208.
5. Verovnik, Rudi; Kosmač, Marko; Ishag, Alrabea A. E.; Dhafer, Hathal M. Al; Seizmair, Michael (2024-01-23). "Mount Faifa, a local hotspot of butterfly diversity (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". Ecologica Montenegrina. 71: 41–52. doi:10.37828/em.2024.71.6. ISSN 2336-9744.
6. Alfakih, Ateah; Faify, Eisa Ali Al (2023-12-23), The clouded mother-of-pearl Protogoniomorpha anacardii Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) – a new record of butterfly for Saudi Arabia, doi:10.1101/2023.12.22.572884, retrieved 2023-12-24