Vine Mathew photographed Desert White Pontia
glauconome in Dammam recently and has kindly allowed me ti use his photos on my website two of which are shown below. The range of this butterfly is quite extensive and goes from Somalia north to Libya, in
Africa and east to Arabia and Central Asia including Iran, Afghanistan and
Pakistan. In the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia this species is found almost
anywhere where rocky outcrops occur, particularly on rocky plains and hills
around Dhahran, Al Khobar and Al Hassa Oasis. It favours rocky wadis and areas
and surrounding gullies preferably with the perennial Cruciferae or Brassicale zilla
present. The Desert White is a very fast, zig-zagging low flying species often
settling on Cruciferae flowers or other vegetation.
