Desert White – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birding Dhahran recently I came across a couple of Desert White Butterfly Pontia glauconome. I have been seeing this butterfly for the last three months in the same area around the Waste Water Lake. It is relatively common in a multitude of overlapping broods that differ from area to area depending on the rains. The Desert White is variable especially with regard to the amount of ‘green’ pigmentation on the underside that can be very heavy to almost absent. This variability can be large and can even occur between generations. It has been a good year for butterflies around the lake with many different spcies seen in good numbers

Desert White – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birding Dhahran in December I came across a couple of Desert White Butterfly Pontia glauconome. I have been seeing this butterfly for the last couple of months in the same area around the Waste Water Lake. This is a striking white butterfly of arid regions occurring in deserts and on mountain slopes and foothills with sparse vegetation, up to around 2000 metres above sea level. The Desert White is a widespread species, ranging from North Africa through Arabia and the Middle East to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a small white butterfly (10-15mm) whose antennae are clubbed, ending in a white tip. The inside of the forewings are black tip with white dots. Underside of both wings has characteristic yellow veins, with light brown colour pattern and they have large round compound eyes with black dots. It is relatively common from early March to early December in a multitude of overlapping broods that differ from area to area depending on the rains. The Desert White is variable especially with regard to the amount of ‘green’ pigmentation on the underside that can be very heavy to almost absent. This variability can be large and can even occur between generations.

Desert White – Dhahran

Whilst birding Dhahran in mid-November I came across a couple of Desert White Butterfly Pontia glauconome, which is a striking white butterfly of arid regions occurring in deserts and on mountain slopes and foothills with sparse vegetation, up to around 2000 metres above sea level. The Desert White is a widespread species, ranging from North Africa through Arabia and the Middle East to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a small white butterfly (10-15mm) whose antennae are clubbed, ending in a white tip. The inside of the forewings are black tip with white dots. Underside of both wings has characteristic yellow veins, with light brown colour pattern and they have large round compound eyes with black dots. It is relatively common from early March to early December in a multitude of overlapping broods that differ from area to area depending on the rains. The Desert White is variable especially with regard to the amount of ‘green’ pigmentation on the underside that can be very heavy to almost absent. This variability can be large and can even occur between generations.

Desert White – Dhahran

Whilst birding Dhahran in late December I came across a Desert White Butterfly Pontia glauconome, which is a striking white butterfly of arid regions occurring in deserts and on mountain slopes and foothills with sparse vegetation, up to around 2000 metres above sea level. The Desert White is a widespread species, ranging from North Africa through Arabia and the Middle East to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a small white butterfly (10-15mm) whose antennae are clubbed, ending in a white tip. The inside of the forewings are black tip with white dots. Underside of both wings has characteristic yellow veins, with light brown colour pattern and they have large round compound eyes with black dots. It is relatively common from early March to early December in a multitude of overlapping broods that differ from area to area depending on the rains. The Desert White is variable especially with regard to the amount of ‘green’ pigmentation on the underside that can be very heavy to almost absent. This variability can be large and can even occur between generations. 

Desert White – Wadi Wadj

Whilst birding Wadi Wadj in Taif I came across a Desert White Butterfly Pontia glauconome.This is a striking white butterfly of arid regions occurring in deserts and on mountain slopes and foothills with sparse vegetation, up to around 2000 metres above sea level. The Desert White is a widespread species, ranging from North Africa through Arabia and the Middle East to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a small white butterfly (10-15mm) whose antennae are clubbed, ending in a white tip. The inside of the forewings are black tip with white dots. Underside of both wings has characteristic yellow veins, with light brown colour pattern. Large round compound eyes with black dots. These butterflies are seen regularly in the mountains in the Taif area but are less common in the Eastern Province where I live.

Desert White in Wadi Thee Gazelle – Taif

Whilst birding the Wadi Thee Gazelle area I came across a good number of Desert White Butterflies Pontia glauconome. This is a striking white butterfly of arid regions occurring in deserts and on mountain slopes and foothills with sparse vegetation, up to around 2000 metres above sea level. The Desert White is a widespread species, ranging from North Africa through Arabia and the Middle East to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a small white butterfly (10-15mm) whose antennae are clubbed, ending in a white tip. The inside of the forewings are black tip with white dots. Underside of both wings has characteristic yellow veins, with light brown colour pattern. Large round compound eyes with black dots.

Desert White near Riyadh – Record by Mansur Al Fahad

Mansur Al Fahad took a photograph of a Desert White Butterfly at Heet village south of Riyadh in early May. The area has some farms and semi-desert land and these butterflies are plentiful this year, as the good rains have helped the emergence of good vegetarian cover for them to feed on. It is relatively common from early March to early December in a multitude of overlapping broods that differ from area to area depending on the rains. The Desert White is variable especially with regard to the amount of ‘green’ pigmentation on the underside that can be very heavy to almost absent. This variability can be large and can even occur between generations. I thank Mansur for sending me the details, identification and permission to use them on my website.

Desert White in Dammam – Record by Vinu Mathew

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.

Desert White (Pontia glauconome) - Dhahran Hills

The range of the Desert White (Pontia glauconome) 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. It is relatively common from early March to early December in a multitude of overlapping broods which differ from area to area depending on the rains. This year the poor rains have limited the early broods and only now are they being seen with some regularity. The Desert White is variable especially with regard to the amount of ‘green’ pigmentation on the underside which can be very heavy to almost absent. This variability can be large and can even occur between generations.