Belenois aurota

Pioneer white
Male B. a. aurota
Kruger National Park, South Africa
Female B. a. aurota
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Belenois
Species:
B. aurota
Binomial name
Belenois aurota
(Fabricius, 1793)
Distribution range
Synonyms
  • Papilio aurota Fabricius, 1793
  • Anaphaeis aurota
  • Papilio mesentina Cramer, 1780
  • Papilio augusta Olivier, 1807
  • Pinacopteryx syrinx Wallengren, 1860
  • Pieris lordaca Walker, 1870
  • Belenois auriginea Butler, 1886
  • Pieris mesentina ab. iris Gauckler, 1912
  • Pieris mesentina ab. sulphurea Gauckler, 1912
  • Pieris mesentina f. pusillima Strand, 1915
  • Pieris mesentina ab. punctifera Hulstaert, 1924

Belenois aurota, the pioneer or pioneer white or caper white, is a small to medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in South Asia and Africa. In Africa, it is also known as the brown-veined white, and is well known during summer and autumn when large numbers migrate north-east over the interior.