Animal field guide
Striped Albatross
Appias libythea
A white butterfly of the family Pieridae found across the plains and dry country of South and Southeast Asia. Numbers rise and fall sharply with the seasons, and large seasonal movements of this and other whites have been recorded in parts of India.
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Get AnimalDexStriped Albatross at a glance
Bird · South Asia · Open lowland country · Relatively common
Known for: Medium-sized white butterfly with a fast, Forewing narrow and pointed at the tip, Settles with wings closed, Hindwing underside pale
Animal field guide
Striped Albatross
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A white butterfly of the family Pieridae found across the plains and dry country of South and Southeast Asia. Numbers rise and fall sharply with the seasons, and large seasonal movements of this and other whites have been recorded in parts of India.
Native range
Natural range, not this capture location
Open lowland country: dry scrub, thorn forest, grassy plains, field margins, village gardens and dry riverbeds, mostly at low elevations where its caper-family food plants grow.
Search near meAnimalDex stats
Dominance
4
Speed
34
Size
4
Intelligence
12
Rarity
24%
Total
78
Size scale
STEP 2 · PROVE IT
STEP 3 · BATTLE & FUSE
Understand the animal
Understand the Striped Albatross
Factual biology first: what this animal is like, where it lives, how it survives, and why those traits exist.
01
Introduction to Striped Albatross
A white butterfly of the family Pieridae found across the plains and dry country of South and Southeast Asia. Numbers rise and fall sharply with the seasons, and large seasonal movements of this and other whites have been recorded in parts of India.
How to identify a Striped Albatross
- Medium-sized white butterfly with a fast, darting flight
- Forewing narrow and pointed at the tip
- Settles with wings closed, showing the pale underside
- Hindwing underside pale, often tinged yellowish in females
Why Striped Albatross are interesting
- Wet-season and dry-season forms have been described, differing in how much dark marking they carry.
- It is one of the commoner whites of lowland India, often seen in town gardens as well as open country.
- In warm regions it is thought to breed through much of the year, with several overlapping generations.
- Its chrysalis is fixed upright by the tail and held by a silk girdle round the middle, as in other whites.
02
Adaptations and biological abilities
03
Why does Striped Albatross behave this way?
- Medium-sized white butterfly with a fast, darting flight
- Forewing narrow and pointed at the tip
- Settles with wings closed, showing the pale underside
- Hindwing underside pale, often tinged yellowish in females
Flies only by day, most actively in sunshine. At night and in dull weather it rests with wings closed on the underside of leaves in shrubs.
04
Why Open lowland country?
Habitat: Open lowland country: dry scrub, thorn forest, grassy plains, field margins, village gardens and dry riverbeds, mostly at low elevations where its caper-family food plants grow.
Native range: South Asia, Southeast Asia
Native range
Natural range, not this specific capture location.
Open lowland country: dry scrub, thorn forest, grassy plains, field margins, village gardens and dry riverbeds, mostly at low elevations where its caper-family food plants grow.
05
Why this diet?
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of caper-family plants, mainly Capparis species. Adults drink nectar from many kinds of flowers.
06
Activity, rest, and lifespan
Flies only by day, most actively in sunshine. At night and in dull weather it rests with wings closed on the underside of leaves in shrubs.
Adult Appias libythea lifespan has not been timed in the field; this pierid butterfly visits flowers from the Indian Subcontinent through the Malay Archipelago.
07
Striped Albatross reproduction
Females lay eggs singly on the young shoots and leaves of caper-family plants, mainly Capparis. The caterpillars feed on the foliage and pupate on the plant; several generations follow each other through the year, with no parental care.
Males are white above with narrow black borders and tips to the forewings. Females are much darker, with the forewing veins broadly edged in black, giving the striped look behind the common name.
08
Predators, threats, and defense
09
Conservation and rarity
Rarity: Relatively common · 24/100. AnimalDex canonical rarity score: 24/100, maintained by the live indexed species profile.
- Observe from a respectful distance and avoid changing the animal's behavior.
- Do not block feeding, shelter, nesting, or travel routes.
- Use a live camera capture without handling or staging wildlife.
Speak to the animal
Speak to the Striped Albatross
It answers as itself: ask about how it lives, or bring it something of yours and hear what it would do, from its own Power.
Anonymous: 3/day. Signed-in: 10/day. Pro: 100/day.
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Compare the Striped Albatross
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Where to find them
Where to find Striped Albatross
To find Striped Albatross in the wild, focus on the exact habitat patches that match its body design and daily behavior, not just the broad country where it exists. You usually do better by working one good piece of habitat inside south Asia, Southeast Asia than by covering too much ground.
- Quiet marsh edges, reedbeds, river bends, or shallow wetland margins
- Forest edge, canopy gaps, fruiting trees, or shaded trails where cover and food meet
- Open grassland edges, lightly wooded plains, or raised ground where you can scan long distances
Scientific name
Appias libythea
Category
Bird
Habitat
Open lowland country: dry scrub, thorn forest, grassy plains, field margins, village gardens and dry riverbeds, mostly at low elevations where its caper-family food plants grow.
Rarity
Relatively common · 24/100
Native range
South Asia, Southeast Asia
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