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Belenois gidica

species of insect

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionDec 9, 2025
Entity authorityQ1876958 ↗
Source-derived summary

Belenois gidica, the African veined white or pointed caper, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the Afrotropical realm.

The wingspan is 40–55 millimetres (1.6–2.2 in) in males and 40–53 mm (1.6–2.1 in) in females. Its flight period is year-round.

The larvae feed on Boscia, Capparis, and Maerua species.

Subspecies

The following subspecies are recognised:

B. g. gidica (Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, northern Nigeria, Niger)

B. g. hypoxantha (Ungemach, 1932) (Ethiopia)

B. g. abyssinica (Lucas, 1852) (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, northern Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini)

References

External links

Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 13

Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Belenois gidica” as species of insect. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1932, 1852—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Belenois, gidica and species can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of insect. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 9, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1876958. The first chronological checks are 1932 and 1852.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Belenois gidica”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Belenois gidica primary sources, Belenois gidica archive and Belenois research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Belenois gidica”?
  2. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
  3. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Belenois gidica” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.