Whilst birdwatching the bottom valley of
the Raydah Escarpment in the Asir Mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia, I came
across and photographed an Arabian Mistletoe White Mylothris arabicus.
It is a butterfly in the Pieridae family and belongs to an African genus
which is more or less specialised for life in the rain forests where there are
many species. One African Mistletoe White Mylotheris chloris is adapted
to savanna conditions and the Arabian species evolved from this African
relative. They are found in the southern Asir Mountains of Saudi Arabia and in
Yemen making them endemic to Arabia. Larsen says the Mistletoe White is one of
the most unexpected African species found in Arabia. Some people class the
Arabian Mistletoe White as a subspecies of African Mistletoe White.
