Bug FAQPsyche
Leptosia nina · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Pieridae
Also called: Black-spotted White
The Psyche butterfly has a wingspan of about 25 to 53 mm and is mostly white with distinct black markings on the forewing and a thin black line on the hindwing. It lives from the lower Himalayas across much of India, Sri Lanka, Burma, China and the Malay region, preferring non-desert habitats.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Upper side of the wings is white; the forewing has a speckled black costa, a black apex with an inward-angled inner margin, and a large pear-shaped black spot beyond the discal area; the hindwing is uniformly white with a very thin terminal black line in many specimens.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan ranges from 25 mm to 53 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found in the lower Himalayas from Mussoorie to Sikkim, throughout central, western and southern India (excluding deserts), Sri Lanka, Assam, Burma, Tenasserim, extending to China and the Malay region.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars are green with a pale glaucous tinge near the legs, slightly hairy, and feed on caper plants such as Capparis zeylanica, as well as on leaves of Cardamine and Cleome species.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The larva and pupa resemble those of Terias hecabe but are more delicate; the pupa may be green or a delicate pink.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its flight is weak and erratic, with the body bobbing up and down as the wings beat.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Both the larva and pupa look similar to those of Terias hecabe, though they are more delicately formed.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What do Psyche caterpillars eat?
They feed on caper plants like Capparis zeylanica and on leaves of Cardamine and Cleome species.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell a Psyche butterfly apart from similar species?
Look for the large pear-shaped black spot on the forewing and the thin terminal black line on the hindwing, which are distinctive for Psyche.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Pieridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptosia_nina
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.