Notes by Peter Smetacek
In a recent paper, the White Arab was reduced to a subspecies of Colotis phisadia, an African species that extends through Arabia to Pakistan and perhaps the western border of India (vide Torben Larsen) who kindly sent the photo on the left (Colotis phisadia phisadia from Africa) to compare with the Indian subspecies Colotis phisadia vestalis on the right from Delhi). The Blue-spotted Arab, Colotis protractus is now a good species, although it was earlier considered a subspecies of phisadia. (The reference for these changes is :2011. Vazrick Nazari, Torben B. Larsen, David C. Lees, Oskar Brattstro¨m, Thierry Bouyer, Guy Van de Poel and Paul D. N. Hebert. Phylogenetic systematics of Colotis and associated genera (Lepidoptera: Pieridae): evolutionary and taxonomic implications. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 49(3): 204 – 215. I am indebted to Torben Larsen for kindly sending the paper and the photo below and to Chinmayi Sk for merging the two photographs.
Specimen photos by Torben Larsen ( Left ) and Peter Smetacek (Right)

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