Diet

• Caterpillars feed on plants in the caper family (Capparaceae).

• Adults visit flowers for nectar and are attracted to sunny flowering vegetation.

Range

• Itaballia demophile has a broad Neotropical distribution extending from southern Texas and Mexico through Central America and into northern and central South America, reaching Paraguay.

• In Mexico it occurs principally in warm tropical regions, including the Pacific and Gulf lowlands.

• It occurs in Guerrero and the Zihua area, particularly in suitable tropical woodland and open areas.

Habitat

• The Cross-barred White favours open and semi-open tropical habitats, including forest clearings, riverbanks, roadsides, fields, pastures and disturbed vegetation.

• It can also occur along forest edges and in secondary growth where its Capparaceae food plants are present.

Description

• This is a medium-sized white butterfly with a wingspan of approximately 30–35 mm.

• The wings are predominantly white, with distinctive black or dark brown markings forming transverse bands across the forewings and hindwings.

• The forewings have a dark apical area, while the hindwings have a conspicuous dark transverse band and additional dark markings toward the outer margin.

• The underside is generally paler but retains the characteristic dark cross-bands, making the species relatively easy to recognize when settled.

• Females can be somewhat darker and more heavily marked than males, and the intensity of the dark pattern varies geographically.