Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok XVIII. - Natura Somogyiensis 34. / Miscellanea 18. (Kaposvár, 2020)
Schmidt P. et al.: A faunistic contribution to the butterfly fauna of Oman (Lepidoptera: Diurna)
172 Natura Somogyiensis Remarks: It belongs to the scarcer Colotis species. In Oman, it is restricted to the Dhofar Region, but it also flies in certain parts of Yemen. The larval food plants are unknown in Dhofar, through they feed on various Capparidaceae in Africa (Larsen & Larsen 1980). Colotis Calais (Cramer, 1775) Material examined'. 3 exx. OMAN, Gov. Dhofar, Jabal al Qara, W of A1 Mughsayl, N16°51.243' E53°43.149' 496 m, grassy escarpment with many shrubs above the high road, 13.10.2009 leg. S. Ilniczky, S. J. Simonyi; 11 exx. / OMAN, Gov. Dhofar / 3 km W of Rakhyuth / N16°45.225' E53°23.905' / 36 m wadi /31.10.2018 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky; 9 exx. / OMAN, Gov. Dhofar, / 2 km E of Rakhyuth / N16°44.968' E53°26.256' / 22 m, seashore / 31.10.2018 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky; 9 exx. / OMAN, Gov. Dhofar / 20 km W of Al Mughsayl / N16°50.051' E53°42.552' / 34 m seashore, dry rocky vegetation with shrubs/ 01.11.2018 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky, S. J. Simonyi. Taxonomic note: C. Calais was treated for a long time as the Afrotropical subspecies of C. amata (Fabricius 1775), but according to Nazari et al. (2011), the two are not conspecific, C. amata being purely Asian, and the subspecies Calais became the valid specific name of the African taxon. Distribution: The Small Salmon Arab is distributed from South Africa through the eastern part of the continent along the northern Sahel zone to Mauritania and also the Arabian Peninsula. Remarks: It is a common butterfly in the Dhofar Region and occurs, but much scarcer in the northern areas of Oman. It inhabits open dry savannahs and arid shrubby areas. The larval food plant is Salvadora persica and Capparaceae species (Williams 2019). In suitable habitats, it can be found in vast numbers (Larsen & Larsen 1980). Colotis danae eupompe (Klug, 1829) Material examined: 6 exx. OMAN, Gov. Dhofar, Jabal al Qamar, below Mugurah, N16°45.950' Е53°30.81Г 42 m, seashore with spring and grove, 09.07.2010 leg. S. Ilniczky, S. J. Simonyi; 3 exx. / OMAN, Gov. Dhofar, / 2 km E of Rakhyuth / N16°44.968' E53°26.256' / 22 m, seashore /31.10.2018 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky; 1 ex. / OMAN, Gov. Dhofar / Wadi Shaboun / N17°32.83’ E54°38.78' / 386 m dry forest / 01.05.2019 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky, G. Körtési. Distribution: The nominate subspecies is Asian, while subspecies eupompe (Klug, 1829) ranges from Mauritania, through the sub-Saharan Sahel and Sudan savannah zone to the Horn of Africa and Arabia (Larsen 2005, Williams 2019). A few isolated populations occur also in Egypt and Jordan. It is widespread and rather common in Dhofar, but very local in Northern Oman. Remarks: Habitats of this species include sparse dry woodlands, forest edges, savannah, open grasslands and even semi-desert (Williams 1973). The main host plants are Cadaba and Capparis species (Tshikolovets 2011, Williams 1973) and also Boscia senegalensis (Larsen 2005). Colotis daira daira (Klug, [1829]) Material examined: 1 ex. OMAN, Dhofar, Jabal al Qamar, below Mugurah, N16°45.950' E 53°30.81Г 42 m, seashore with spring and grove, 09.07.2010 leg. S. J. Simonyi, S. Ilniczky. Distribution: The nominate subspecies is confined to the southern and western parts of the Arabian Peninsula while other subspecies are distributed in the northern dry zone of sub-Saharan Africa and in the Horn of Africa to Northern Kenya (Williams 2019).
