Archonias is a
monotypic genus of butterflies in the family
Pieridae. Archonias brassolis, the cattleheart white, is its sole species. It is found from
Central America, south through most of
South America.
The
wingspan is 56–65 mm for A. b. rubrosparsa and 31–34 mm for A. b. approximata. Adults of A. b. approximata have been recorded feeding on the nectar of Eupatorium species.
Subspecies
A. b. approximata (Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama)
A. b. brassolis (Surinam, Guianas)
A. b. critias (Venezuela, Colombia)
A. b. cutila (Ecuador)
A. b. marcias (Brazil)
A. b. negrina (Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Peru)
A. b. nigripennis (Colombia)
A. b. rosacea (Ecuador, Venezuela)
A. b. rubrosparsa (Ecuador)
A. b. tereas (Brazil)
There is also one undescribed subspecies from Colombia.