Small White
Pieris rapae
Females have two distinct black spots on each of their forewings, while males typically have only one.
- Scientific name
- Pieris rapae
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Pieridae › Pieris
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Gardens, agricultural fields, meadows, roadsides, and open disturbed areas.
- Diet
- Adults drink nectar from a wide variety of flowers (such as dandelions, clover, and lavender); caterpillars feed on cruciferous plants (cabbage, broccoli, wild mustard).
- Range
- Europe, Asia, North Africa, North America, Australia, New Zealand
- Size
- Wingspan of 32 to 47 mm (1.2 to 1.8 inches).
- Lifespan
- 3 to 4 weeks as an adult; approximately 1 to 2 months for the total life cycle.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Widespread pesticide use in agriculture, though the species remains highly abundant and adaptable.
- Safe to approach?
- Completely harmless to humans. You can safely observe them from any distance. Avoid handling them directly, as the delicate scales on their wings can rub off easily, which impairs their ability to fly. If you find their caterpillars on your garden vegetables, you can gently relocate them to wild mustard or other non-crop brassicas.
Pieris rapae , the small white , is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is also known as the small cabbage white and in New Zealand, simply as white butterfly . The names "cabbage butterfly" and "cabbage white" can also refer to the large white. The butterfly can be distinguished by the white color with small black dots on its wings. They are further distinguished by the smaller size and lack of the...
Photo: Jon Sullivan, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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