A White Butterfly in the Garden

The Small White (Pieris rapae) is one of the most common daytime butterflies, though it’s not particularly showy. It belongs to the Pieridae family, which includes many butterflies that are white or yellow. You can find it in uncultivated fields, gardens, and flower-rich areas, even at altitudes above 2000 meters. Its wings are a pure white with black markings, resembling the Large White (Pieris brassicae), but it’s smaller and has more subtle patterns.

It has a swift flight and often rests on flowers . The caterpillars, which are a yellowish-green, are well-known to gardeners as they ravenously feed on cabbage — both wild and cultivated — and similar plants.

Did you know?

People have managed to trick the Small White butterflies into laying their eggs on other plants, which aren’t suitable for feeding the caterpillars. How? By spreading traces of cabbage extracts on them. Like other butterfly species, the Small Whites can detect the chemical compounds of the plants they feed on.

Photo Pixabay