website logo Lepidoptera Outer Hebrides

Family: Pieridae   Checklist Number: 58.007

Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1759)

Small White

Just a handful of records dating back to 1976. Close observation is required to separate it from the green-veined white, which is common. The larvae consume the same garden plants as the large white: brassicas and nasturtiums, but in the wild they eat herbaceous plants such as charlock (Sinapis arvensis) and mustard plants in the family Brassicaceae. The flight period is from April to September in two generations.

References: 
Kirkland, P. (2022). Discovering Scotland's Butterflies.
Newland, D.E. (2006). Discover Butterflies in Britain.

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