58.008 : 1551 : 7000
Pieridae : Pierinae

Green-veined White

PIERIS napi (Linnaeus, 1767)

Subspecies
P.n.britannica Müller & Kautz, 1939-Ireland & parts Scotland
P.n.thomsoni Warren, 1968 - Scotland
Picture

Life Cycle Guide

Picture
Description
Alternative Names: Weined White : Mustard White (USA)
Wingspan: 36-50mm
Worldwide Distribution: N.W Africa : Europe : Middle East : Near East : Asia : N.America
UK Distribution: Widespread and common throughout Britain and Ireland.
UK Conservation Status -
  • Least Concern - Red List
European Conservation Status -
  • Least Concern
Original Genus/Species Name -
  • Papilio napi (Linnaeus, 1758)
Type Species - Pieris
  • Papilio brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758)
Type Locality -
  • Sweden
Altitude: Sea Level-2000m
Flight Period: N Europe : April-June : July-End August : During favourable seasonal weather it is possible for a third brood to appear towards the end of September : Bivoltine or Trivoltine.
S. Europe  : April-Beginning September : A possible fourth brood is possible at the end of September in Southern Europe if favourable conditions allow.
Habitat: Damp grassy places where flowers provide the necessary nectar source requirements for this butterfly like Dandelion,Lady's Smock in spring and Marjoram in the summer : Woodland rides close to ditches : Meadows & Downs : River Valleys.
Ovum: The ribbed skittle-shaped egg is deposited singly on a wide range of larval food plants in boggy ground or woodland.The ovum hatches between 1-2 weeks.
Larva: The larva feeds avidly on tender leaves of the larval food plant and pupate within four weeks.The caterpillar is green, but unlike the Small White the yellow line along the centre is replaced by a yellow circle around each of the spiracles,the small holes in the body that allows it to breath.
Pupa: The chrysalis comes in two colour forms like the Small White, namely green and brown making them hard to distinguish between the two. They are so well camouflaged that it is almost impossible to find them in the wild.
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: The upperside markings of the first brood butterflies are lighter than subsequent broods but the "green veins" and background colour on the undersides of the wings are more clearly marked.First brood individuals are also smaller than their offspring.

In flight the green-veined White can easily be confused with the Small White or female Orange-tip although they tend to be slow flyers as apposed to the direct flight of the Small White.

The Green-viened White, unlike its cousins, does not rely on the cultivated varieties of brassicas to breed,preferring wild crucifers,although the larval food plants recorded for this species is numerous. Preferring wild larval food plants the butterfly does not suffer from wild fluctuations in numbers due to predation like its cousins the Large and Small White.

In the far northern latitudes of its range, the Green-veined White outnumbers both the Large and the Small White especially at high altitudes.
Subspecies
P. n.sabellicae (Stephens, 1827) British Isles-Not Scotland & Ireland
Ovum
After a great deal of searching and plant testing the female deposits the ovum singularly on the underside of the larval
foodplant which was in the case below, Charlock, which is growing in my wild life garden
Larval Food Plants
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
  • Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.

Larval Food Plants
Taxonomy
Kingdom:
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Type Species - PIERIS:

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Subspecies:
Animalia
Eumetozoa
Arthropoda
Hexapoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Papilionoidea 
Pieridae
Pierinae
Pierini
PIERIS Schrank, 1801
Pieris napi (Linnaeus, 1758)
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Papilio brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758)
-
PAPILIO napi (Linnaeus, 1758)
= Papilio napaeae Esper, 1804
= Pieris meridionalis Heyne 1895
= Pieris flavescens Wagner 1903
= Pieris dubiosa Rober 1907
= Pieris adalwinda Fruhstorfer 1909
= Pieris canidiaformis Drenowsky 1910
= Pieris arctica Verity 1911
= Pieris napi neobryoniae Sheljuzhko, 1913
= Pieris napi sequoia Emmel, Emmel & Mattoon, 1998
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Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.468 n.60
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Sweden
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P.n. fumigata Gillmer, 1905
P.n. fumosa Thompson, 1947
P.n. grisea Sibille, 1927
P.n. impunctata Röber, 1907
P.n. pallidus Frohawk, 1938
P.n. subtalba Schima, 1910
P.n. subtimpunctata Müller, 1939
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P.n.sabellicae Stephens, 1827-Great Britain-not Scotland or Ireland
P.n.thomsoni Warren, 1968-Scotland
P.n.britannica Müller & Kautz, 1939-Ireland
P.n.napi Esper, 1804-Europe - Nominate subspecies
P.n.lusitanica de Sousa, 1929-Portugal
P.n.lappona Rangnow, 1935-N.Sweden : N Finland
P.n.adalwinda Fruhstorfer, 1909-Finland, Sweden
P.n.keskuelai Eitschberger, 2001-Polar Urals
p.n.meridionalis Heyne & Rühl, 1895-Spain, Italy
p.n.segonzaci le Cerf, 1923-High Atlas
P.n.maura Verity, 1911-Glacières de Blida, Algeria
P.n.atlantis Oberthür, 1923-Azrou, Middle Atlas, Morocco
P.n.flavescens Wagner, 1903-Mödling, Austria
P.n.muchei Eitschberger, 1984-Tian-Shan : Ghissar : S.Ghissar : Darvaz : Altai : Dzhungarsky Alatau
P.n.aponica Shirôzu, 1953-Japan
P.n.napoleon Eitschberger, 1990
P.n.montana Heyne, 1895-Sikkim - Burma
P.n.melaena Chumbi Valley