Pieridae : Pierinae
Bath White
PONTIA daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bath White
PONTIA daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758)
Life Cycle Guide-Adult Only
Description
Wingspan: 35-48mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - Including - (Iberian Peninsula,Balearic Islands,France,Corsica,Sardinia,Canaries,Italy,Sicily,Greece,Bulgaria,
migrant to Madeira and Cyprus) : North Africa : Turkey,Syria,Iran,east to Mongolia Note - sightings in Benelux countries almost certainly concern P.edusa (Needs veryfying in Great Britain)
European Conservation Status -
Flight Period: Polyvoltine - Canary Islands - every month of the year : up to four overlapping broods. Europe - March - October - more abundant in latter broods
Habitat: Uses diverse habitats including open,dry,hot,sometimes barren ground usually flat and stoney. Also common on disturbed ground including cultivated land,roadsides,disused quarries and similar areas where the larval food plant can be found.
Ovum: The ribbed skittle-shaped ovum is deposited on the underside of leaves.
Larva: The larvae usually feed on the flowers and developing seeds of the food plant.Like many of the "white" larva they are subject to high levels of predation from the parasitic Apanteles wasps, where under the worst conditions 99% of the larvae can be parasitised.
Pupa: From March onwards.Hibernates as a pupa
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: Externally inseparable from P.edusa (Eastern Bath White) but biochemically different,minimal genitalia difference in males.
Underside green markings variable between broods as clearly shown between gallery photos 1 & 5 with latter brood markings lighter and transitioned in colour towards yellow.
In Cyprus I noted considerable size difference between individuals with the larger butterflies feeding a.m. and the smaller P.daplidice feeding p.m.
Smaller individuals result from the extreme hot conditions and the lower quality of the larval food plant at certain times of the year.
I found small numbers on barren ground adjacent to the coastline where they displayed nomadic behaviour, barely settling on a plant for more than a couple of seconds before moving on to the next nectar plant.
This butterfly has been rarely recorded in Southern England and Southern Ireland
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - Including - (Iberian Peninsula,Balearic Islands,France,Corsica,Sardinia,Canaries,Italy,Sicily,Greece,Bulgaria,
migrant to Madeira and Cyprus) : North Africa : Turkey,Syria,Iran,east to Mongolia Note - sightings in Benelux countries almost certainly concern P.edusa (Needs veryfying in Great Britain)
European Conservation Status -
- Least Concern
- Papilio daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Papilio daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Southern Europe & Africa
Flight Period: Polyvoltine - Canary Islands - every month of the year : up to four overlapping broods. Europe - March - October - more abundant in latter broods
Habitat: Uses diverse habitats including open,dry,hot,sometimes barren ground usually flat and stoney. Also common on disturbed ground including cultivated land,roadsides,disused quarries and similar areas where the larval food plant can be found.
Ovum: The ribbed skittle-shaped ovum is deposited on the underside of leaves.
Larva: The larvae usually feed on the flowers and developing seeds of the food plant.Like many of the "white" larva they are subject to high levels of predation from the parasitic Apanteles wasps, where under the worst conditions 99% of the larvae can be parasitised.
Pupa: From March onwards.Hibernates as a pupa
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: Externally inseparable from P.edusa (Eastern Bath White) but biochemically different,minimal genitalia difference in males.
Underside green markings variable between broods as clearly shown between gallery photos 1 & 5 with latter brood markings lighter and transitioned in colour towards yellow.
In Cyprus I noted considerable size difference between individuals with the larger butterflies feeding a.m. and the smaller P.daplidice feeding p.m.
Smaller individuals result from the extreme hot conditions and the lower quality of the larval food plant at certain times of the year.
I found small numbers on barren ground adjacent to the coastline where they displayed nomadic behaviour, barely settling on a plant for more than a couple of seconds before moving on to the next nectar plant.
This butterfly has been rarely recorded in Southern England and Southern Ireland
Subspecies
P. d.daplidice Linnaeus, 1758 - Mauritania, northern Niger, northern Chad, France, south-western Europe,
North Africa, Near East, Afghanistan,Cyprus
P. d.daplidice Linnaeus, 1758 - Mauritania, northern Niger, northern Chad, France, south-western Europe,
North Africa, Near East, Afghanistan,Cyprus
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Ovum usually deposited on underside of leaves.
Larva usual feed on the flowers and developing seeds of members of the Resedaceae & Brassicaceae family.
Ovum usually deposited on underside of leaves.
Larva usual feed on the flowers and developing seeds of members of the Resedaceae & Brassicaceae family.
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.
- Brassicaceae - Mustards - Mustard Flowers - Cabbage Family
- Alyssum spinosum - Spiny Madwort
- Arabis Turritis glabra - Tower Mustard - Tower Cress
- Brassica oleraceae - Wild Cabbage
- Cakile maritima - European Sea Rocket
- Moricandia arvensis - Violet Cabbage
- Raphanus raphanistrum - Wild Radish ssp maritumus - Sea Radish
- Sinapis arvensis - Charlock
- Sisymbrium officinale - Hedge Mustard
- Cleomaceae - Spider Flower Family
- Cleome iberica - Iberian Spiderflower
- Cleome ornithopodioides - Bird Spider flower
- Resedaceae - Mainly Mediterranean herbs, including the Mignonette
- Reseda alba - White Mignonette
- Reseda lutea - Wild Mignonette
- Reseda luteola - Dyers Rocket - Dyers Weed
- Reseda villosa - No Common Name
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Brassicaceae - Arabis - Mustards/ Thlaspi - pennycress / Farsetia/ Erysimum - Wallflowers
- Resedaceae - Caylusea
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - PONTIA: Original Species Name: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Aberrations: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Pieridae Pierinae Pierini PONTIA Fabricius, 1807 Pontia daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758) - Papilio daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758) - PAPILIO daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758) = Pieris daplidice Linnaeus, 1758 = Papilio bellidice Brahm, 1804 = Papilio belemida Hübner, [1836] - Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title Page : p.468 n.62 - North Africa - P.d.ab.conjugata Mezger, 1930 - P.d.daplidice Linnaeus, 1758 - Nominate subspecies P.d.moorei Röbur, 1907 - India : Yunnan P.d.avidia Fruhstorfer, 1908 P.d.amphimara Fruhstorfer, 1908 - Szetchuan P.d.nubicola Frustorfer, 1908 P.d.laenus Frustorfer, 1908 - Palestine P.d.praeclara Frustorfer, 1908 P.d.aethiops de Joannis & Verity, 1913 - Ethiopia highlands |