''Pieris'', the whites or garden whites, is a widespread now almost

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia.DeVries P. J. in Levi ...

. The highest species diversity is in the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

, with a higher diversity in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

than the similar and closely related ''

Pontia ''Pontia'' is a genus of pierid butterflies. They are found in the Holarctic, but are rare in Europe and central to eastern North America, and a few species range into the Afrotropics. Several East Asian species once placed here are now more o ...

''. The females of many ''Pieris'' butterflies are UV reflecting, while the male wings are strongly UV absorbing due to pigments in the scales.

Ecology

Many species of this genus have

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s which feed on

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

and other members of the Brassicaceae. The chemical basis of this association with a certain plant group has been studied for over 100 years, and is now known to occur via a number of biochemical adaptations to chemicals called glucosinolates in these plants. In contrast to most other insects, ''Pieris'' caterpillars are able to detoxify these chemicals, and have become so specialised that they will not eat any food without glucosinolates. The ''Pieris'' females, in turn, check for the presence of glucosinolates before laying eggs on a plant. The crop-damaging species have spread from Eurasia to most of the rest of the world (most recently to South America and Africa) and are considered

pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

insects almost everywhere. There are species of ''Pieris'' that are not pests, such as the North American species ''

Pieris oleracea ''Pieris oleracea'', or more commonly known as the mustard white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae native to a large part of Canada and the northeastern United States. The nearly all-white butterfly is often found in wooded areas or open pla ...

'' (mustard white) and ''

Pieris virginiensis ''Pieris virginiensis'', the West Virginia white, is a butterfly found in North America in the Great Lakes states, along the Appalachians from New England to Alabama, and in southern Ontario. They are typically found in moist deciduous forests. F ...

'' (Virginia white). These butterflies feed successfully only on specific native vegetation.Davis, S., 2015. Evaluating threats to the rare butterfly, Pieris virginiensis. Wright State University. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=wright1431882480&disposition=inline Some members of ''Pieris'' are threatened by the rapid spread of some plants in the Brassicaceae, such as the way the highly invasive

garlic mustard ''Alliaria petiolata'', or garlic mustard, is a biennial flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is native to Europe, western and central Asia, north-western Africa, Morocco, Iberia and the British Isles, north to northern Sc ...

(''Alliaria petiolata'') kills the larvae of ''Pieris oleracea'' and ''Pieris virginiensis'' in North America. Given the large differences between the chemicals that garlic mustard creates versus those of mustards native to North America, it is likely that it is also lethal to other members of ''Pieris'' that are native to North America. It is listed as a suitable food plant for the Eurasian Veined white (''

Pieris napi The green-veined white (''Pieris napi'') is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. Appearance and distribution A circumboreal species widespread across Europe and Asia, including the Indian subcontinent, Japan, the Maghreb and North America. It is ...

''). Having not evolved with garlic mustard, the aforementioned American butterflies lay eggs on it, confusing it with their host plants due to a similar odor. Just because butterflies are members of ''Pieris'' does not mean they are all capable of feeding on the same members of Brassicaceae that other members of ''Pieris'' can feed on.

Species and notable subspecies

Arranged alphabetically:''Pieris''
BioLib.cz Pieris tadjika

* '' Pieris ajaka'' Moore, 1865 (Kashmir) * '' Pieris angelika'' Eitschberger, 1983 – Arctic white * '' Pieris balcana'' Lorkovic, 1970 – Balkan green-veined white (southeast Europe) * '' Pieris bowdeni'' Eitschberger, 1984 (Iran, Turkey, Transcaucasia, Kopet-Dagh) * ''

Pieris brassicae ''Pieris brassicae'', the large white, also called cabbage butterfly, cabbage white, cabbage moth (erroneously), or in India the large cabbage white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is a close relative of the small white, ''Pieris ra ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – large white or large cabbage white * '' Pieris brassicoides'' Guérin-Méneville, 1849 * ''

Pieris bryoniae ''Pieris bryoniae'', the dark-veined white or mountain green-veined white, is a Palearctic butterfly of the family Pieridae. It has variously been considered to be a full species, a subspecies of ''Pieris napi'' or a superspecies complex. ...

'' (Hübner, 790-1793 – dark-veined white or mountain green-veined white * '' Pieris canidia'' ( Sparrman, 1768) – Indian cabbage white * '' Pieris cheiranthi'' (Hübner, 1808) – Canary Islands' large white * ''

Pieris chumbiensis ''Pieris chumbiensis'', the Chumbi white, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, the yellows and whites. It is found in the Chumbi Valley of Sikkim in India, and was once considered a race of '' P. dubernardi''. Description Male upperside ...

'' (de Nicéville, 1884) – Chumbi white * '' Pieris davidis'' Oberthür, 1876 (western and central China) * ''

Pieris deota ''Pieris deota'', the Kashmir white, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in India, Pakistan, Tibet, and central Asia. It is found in the north-western Himalayas in Ladakh at and in Tibet a ...

'' (de Nicéville, 1884) – Kashmir white * '' Pieris dubernardi'' Oberthür, 1884 (western China) * ''

Pieris dulcinea Pieris may refer to: Organisms * ''Pieris'' (plant), the andromeda or fetterbush, a plant genus in the family Ericaceae * ''Pieris'' (butterfly), the garden whites, a butterfly genus in the family Pieridae * ''Pieris'', a synonym of the genus ...

'' (Butler, 1882) (northeastern Korea) * '' Pieris eitschbergeri'' Lukhtanov, 1996 (Kirgisien, Inner Tienshan) – may be synonym of ''Pieris deota'' * ''

Pieris ergane ''Pieris ergane'', the mountain small white, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in Southern Europe, Asia Minor, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, ...

'' (Geyer,

828 __NOTOC__ Year 828 ( DCCCXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Siege of Syracuse: The Muslims under Asad ibn al-Furat defeat a ...

– mountain small white * '' Pieris erutae'' Poujade, 1888 (eastern Tibet, Yunnan (China)) * ''

Pieris euorientis Pieris may refer to: Organisms * ''Pieris'' (plant), the andromeda or fetterbush, a plant genus in the family Ericaceae * ''Pieris'' (butterfly), the garden whites, a butterfly genus in the family Pieridae * ''Pieris'', a synonym of the genus ...

'' (Verity, 1908) (Altai Mountains to central Yakutia) * '' Pieris extensa'' Poujade, 1888 (western China, Fukien, India) – sometimes in ''

'' * '' Pieris krueperi'' Staudinger, 1860 – Krueper's small white ** ''

Pieris krueperi devta ''Pieris krueperi devta'', the green-banded white, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites. It is found in India and Pakistan. It is a subspecies of Krueper's small white (''Pieris krueperi''). Description ...

'' (de Nicéville, 1884) – green-banded white * '' Pieris lama'' Sugiyama, 1996 (western China) * '' Pieris mahometana'' (Grum-Grshimailo, 1888) (northeastern Afghanistan and Pamirs) * '' Pieris mannii'' (Mayer, 1851) – southern small white * ''

Pieris marginalis ''Pieris marginalis'' (margined white) is a butterfly species seen across the coast of Western North America as indicated by data collected by eButterfly. Life History Traits ''Pieris marginalis'' (margined white) is a canopy generalist who f ...

'' Scudder, 1861 – margined white ** '' Pieris marginalis reicheli'' Eitschberger, 1983 – Reichel's margined white * '' Pieris meckyae'' Eitschberger, 1983 – Mecky's white (Alaska) may be subspecies of ''Pieris marginalis'' * ''

Pieris melete Pieris may refer to: Organisms * ''Pieris'' (plant), the andromeda or fetterbush, a plant genus in the family Ericaceae * ''Pieris'' (butterfly), the garden whites, a butterfly genus in the family Pieridae * ''Pieris'', a synonym of the genus ...

'' Ménétriés, 1857 – grey-veined white (northern India, and separately in China, Korea and Japan) * ''

Pieris naganum ''Pieris naganum'', the Naga white, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in Assam and the Naga Hills in India and in Upper Myanmar. Description The upperside of the male is white with the ...

'' Moore, 1884 – Naga white * ''

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – green-veined white or veined white * '' Pieris narina'' (Verity, 1908) (Tian-Shan) * '' Pieris nesis'' Fruhstorfer, 1909 (Japan) * '' Pieris ochsenheimeri'' (Staudinger, 1886) (mountains of central Asia) * ''

'' Harris, 1829 – mustard white ** '' Pieris oleracea frigida'' Scudder, 1861 – Newfoundland white * '' Pieris persis'' (Verity, 1922) (Iran) * '' Pieris pseudorapae'' (Verity,

908 __NOTOC__ Year 908 ( CMVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * May 15 – The three-year-old Constantine VII, the son of Emperor L ...

(southern Europe, Turkey and Iran) * ''

Pieris rapae ''Pieris rapae'' is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is known in Europe as the small white, in North America as the cabbage white or cabbage butterfly, on several continents as the small ca ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – small white or (small) cabbage white * '' Pieris shangrilla'' Tadokoro, Shinkawa & Wang, 2013 * '' Pieris steinigeri'' Eitschberger, 1984 (Weihsi (China)) * '' Pieris tadjika'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1888 (Iraq) * ''

'' (W.H. Edwards, 1870) – West Virginia white

References

External links

Butterflies and Moths of North America

Butterflies of America

images representing ''Pieris''
at Consortium for the Barcode of Life {{Taxonbar, from=Q997547 Pieridae genera Taxa named by Franz von Paula Schrank Pierini

Ecology

Species and notable subspecies

References

Further reading

External links