''Ascia'' is a genus of butterflies in the family

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 Le ...

. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

, being represented by the single species ''Ascia monuste'', commonly known as the great southern white, In this species the sexes may differ with the female being either light or dark colored. It is found from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, and south to Argentina. It is migratory along the south-eastern coast of the United States, with strays to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e have distinct body segments within which there appears to be four to six subsegments. They are purplish-green with two longitudinal, greenish-yellow stripes on each side and the dorsal side. When full-grown, they are approximately one and a quarter inches long. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

in adults is 63–86 mm. Adults are on wing all year round in southern Texas, peninsular Florida and along the Gulf Coast. ''A. monuste'' is a migrating species that moves in one direction within its life span and does not return. It breeds in Florida but sometimes migrates along the coast up to 160 km to breed in more suitable areas.

Life history

This species seeks out appropriate plant hosts for oviposition by detection of compounds called glycosinolates present in the family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...

. Adults appear to prefer to lay their eggs on certain areas of the plant. On kale leaves, for example, the preferred regions are the apical, medium and basal parts of the leaves. The average number of eggs laid is about 43 with as many as 245, being laid singly or in clusters.Liu, T.-X. 2005. Biology and life history of ''Ascia monuste monuste'' (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), a potential pest of cruciferous vegetables. Entomological Society of America 98: 726-731. ''A. m. monuste'' has been observed feeding on the chorion soon after hatching as their first food, as well as hatchlings feeding on eggs. It has been suggested that this behaviour provides them with extra protein. If a female oviposits on a plant already supporting

conspecifics Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...

, cannibalism is more likely. Since they have a high growth rate and a non-regulated body temperature, herbivorous insects require a higher quantity of protein. It is questionable that ''A. monuste'' is strictly

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...

as they often consume conspecific eggs. Larvae have been seen consuming whole eggs from the same clutch or others nearby on the same leaf. This behaviour appears to be advantageous from an evolutionary stand point as this is an opportunistic behaviour and can increase fitness. In general, the development time for eggs ranges from 4–5 days in field conditions and 3.4 days in laboratory conditions. The developmental time for the larvae and

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

e ranges between subspecies from 11.0– 17.4 days for the first five

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ...

s for ''A. m. orseis'', and 6.1– 9.56 days for ''A. m. monuste''. Pupation can be from 5.9 to 10 days long, and adults can live from 4.3 – 5 days for males and 8–10 days for females. The larvae, known in Brazil as cabbage caterpillars Barros-Bellanda, H.C.H. & F.S. Zucoloto. 2002. Effects of intraspecific competition and food deprivation on the immature phase of ''Ascia monuste orseis'' (Lepidoptera, Pieridae). Iheringia, Série Zoologia 92: 93-98. or kale caterpillars,Barros-Bellanda, H.C.H. & F.S. Zucoloto. 2003. Importance of larval migration (dispersal) for the survival of ''Ascia monuste'' (Godart) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Neotropical Entomology 32: 011-017. feed on

(including '' Cakile maritima'', cultivated cabbage and radish and ''

Lepidium ''Lepidium'' is a genus of plants in the mustard/cabbage family, Brassicaceae. The genus is widely distributed in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia.Capparidaceae The Capparaceae (or Capparidaceae), commonly known as the caper family, are a family of plants in the order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, the family contains 33 genera and about 700 species. The largest genera are '' Capparis'' (about ...

, including nasturtium. Chemical characteristics of the plant that affect the development of the larvae include the: nitrogen content, carbohydrates and water content, as well as physical characteristics such as: hardness, size, form, texture, temporal and spatial distribution and abundance. Nitrogen is required for the production of protein during the early

s. Newly hatched larvae will remain on a single plant, as they are not very mobile. After the 5th instar, they are more mobile and can move to another plant. Larvae dispersion appears to occur in a random fashion, so in order for the larvae to be successful, the plants need to be close together for them to find another plant.

Intraspecific competition Intraspecific competition is an interaction in population ecology, whereby members of the same species compete for limited resources. This leads to a reduction in fitness for both individuals, but the more fit individual survives and is able to r ...

between larvae generally doesn't occur between the 1st and 2nd instars because they do not consume a lot. Competition may become a problem once they hatch into the final three instars. Adults feed on nectar from various flowers including

saltwort Saltwort is a common name for various genera of flowering plants that thrive in salty environments, typically in coastal salt marshes and seashores, including: :*''Salsola'' and related genera within subfamily ''Salsoloideae'' :*''Salicornia'' :*'' ...

lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...

, and

verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas a ...

. It is a sporadic pest of crucifer vegetables in southern Texas.

Pest species of Brassicaceae

Damage to the plant is caused by the larvae that, upon hatching, feed on the leaves for almost the entirety of their developmental cycle.Baldin, E.L.L., E.C. Schlick-Souza, A.L. Lourenção & R.S. Camargo. 2014. Resistance of collard greens to ''Ascia monuste orseis'' (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Arthropod-Plant Interactions 9: 67-74. This can be so damaging, that up to 100% of the entire crop can be lost. One method of decreasing this damage is by the use of pesticides. These, however can be detrimental to human health as well as the environment. Another method that is being explored is the use of host plant resistance, which is safer and more sustainable. Resistant crops are becoming increasingly popular as pesticides have quite a few drawbacks. Resistance can be seen as antixenosis, tolerance and antibiosis.Schlick-Souza, E.C. & A.L. Lourenção, A.L. 2011. Variation in the host preferences and responses of ''Ascia monuste orseis'' Godart (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) to cultivars of collard greens ''Brassica oleracea'' (L.) var. acephala. Journal of Pest Science 84: 429-436.

Subspecies

*''Ascia monuste monuste'' (southern United States to Surinam) *''Ascia monuste phileta'' *''Ascia monuste virginia'' (West Indies, St. Vincent) *''Ascia monuste eubotea'' (Cuba) *''Ascia monuste orseis'' (Brazil, Argentina) *''Ascia monuste suasa'' (Peru) *''Ascia monuste automate'' (Argentina) *''Ascia monuste raza'' (Baja California Sur)

Gallery

File:Ascia monuste monuste MHNT dos.jpg, Dorsal view File:Ascia monuste monuste MHNT ventre.jpg, Ventral view File:Ascia monuste.jpg,

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar , from=Q1762454 Pierini Fauna of Brazil Pieridae of South America Monotypic butterfly genera Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli Pieridae genera