''Pontia edusa'', the eastern Bath white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.

Description

''Pontia edusa'' is a small to medium-sized migrant butterfly, with a wingspan reaching about 45 mm. The upperside of the wings is white, with black stains on the top of the forewing and hindwing. The hindwing undersides have greenish-grey spots. The butterfly is nearly identical to ''

Pontia daplidice ''Pontia daplidice'', the Bath white, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, the yellows and whites, which occurs in the Palearctic region. It is common in central and southern Europe, migrating northwards every summer, often reaching south ...

''. Investigations of the genitals are the only way to distinguish between these two types. The adults fly from March to Octobereuro butterflies
/ref> with two to four generations depending on the latitude. The eggs are laid singly and have an incubation period of seven days. The caterpillars are present from May. They are greyish-greenish, with black dots and broad yellow stripes, quite similar to the larva of the cabbage butterfly (''

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 ...

''). The larvae feed on Resedaceae species. ''Pontia edusa'' hibernates in the chrysalis stage.

Distribution

It is found from the south east of Europe (southern France, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia) up to central Europe and the Middle East in Iran and Iraq. It is a migrant which can also be encountered in Belgium, Holland, northern Germany and Poland, in the Baltic states and in southern Sweden and Norway.Fauna Europaea
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Habitat

This species can be found in any open grassy or flowery areas, in stony or rocky places and in roadsides, especially where the host plants grow, at an altitude of .

Subspecies

* ''P. e. edusa'' (Fabricius, 1777) (Finland and north east and south east Central Europe, Italy, Turkey, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Russia) * ''P. e. persica'' (Bienert, 1869) (Iran, Afghanistan) * ''P. e. nubicola'' (

Fruhstorfer Hans Fruhstorfer (7 March 1866, in Passau, Germany – 9 April 1922, in Munich) was a German explorer, insect trader and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He collected and described new species of exotic butterflies, especially in Ada ...

, 1908) (Turkestan) * ''P. e. amphimara'' (Fruhstorfer, 1908) (China (Szetschwan), Yunnan) * ''P. e. praeclara'' (Fruhstorfer, 1910) (south west China) * ''P. e. moorei'' (Röber, 1907) (Kashmir, Baluchistan, Tibet, Yunnan, south east China, Thailand) * ''P. e. avidia'' (Fruhstorfer, 1908) (southern China, ? Korea) * ''P. e. davendra'' (Hemming, 1934) (Siberia (Ussuri))Heiner Ziegler - Pieridae der Holarktis

References

External links

edusa Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Europe Butterflies of Indochina Fauna of West Asia Butterflies described in 1777 {{Pieridae-stub