''Elodina padusa'', the narrow-winged pearl white, is a

butterfly 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 ...

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 Levi ...

. It is found across the central latitudes of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, including Victoria and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

.Australian Insects
/ref> 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 of ...

is about 40 mm. The upperside of the wings is white with black wingtips, while the undersides are white with grey wingtips. The larvae feed on various Capparaceae species, including ''

Capparis canescens ''Capparis canescens'', also known as wild orange, orangewood, native pomegranate, wild pomegranate or grey capparis, is a species of plant in the caper family. It is native to north-eastern Australia. Description The species grows as a shrub ...

'' and '' Capparis mitchellii''. They are green with brown marks and a yellowish dorsal line. Full-grown larvae reach a length of about 20 mm. Pupation takes place in a green pupa with white marks, which is attached to a leaf of the host plant.

References

Butterflies described in 1853 padusa {{Pieridae-stub