Whites and sulphurs are small to medium-sized butterflies. Their

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 ...

s range from 0.8 to 4.0 inches (2-10.2 cm). There are about 1,000 species worldwide with about 61 species in North America. Most whites and sulphurs are white, yellow, and orange with some black, and some may be various shades of gray green. Their flight is mostly slow and fluttering, but some of the larger species have quicker flights. Both males and females like to feed at flowers, while males also like to

puddle A puddle is a small accumulation of liquid, usually water, on a surface. It can form either by pooling in a depression on the surface, or by surface tension upon a flat surface. A puddle is generally shallow enough to walk through, and too sma ...

on damp ground. Male whites and sulphurs locate females by patrolling. The eggs are spindle shaped and laid singly. Most of the long-slender larvae are green or yellow. The chrysalis is usually triangular or cone headed. It hangs upright supported by a silken loop around the middle. The

overwinter Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal acti ...

ing varies with species. It may be larva, chrysalis, or adult.

Subfamily
Pierinae The Pierinae are a large subfamily of pierid butterflies. The subfamily is one of several clades of butterflies often referred to as the whites. Species It includes the following species (additional species can be found under the tribes list ...
: whites

* Pallid tilewhite, '' Hesperocharis costaricensis'' * Mexican dartwhite, '' Catasticta nimbice'' * Pine white, '' Neophasia menapia'' * Chiricahua white, '' Neophasia terlootii'' * Common green-eyed white, '' Leptophobia aripa'' * Florida white, ''

Appias drusilla ''Appias drusilla'', the Florida white or tropical white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in tropical America from Brazil north to southern peninsular Florida and the Florida Keys and Antilles. It frequently visits coastal Tex ...

'' * Becker's white, '' Pontia beckerii'' * Spring white, '' Pontia sisymbrii'' * Checkered white, '' Pontia protodice'' * Western white, ''

Pontia occidentalis ''Pontia occidentalis'', the western white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Western North America. The wingspan is 38 to 53 millimeters. The host plants are from the mustard or cabbage family, Brassicaceae Brassicaceae ...

'' * Mustard white, ''

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 ...

'' * Margined 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 ...

'' * Arctic white, ''

Pieris angelika ''Pieris angelika'' (Arctic white) is a cold-climate butterfly of the family Pieridae. Its main range is the Yukon, Northwest Territories, northwestern British Columbia, and Alaska. Its taxonomic name may change in the future, because it was des ...

'' * West Virginia white, ''

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 ...

'' * Cabbage white, ''

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 c ...

'' * Great southern white, ''

Ascia monuste ''Ascia'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. It is monotypic, 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 ...

'' * Giant white, ''

Ganyra josephina ''Ganyra josephina'', the giant white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found from southern Texas through Mexico and Central America to northern South America. The habitat consists of open, dry, subtropical forests. The wingspan is ...

'' * Howarth's white, ''

Ganyra howarthi ''Ganyra howarthi'', Howarth's white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found along the coast in the southern half of Baja California and Sonora in Mexico. It is also found in extreme southern Arizona. The habitat consists of thorn f ...

'' * Painted white, ''

Pieriballia viardi ''Pieriballia'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae erected by Alexander Barrett Klots in 1933. Its only species, ''Pieriballia viardi'', the painted white or viardi white, was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1836. I ...

'' * Common melwhite, '' Melete lycimnia'' * Crossbarred white, ''

Itaballia demophile ''Itaballia demophile'', the cross-barred white, crossbarred white, or black-banded white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found from the southern United States,

'' * Large marble, ''

Euchloe ausonides ''Euchloe ausonides'', the large marble or creamy marblewing, is a species of butterfly that occurs in western North America. It lays eggs on the terminal flower buds of a variety of plants in the mustard family, including introduced Eurasian spe ...

'' * Green marble, '' Euchloe naina'' * Northern marble, '' Euchloe creusa'' * Sonoran marble, '' Euchloe guaymasensis'' * Pearly marble, '' Euchloe hyantis'' ** California pearly marble, '' Euchloe hyantis hyantis'' ** Desert pearly marble, '' Euchloe hyantis lotta'' * Olympia marble, ''

Euchloe olympia Dangers To Olympia Marble ''Euchloe olympia'', the Olympia marble, is a butterfly in the family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relatio ...

'' * Desert orangetip, ''

Anthocharis cethura ''Anthocharis cethura'', the desert orangetip or Felder's orangetip, is a species of butterfly in the subfamily Pierinae.Anthocharis cethura pima ''Anthocharis'' is a Holarctic genus of the butterfly tribe Anthocharini, in the family Pieridae. These are typically small, white-hued butterflies that have colorful marks just inside the tips of the forewings. The tip colors are usually a red-o ...

'' * Sara orangetip, '' Anthocharis sara'' ** Pacific Sara orangetip, '' Anthocharis sara sara'' ** Stella Sara orangetip, '' Anthocharis sara stella'' * Falcate orangetip, ''

Anthocharis midea ''Anthocharis midea'', the falcate orangetip, is a North American butterfly that was described in 1809 by Jacob Hübner. It belongs to the family Pieridae, which is the white and sulphurs. These butterflies are mostly seen in the eastern Unit ...

'' * Gray marble, ''

Anthocharis lanceolata ''Anthocharis lanceolata'', the gray marble, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. The species was first described by Hippolyte Lucas Pierre-Hippolyte Lucas (17 January 1814 – 5 July 1899) was a French entomologist. Lucas was an assistant ...

Subfamily
Coliadinae Coliadinae, the sulphurs or yellows, are a subfamily of butterflies with about 300 described species. There are 36 species in North America, where they range from Mexico to northern Canada. In most species, males are easily distinguished from ...
: sulphurs

* Statira sulphur, '' Aphrissa statira'' * Clouded sulphur, '' Colias philodice'' * Orange sulphur, '' Colias eurytheme'' * Western sulphur, '' Colias occidentalis'' ** '' Colias occidentalis chrysomelas'' ** ''

Colias occidentalis pseudochristina ''Colias'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. They are often called clouded yellows; the North American name "sulphurs" is elsewhere used for Coliadinae in general. The closest living relative is the genus ''Zerene'', which is so ...

'' * Christina's sulphur, '' Colias christina'' * Queen Alexandra's sulphur, '' Colias alexandra'' ** Harford's Queen Alexandra's sulphur, '' Colias alexandra harfordii'' ** '' Colias alexandra krauthii'' * Mead's sulphur, '' Colias meadii'' * Coppermine sulphur, ''

Colias johanseni ''Colias johanseni'', the Johansen's sulphur, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America. It is endemic to Nunavut, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from th ...

'' * Canadian sulphur, '' Colias canadensis'' * Hecla sulphur, '' Colias hecla'' * Booth's sulphur, '' Colias tyche'' * Labrador sulphur, '' Colias nastes'' ** '' Colias nastes thula'' * Scudder's sulphur, '' Colias scudderi'' * Giant sulphur, '' Colias gigantea'' * Sierra sulphur, '' Colias behrii'' * Pelidne sulphur, '' Colias pelidne'' * Pink-edged sulphur, '' Colias interior'' * Palaeno sulphur, ''

Colias palaeno ''Colias palaeno'', known by the common names moorland clouded yellow, palaeno sulphur, and pale Arctic clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. Subspecies Subspecies include: – northern North America *''Colias palaeno chippewa'' ...

'' * California dogface, ''

Zerene eurydice ''Zerene eurydice'', the California dogface butterfly, belongs to the family Pieridae and is a sister genus to ''Colias.'' ''The Zerene eurydice'' and the ''Colias'' both share the "characteristic of having yellow-orange and black wing coordinati ...

'' * Southern dogface, ''

Zerene cesonia ''Zerene cesonia'', the southern dogface, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae (until recently the species was sometimes placed in the related genus ''Colias'' instead of ''Zerene''). Description ...

'' * White angled-sulphur, '' Anteos clorinde'' * Yellow angled-sulphur, ''

Anteos maerula ''Anteos maerula'', the angled sulphur or yellow angled-sulphur, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found from Peru to Mexico. Rarely, migrants can be found up to eastern Nebraska, south-eastern Arizona, south-western New Mexico, sout ...

'' * Cloudless sulphur, ''

Phoebis sennae ''Phoebis sennae'', the cloudless sulphur, is a mid-sized butterfly in the family Pieridae found in the Americas. There are several similar species such as the yellow angled-sulphur (''Anteos maerula''), which has angled wings, statira sulphur ( ...

'' * Orange-barred sulphur, ''

Phoebis philea ''Phoebis philea'', the orange-barred sulphur, is a species of butterfly found in the Americas including the Caribbean. The wingspan is 68 to 80 mm.Phoebis agarithe'' * Tailed sulphur, '' Phoebis neocypris'' * Orbed sulphur, '' Phoebis orbis'' * Lyside sulphur, '' Kricogonia lyside'' * Barred yellow, ''

Eurema daira ''Eurema daira'', the fairy yellow, barred yellow or barred sulphur, is a butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large ...

'' * Ghost yellow, ''

Eurema albula ''Eurema albula'', the ghost yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found from southern Texas (where it is a rare stray) south through the West Indies and mainland tropical Central and South America to Brazil. The habitat consists ...

'' * Boisduval's yellow, '' Eurema boisduvaliana'' * Mexican yellow, '' Eurema mexicana'' * Salome yellow, '' Eurema salome'' * Tailed orange, '' Eurema proterpia'' * Little yellow, '' Eurema lisa'' * Mimosa yellow, '' Eurema nise'' * Shy yellow, '' Eurema messalina'' * Dina yellow, '' Eurema dina'' * Sleepy orange, '' Eurema nicippe'' * Dainty sulphur, ''

Nathalis iole ''Nathalis iole'', the dainty sulphur or dwarf yellow, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. Description This species is the smallest North American pierid. A rare population, known from Homestead (Smith et al., 1994), is said ...

Subfamily Dismorphiinae: mimic-whites

* Costa-spotted mimic-white, '' Enantia albania''

References

*Jim P. Brock, Kenn Kaufman (2003). ''Butterflies of North America.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin. {{ISBN, 0-618-15312-8. * *North America

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 ...

Subfamily Pierinae The Pierinae are a large subfamily of pierid butterflies. The subfamily is one of several clades of butterflies often referred to as the whites. Species It includes the following species (additional species can be found under the tribes list ...: whites

Subfamily Coliadinae Coliadinae, the sulphurs or yellows, are a subfamily of butterflies with about 300 described species. There are 36 species in North America, where they range from Mexico to northern Canada. In most species, males are easily distinguished from ...: sulphurs

Subfamily Dismorphiinae: mimic-whites

References

Subfamily
Pierinae The Pierinae are a large subfamily of pierid butterflies. The subfamily is one of several clades of butterflies often referred to as the whites. Species It includes the following species (additional species can be found under the tribes list ...
: whites

Subfamily
Coliadinae Coliadinae, the sulphurs or yellows, are a subfamily of butterflies with about 300 described species. There are 36 species in North America, where they range from Mexico to northern Canada. In most species, males are easily distinguished from ...
: sulphurs