cabbage butterfly
n.
Any of several white butterflies of the genus Pieris, having larvae that feed on cabbage.
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Any of several white butterflies of the genus Pieris, having larvae that feed on cabbage.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
white butterfly whose larvae (cabbageworms) feed on cabbage
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The Small White (Pieris rapae) is a small to mid-sized butterfly species of the
Yellows-and-Whites family Pieridae.
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| Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The Small White (Pieris rapae) is a small to mid-sized butterfly species of the Yellows-and-Whites family Pieridae. It is also commonly known as the Small Cabbage White. The names "Cabbage Butterfly" and "Cabbage White" can also refer to the Large White.
It is widespread across Europe, North Africa and Asia and has also been accidentally introduced to North America, Australia and New Zealand where they have become pests on cultivated cabbages and other mustard family crops.
In appearance it looks like a smaller version of the Large White. The upperside is creamy white with black tips to the forewings. Females also have two black spots in the center of the forewings. Its underwings are yellowish with black speckles. It is sometimes mistaken for a moth due to its plain-looking appearance.
It has two flight periods, April–May and July–August.
Its caterpillars can be a pest on cultivated cabbages, but it will readily lay eggs on wild members of the cabbage family such as Charlock Sinapis arvensis and Hedge mustard Sisybrium officinale. The eggs are laid singularly on foodplant leaves.
Known in the United States as "Imported Cabbage Worms", the caterpillars are green and well camouflaged. Unlike the Large White, they don't store the mustard oils from their foodplants and so are not distastful to predators like birds. Like many other "White" butterflies it hibernates as a pupa.
Like its close relative the Large White this is a strong flyer and the British population is increased by continental immigrants in most years. Adults are diurnal and fly almost exclusively during mid-day, though it appears as if there is some activity in the later part of the night too, ceasing as dawn breaks (Fullard & Napoleone 2001).
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Small White". Read more |