Cabbage White
Common name
for a butterfly in the family Pieridae, and with the scientific
designation Pieris brassicae. It is also commonly known as Cabbage
Butterfly, Large White and Large Cabbage White, in opposition to the
Small Cabbage White (Pieris rapae). On the upper side, the male's wings
are whitish with black markings on the tips, whilst females have the
same markings, with two additional black spots in the middle of each
forewing. The underside is a pale yellowish-grey with a greenish shine.
Though these butterflies are completely harmless, their dirty-green-coloured
caterpillars, on the other hand, can cause extensive damage to
vegetables, quickly reducing cabbages and other brassica plants to mere
stalks. The caterpillars are full of distasteful chemicals and are hence
not eaten by birds, though one parasitic wasp species –like the
Spider Wasp– lays its eggs
inside the caterpillar, which is then eaten by the wasp's grubs. The
Cabbage White is quite similar to the Indian Cabbage White (Pieris
canidia).
See also WILDLIFE PICTURES (1)
and
(2).
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