Large cabbage white butterfly

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Large cabbage white butterfly
Large cabbage white butterfly (Pieris brassicae), female butterfly

Large cabbage white butterfly ( Pieris brassicae ), female butterfly

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Whitelings (Pieridae)
Subfamily : True whiteflies (Pierinae)
Genre : Pieris
Type : Large cabbage white butterfly
Scientific name
Pieris brassicae
( Linnaeus , 1758)

The great cabbage white butterfly ( Pieris brassicae ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the white butterfly family . The specific epithet is derived from the plant species of the genus Brassica ( cabbage ), whose leaves represent a food for the caterpillars .

features

The adults reach a wingspan of 60 millimeters. The black apical spot on the forewings extends to vein 3. The female moths have black discal spots on the forewings in cells 1b and 3 , which are completely absent in the male butterflies. The underside of the hind wings of the females are usually a little more heavily pollinated than those of the males.

  • Great Cabbage White caterpillars

  • pairing

  • Great Cabbage White pupa

  • Female of the Great Cabbage White, basking

  • Clutch on rocket

Similar species

distribution

The great cabbage white butterfly is widespread and common. It appears from North Africa to Fennos Scandinavia . In the more northerly regions, its occurrence is largely dependent on migration behavior. The species has been found on most of the Mediterranean islands. The irregular records on the Canary Islands are probably due to the accidental introduction or confusion with the Canary Whites ( Pieris cheiranthi ). The butterfly's habitat is variable and tied to the food plants and a corresponding range of robust, nectar-giving plants such as thistles and knapweeds.

Way of life

In the months of May to June (first generation), the females lay around 100 eggs in groups on the underside of the leaves of the host plants. The yellowish-green and black-spotted caterpillars hatch from the eggs after around 14 days. The young caterpillars feed gregariously in groups, while older specimens spread out. These have a clear warning color and a chemical defense based on sulfur compounds ( isothiocyanates ) and come from the forage plant. By the time they pupate after three to four weeks, the caterpillars can reach a length of up to 40 millimeters. The autumn generation hibernates as a doll.

Food of the caterpillars

The caterpillars are found on cabbage species ( Brassica ), but also on other cruciferous plants (Brassicaceae). Many caterpillars are also observed on the great nasturtium ( Tropaeolum majus ).

Flight and caterpillar times

The great cabbage white butterfly occurs in two to three generations from March to the end of October. The caterpillars can be seen from June to October. The caterpillars can also overwinter in mild winters.

Harmful effect

The Great Cabbage White is occasionally important from the point of view of crop protection . This also explains why it was not placed under nature protection together with the other European butterflies. The second generation that occurs from July to September is the most damaging in cabbage cultivation. An important parasitoid that is also used for biological pest control is the cabbage white ichneumon wasp ( Cotesia glomerata ).

swell

Initial description

Page 467 in Linnæus, C. 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. - pp. (1-4), 1-824. Holmiæ. (Salvius) . ( Papilio brassicae )

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arnold Spuler: The butterflies of Europe . tape 1 . E. Schweitzerbartsche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1908, p. 6 .
  2. ^ LG Higgins and ND Riley: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa. Berlin 1978, ISBN 3-490-01918-0 .
  3. ^ Pieris wollastoni (Butler, 1886). Fauna Europaea, accessed February 10, 2010 .
  4. ↑ Manfred Koch , Wolfgang Heinicke: We determine butterflies. 3. Edition. Neumann, Radebeul 1991, ISBN 3-7402-0092-8 .
  5. ^ W. Düring: Large cabbage white butterfly. In: Butterfly in Rhineland-Palatinate. BUND RLP, March 17, 2020, accessed on April 18, 2020 (German).

literature

  • Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
  • Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterflies: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X .
  • Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 1 . Butterflies . 1. General part: systematics, taxonomy and nomenclature, faunistics and ecology, endangerment and protection, data processing; Special part: Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae . Ulmer, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-8001-3451-9 .
  • Gerd Crüger: Plant protection in vegetable growing . With the collaboration of Georg Friedrich Backhaus, Martin Hommes, Silvia Smolak and Heinrich-Josef Vetten (=  Handbook of the Commercial Gardener . Volume 10 ). 4th completely revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2002, ISBN 3-8001-3191-9 .

Web links

Commons : Large Cabbage White  Album with pictures, videos and audio files