| Small white | |
|---|---|
| |
| Female | |
| |
| Male | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Genus: | Pieris |
| Species: | P. rapae
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Papilio rapae Linnaeus, 1758 | |
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,[note 1] on several continents as the small cabbage white, and in New Zealand as the white butterfly.[2] The butterfly is recognizable by its white color with small black dots on its wings, and it can be distinguished from P. brassicae by its larger size and the black band at the tip of its forewings.
The caterpillar of this species, often referred to as the "imported cabbageworm", is a pest to crucifer crops such as cabbage, kale, bok choy and broccoli. Pieris rapae is widespread in Europe and Asia; it is believed to have originated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Europe, and to have spread across Eurasia thanks to the diversification of brassicaceous crops and the development of human trade routes. Over the past two centuries, it spread to North Africa, North America, New Zealand, and Australia, as a result of accidental introductions.[3]
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 Pieris rapae Cabbage White". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- ^ RR Scott & RM Emberson (compilers) (1999). Handbook of New Zealand Insect Names. Entomological Society of New Zealand. ISBN 978-0-9597663-5-6. Archived from the original on 2010-05-25. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ Ryan, S.F.; et al. (2019). "Global invasion history of the agricultural pest butterfly Pieris rapae revealed with genomics and citizen science". PNAS. 116 (40): 20015–20024. Bibcode:2019PNAS..11620015R. doi:10.1073/pnas.1907492116. PMC 6778179. PMID 31506352.
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