''Leptidea reali'', the Réal's wood white, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

of the family

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family (biology), family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from Afrotropical realm, tropical Africa and Indomalayan realm, tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern ...

Taxonomy

A 2011 study using

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is discerned by de ...

analysis and analysis of mitochondrial nuclear

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

markers concluded that ''Leptidea reali'' is one of three members of a

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

complex which also includes '' Leptidea sinapis'' and a new species '' Leptidea juvernica''.

Distribution

''Leptidea reali'' is known to occur in Spain, Italy and southern France. ''L. reali'' was formerly thought to occur in Ireland but this population is now known to be ''L. juvernica''. Since the three species look and behave similarly, further research is needed to discover their true distribution; indeed on the continent the current known distribution of ''L. reali'' is suspiciously patchy. ''L. reali'' can be separated from ''L. sinapis'' by analysis of the male genital morphology, but it cannot be reliably separated this way from ''L. juvernica''. Field

lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the two superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, the r ...

s have reported behavioural differences between ''L. reali'' and ''L. sinapis'' with Réal's being described as a stronger flier and with a preference for more open

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

Life cycle and food plants

The life cycle, flight period and food plants appear at present to be similar to the wood white.

References

*David Tomlinson & Rob Sill ''Britain's Butterflies'' Wild Guides *Nelson, B., Hughes M., Nash, R. and Warren, M.S., 2001 ''Leptidea reali'' Reissinger 1989 a butterfly species new to Britain and Ireland. ''Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation'' 113: 97-101. *Nash, R., Hughes, M., Nelson, B., and Warren, M., 2001 Real's Wood White ''Leptidea reali'' Reissinger, 1989 A Butterfly new to Britain and Ireland ''Atropos'' 14: 12-15.

External links

Butterfly Conservation Ireland
Summary of the ''sinapis'' cryptic species complex. Leptidea Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1989 {{Pieridae-stub