''Pieris krueperi'', the Krueper's small 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 ...

in 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 ...

. It is found on the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...

, the Kopet-Dagh and from

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, as well as in

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

.Afrotropical Butterflies: File D – Pieridae - Subtribe Pierina
/ref> The habitat consists arid areas with scanty vegetation up to in the mountains. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is .

Description in Seitz

P. krueperi Stgr. (20b) occurs in Greece, Asia Minor, Persia and other districts of Western Asia.This species differs from its allies in possessing on the forewing a black subapical costal spot and several, well separated, black distal marginal ones. In the summer-form, which is name-typical, the underside is white with yellowish margins, while in the spring-form, ''vernalis'' Stgr. (20b), the larger proximal portion of the hindwing beneath is greenish grey. — The Central -Asiatic spring-form, ''verna'' Gr.-Grsh., is whitebeneath, but bears dark markings. — The Pamir form, ''mahometana'' Gr-.-Grsh. ow species ''Pieris mahometana'' (Grum-Grshimailo, 1888) (northeastern Afghanistan and Pamirs) is above margined with black and beneath much darker. In the female the black spots are enlarged and partly confluent. Julius Rober in Seitz, A. ed. Band 1: Abt. 1, ''Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Tagfalter'', 1909, 379 Seiten, mit 89 kolorierten Tafeln (3470 Figuren)

Biology

Adults are on wing from April to September in two or three generations per year.Russian Insects
/ref> The larvae feed on ''

Alyssum ''Alyssum'' is a genus of over a hundred species of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. The genus comprises annual plant, annu ...

'' (including ''

Alyssum montanum ''Alyssum montanum'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Brassicaceae. It is an evergreen, prostrate perennial with small, hairy, greyish Leaf, leaves. It typically grows to 10-15 centimeters tall and 30-45 centimeters across. ...

'') and '' Aurinia'' species.

Subspecies

*''Pieris krueperi krueperi'' *'' Pieris krueperi devta'' (de Nicéville,

884 __NOTOC__ Year 884 ( DCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * March 1 – Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, count of Castile, founds and repopulates (''repoblación'') Burgos a ...

(Tian-Shan, Ghissar, southern Ghissar, Darvaz, Alai, western Pamirs)

References

Butterflies described in 1860 krueperi Butterflies of Europe Butterflies of Asia Taxa named by Otto Staudinger {{Pieridae-stub