''Pieris'', the whites or garden whites, is a widespread, now almost

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

butterflies 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 Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

. The highest species diversity is in the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

, with a higher diversity in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

than the similar and closely related ''

Pontia ''Pontia'' is a genus of pierid butterflies. They are found in the Holarctic, but are rare in Europe and central to eastern North America, and a few species range into the Afrotropics. Several East Asian species once placed here are now more oft ...

''. The females of many ''Pieris'' butterflies are UV reflecting, while the male wings are strongly UV absorbing due to pigments in the scales.

Ecology

Many species of this genus have

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s which feed on

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...

and other members of the

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important Family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous pla ...

. The chemical basis of this association with a certain plant group has been studied for over 100 years, and is now known to occur via a number of biochemical adaptations to chemicals called

glucosinolates Glucosinolates are natural components of many pungent plants such as mustard, cabbage, and horseradish. The pungency of those plants is due to mustard oils produced from glucosinolates when the plant material is chewed, cut, or otherwise dama ...

in these plants. In contrast to most other insects, ''Pieris'' caterpillars are able to detoxify these chemicals, and have become so specialised that they will not eat any food without glucosinolates. The ''Pieris'' females, in turn, check for the presence of glucosinolates before laying eggs on a plant. The crop-damaging species have spread from Eurasia to most of the rest of the world (most recently to South America and Africa) and are considered pest insects almost everywhere. There are species of ''Pieris'' that are not pests, such as the North American species ''

Pieris oleracea ''Pieris oleracea'', or more commonly known as the mustard white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae native to a large part of Canada and the northeastern United States. The nearly all-white butterfly is often found in wooded areas or open pla ...

'' (mustard white) and '' Pieris virginiensis'' (Virginia white). These butterflies feed successfully only on specific native vegetation.Davis, S., 2015. Evaluating threats to the rare butterfly, Pieris virginiensis. Wright State University. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1431882480 Some members of ''Pieris'' are threatened by the rapid spread of some plants in the

, such as the way the highly invasive

garlic mustard ''Alliaria petiolata'', or garlic mustard, is a biennial flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is native to Europe, western and central Asia, north-western Africa, Morocco, Iberia and the British Isles, north to northern S ...

(''Alliaria petiolata'') kills the larvae of ''Pieris oleracea'' and ''Pieris virginiensis'' in North America. Given the large differences between the chemicals that garlic mustard creates versus those of mustards native to North America, it is likely that it is also lethal to other members of ''Pieris'' that are native to North America. It is listed as a suitable food plant for the Eurasian Veined white (''

Pieris napi The green-veined white (''Pieris napi'') is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. Appearance and distribution A circumboreal species widespread across Europe and Asia, including the Indian subcontinent, Japan, the Maghreb and North America. It is ...

''). Having not evolved with garlic mustard, the aforementioned American butterflies lay eggs on it, confusing it with their host plants due to a similar odor. Just because butterflies are members of ''Pieris'' does not mean they are all capable of feeding on the same members of

that other members of ''Pieris'' can feed on.

Species and notable subspecies

Arranged alphabetically:''Pieris''
BioLib.cz Pieris tadjika

* ''

Pieris ajaka Pieris may refer to: Organisms * ''Pieris'' (plant), the andromeda or fetterbush, a plant genus in the family Ericaceae * ''Pieris'' (butterfly), the garden whites, a butterfly genus in the family Pieridae * ''Pieris'', a synonym of the genu ...

'' Moore, 1865 (Kashmir) * ''

Pieris angelika ''Pieris angelika'' (Arctic white) is a cold-climate butterfly of the family Pieridae. Its main range is in north-western Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, north-western British Columbia) and Alaska. Its taxonomic name may change in the futur ...

'' Eitschberger, 1983 – Arctic white * ''

Pieris balcana ''Pieris balcana'', the Balkan green-veined white, is a species of butterfly within the family Pieridae. The species has white upper wings with darkened apex tips. Females contain 2 dark spots on the forewing whereas males only contain 1 that are ...

'' Lorkovic, 1970 – Balkan green-veined white (southeast Europe) * ''

Pieris bowdeni Pieris may refer to: Organisms * ''Pieris'' (plant), the andromeda or fetterbush, a plant genus in the family Ericaceae * ''Pieris'' (butterfly), the garden whites, a butterfly genus in the family Pieridae * ''Pieris'', a synonym of the genu ...

'' Eitschberger, 1984 (Iran, Turkey, Transcaucasia, Kopet-Dagh) * ''

Pieris brassicae ''Pieris brassicae'', the large white, also called cabbage butterfly, cabbage white, cabbage moth (erroneously), or in India the large cabbage white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is a close relative of the small white, ''Pieris rap ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – large white or large cabbage white * ''

Pieris brassicoides ''Pieris brassicoides'', the Ethiopian cabbage white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Ethiopia and Tanzania. The habitat consists of montane areas. The larvae feed on ''Tropaeolum majus'' and ''Brassica napus''. ''Pieris ...

'' Guérin-Méneville, 1849 * ''

Pieris bryoniae ''Pieris bryoniae'', the dark-veined white or mountain green-veined white, is a Palearctic butterfly of the family Pieridae. It has variously been considered to be a full species, a subspecies of '' Pieris napi'' or a superspecies complex. ...

'' (Hübner, 790-1793 – dark-veined white or mountain green-veined white * '' Pieris canidia'' (

Sparrman Anders Sparrman (27 February 1748 – 9 August 1820) was a Swedish naturalist, abolitionist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Biography left, Miniature of Sparrman at the time of his travels with James Cook. By unknown artist. Born in Tensta, ...

, 1768) – Indian cabbage white * '' Pieris cheiranthi'' (Hübner, 1808) – Canary Islands' large white * '' Pieris chumbiensis'' (de Nicéville, 1884) – Chumbi white * '' Pieris davidis'' Oberthür, 1876 (western and central China) * '' Pieris deota'' (de Nicéville, 1884) – Kashmir white * '' Pieris dubernardi'' Oberthür, 1884 (western China) * '' Pieris dulcinea'' (Butler, 1882) (northeastern Korea) * '' Pieris eitschbergeri'' Lukhtanov, 1996 (Kirgisien, Inner Tienshan) – may be synonym of ''Pieris deota'' * '' Pieris ergane'' (Geyer,

828 __NOTOC__ Year 828 ( DCCCXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Siege of Syracuse: The Muslims under Asad ibn al-Furat defeat a Byzantine relief army sent from Paler ...

– mountain small white * '' Pieris erutae'' Poujade, 1888 (eastern Tibet, Yunnan (China)) * '' Pieris euorientis'' (Verity, 1908) (Altai Mountains to central Yakutia) * '' Pieris extensa'' Poujade, 1888 (western China, Fukien, India) – sometimes in ''

'' * '' Pieris krueperi'' Staudinger, 1860 – Krueper's small white ** '' Pieris krueperi devta'' (de Nicéville, 1884) – green-banded white * '' Pieris lama'' Sugiyama, 1996 (western China) * '' Pieris mahometana'' (Grum-Grshimailo, 1888) (northeastern Afghanistan and Pamirs) * '' Pieris mannii'' (Mayer, 1851) – southern small white * '' Pieris marginalis'' Scudder, 1861 – margined white ** '' Pieris marginalis reicheli'' Eitschberger, 1983 – Reichel's margined white * '' Pieris meckyae'' Eitschberger, 1983 – Mecky's white (Alaska) may be subspecies of ''Pieris marginalis'' * '' Pieris melete'' Ménétriés, 1857 – grey-veined white (northern India, and separately in China, Korea and Japan) * '' Pieris naganum'' Moore, 1884 – Naga white * ''

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – green-veined white or veined white * '' Pieris narina'' (Verity, 1908) (Tian-Shan) * '' Pieris nesis'' Fruhstorfer, 1909 (Japan) * '' Pieris ochsenheimeri'' (Staudinger, 1886) (mountains of central Asia) * ''

'' Harris, 1829 – mustard white ** '' Pieris oleracea frigida'' Scudder, 1861 – Newfoundland white * '' Pieris persis'' (Verity, 1922) (Iran) * ''

Pieris pseudorapae Pieris may refer to: Organisms * Pieris (plant), ''Pieris'' (plant), the andromeda or fetterbush, a plant genus in the family Ericaceae * Pieris (butterfly), ''Pieris'' (butterfly), the garden whites, a butterfly genus in the family Pieridae * ...

'' (Verity, 908 (southern Europe, Turkey and Iran) * ''

Pieris rapae ''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, on several continents as the small ca ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – small white or (small) cabbage white * '' Pieris shangrilla'' Tadokoro, Shinkawa & Wang, 2013 * '' Pieris steinigeri'' Eitschberger, 1984 (Weihsi (China)) * ''

Pieris tadjika Pieris may refer to: Organisms * ''Pieris'' (plant), the andromeda or fetterbush, a plant genus in the family Ericaceae * ''Pieris'' (butterfly), the garden whites, a butterfly genus in the family Pieridae * ''Pieris'', a synonym of the genu ...

'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1888 (Iraq) * '' Pieris virginiensis'' (W.H. Edwards, 1870) – West Virginia white

References

External links

Butterflies and Moths of North America

Butterflies of America

images representing ''Pieris''
at

Consortium for the Barcode of Life The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) was an international initiative dedicated to supporting the development of DNA barcoding as a global standard for species identification. CBOL's Secretariat Office is hosted by the National Museum of ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q997547 Pieridae genera Taxa named by Franz von Paula Schrank Pierini Taxa described in 1801

Ecology

Species and notable subspecies

References

Further reading

External links