Description
Family Pieridae
'The Pieridae are members
of the Superfamily
Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Worldwide in distribution, most species are found in the tropics. Adults
have medium to small wings that are white, yellow, or orange, with some black or red, and many have hidden ultraviolet patterns
that are used in courtship
. Species with more than one generation usually have distinct
seasonal variation
in appearance
. Adults of all species visit flowers for nectar, and adults of both sexes have three pairs of walking legs
. Males patrol in search of receptive mates, and females lay
columnar
eggs
on leaves, buds, and stems. The majority of caterpillars of North American whites and sulphurs feed
on legumes or crucifers (members of the Mustard family
). Typically, temperate
species overwinter in the pupal or larval stage
, while tropical
species overwinter as adults.
'[1]
Subfamily Pierinae
Whites, marbles, and orangetips are members of the Family Pieridae. In North America, 31 species are included . Adults of most species are predominantly white above with some black pattern elements , and their hindwings often have a pattern of yellow and black scales that appear green. Sexes of most species are only slightly dimorphic , though male orangetips have bright orange wingtips. Nearly all adults are avid flower visitors. The males of almost all North American species patrol open, sunny habitats for females, although males of some tropical whites (e.g. Mexican Dartwhite) perch along ravines . Caterpillars of most western whites feed on mustards, though some use capers and others, pineneedles. All species overwinter in the chrysalis stage, and some orangetips and marbles may pass several unfavorable years in the chrysalis stage before hatching .[2]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- Aguinaldo Et Al., 1997 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
()
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
()
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
()
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
()
- Class:
Insecta
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Insects
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
()
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
()
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
()
- Superorder:
Amphiesmenoptera
()
- Order:
Lepidoptera
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
()
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Superorder:
Amphiesmenoptera
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Class:
Insecta
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Similar Species
Members of the genus Artogeia
There are approximately 11 species in this genus:
A. canidia · A. ergane (Mountain Small White) · A. krueperi · A. mannii (Southern Small White) · A. melete · A. melete melete · A. napi (Green-Veined White) · A. napi(Linnaeus · A. nesis · A. rapae(Linnaeus · A. rapae crucivora
More Info
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- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Notes
Identifiers
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 14817602
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2306779
