Interesting Facts
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]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. 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:
Panorpida
()
- Order:
Lepidoptera
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
()
- Family:
Pieridae
()
- Whites and Yellows (Sulphurs)
- Subfamily:
Coliadinae
()
- Genus:
Dercas
()
- Doubleday, 1847
- Specific name:
decipiens
- de Nicéville 1898
- Scientific name: - Dercas decipiens de Nicéville 1898
- Specific name:
decipiens
- de Nicéville 1898
- Genus:
Dercas
(
- Subfamily:
Coliadinae
(
- Family:
Pieridae
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Superorder:
Panorpida
(
- 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
(
Notes
Name Status: Provisionally Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Beccaloni G.
Similar Species
Members of the genus Dercas
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 0 species and subspecies in this genus:
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Butterflies. Vol. I-II. / By Lieut.-Colonel C. T. Bingham. Calcutta and Simla, Taylor and Francis;1905-1907. url p. 227.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 31, 2012.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 7704713
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-176848.0
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1583020
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=15&sci=Pieridae&com=Whites and Sulphurs [back]
