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Neophasia terlootii

(Chiricahua White)

Overview

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Vulnerable

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Chiricahua White

Description

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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]

Physical Description

Color:

Male is white and female is orange. On both, the upperside of forewing has black cell and costal margin ; tip of wing is black with white spots.

Size/Age/Growth

Wing span : 1 3/4 - 2 1/4 inches (4.5 - 5.8 cm).

Habitat

Pine forests .

Biology

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Reproduction

Males patrol for females around host trees . Caterpillars live in a web and file out of it at night to feed . They pupate together in the web.

Behavior

Flight: Two flights, June-July and September-November (most common).

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Neophasia Terlooii • Neophasia terlooii Behr 1869

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Neophasia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 6 species and subspecies in this genus:

N. menapia (Pine Butterfly) · N. menapia menapia (Pine White) · N. menapia tehachapina (Pine White) · N. terlooii (Chiricahua White) · N. terlooti (Chiricahua White) · N. terlootii (Chiricahua White)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=15&sci=Pieridae&com=Whites and Sulphurs [back]
  2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Creusa&search=Search [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012