Small (cabbage) white

The cabbage whites emerge from pupae in April and May from over-wintering; their second flight is in July and August. Gardeners beware, they lay their eggs on cabbages, but also wild members of the cabbage family.



The small white is an average size for a butterfly; it can be told apart from the large by the black marking on its forewing.

The female lays batches of 20 to 100 yellow eggs on plants in the cabbage family. They have a preference for cultivated varieties of as cabbage and brussel sprouts. The caterpillars are yellowish green with yellow lines and black spots and feed in groups in plain view on the leaf surface. They gain protection from predators by obtaining distastful mustard oils from their foodplants.The chrysalis is also yellowish green with black spots. The species over-winters as a chrysalis. It
Last Updated: 14th-Apr-2007 12:39 Print
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