![Large White - imago - nr Elgin - 06-Jul-06 [Anne Burgess]](image_generator.php?src=phpBB/gallery/images/cache/91d6b160571c73374e92e97d6e257d0c.jpg&r=255&g=255&b=255 "Large White - imago - nr Elgin - 06-Jul-06 [Anne Burgess]") Wingspan
Male: 58mm
Female: 63mm |
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Large White
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Pieris brassicae
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Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Ref: 1549 |
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| Superfamily: | Papilionoidea |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Subfamily: | Pierinae |
| Genus: | Pieris |
| Subgenus: | |
| Species: | brassicae |
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Male |
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Male Underside |
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![Large White - imago - nr Elgin - 06-Jul-06 [Anne Burgess]](image_generator.php?src=phpBB/gallery/images/cache/91d6b160571c73374e92e97d6e257d0c.jpg&r=223&g=246&b=216 "Large White - imago - nr Elgin - 06-Jul-06 [Anne Burgess]") |
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Female |
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Female Underside |
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The Large White is one of two species (the other being the Small White) that can claim the title of “Cabbage White” that is the bane of allotment holders all over the British Isles. The larva of this species can reach pest proportions, and decimate cabbages to the point that they become mere skeletons of their former selves. The female is distinguished from the male by the presence of 2 black spots, together with a black dash, on the forewing upperside.
This is one of the most widespread species found in the British Isles and can be found almost everywhere, including the Orkneys and Shetlands. This species is also known to migrate to the British Isles from the continent, augmenting the resident population in the process.
This butterfly normally has 2 broods each year, and there is often a 3rd brood. The first brood emerges in April, with a peak in May. In typical years, their offspring emerge in July and fly through August and into early September. 
This species is found in a wide variety of habitats and can turn up almost anywhere, including gardens, allotments, parks, meadows, open grassland, and hedgerows.
The primary larval foodplant is Crucifers (various) (Cruciferae family (various)). Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) and Wild Mignonette (Reseda lutea) are also used.
Adults feed primarily on Thistles (Cirsium spp. and Carduus spp.). Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scriptus), Bugle (Ajuga reptans), Carline Thistle (Carlina vulgaris), Dandelion (Taraxacum agg.), Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis), Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis), Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica), Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea), Knapweeds (Centaurea spp.), Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi), Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), Sanfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) and Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) are also used.
The Large White has a powerful flight and is able to migrate over large distances. It is one of our most widespread species, and a common sight in gardens throughout the British Isles.
Description to be completed
The yellow skittle-shaped eggs are laid on both surfaces of a leaf, in groups of 40 or so, and often up to 100 – laid at a rate of 4 per minute. Each egg is laid directly on the foodplant (rather than on top of other eggs) and also abuts other eggs, resulting in an organised egg mass. An individual female may lay up to 600 eggs in total. The eggs hatch in a week or two, depending on temperature.
The larva eats its eggshell on hatching and is gregarious, feeding alongside its siblings until fully-grown. The larvae accumulate poisonous oils in their bodies as they feed, which explains why would-be predators are deterred from feeding on such visible larvae. Unlike our other “cabbage white”, the Small White, the larvae of the Large White prefer to feed on the outer leaves of the foodplant, whereas the larvae of the Small White prefer to feed on leaves closer to the heart of the foodplant. The larva has 4 moults in total. This species is particularly vulnerable to a parasitic ichneumon fly, Apanteles glomeratus, which deposits its eggs inside young larvae. The fly larvae feed on the insides of their host, avoiding vital organs, and, when their host is full-grown, break through the skin and pupate within yellow cocoons on or near their host.
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Latge White - Caterpillars - Lots - 07/09/2009, Mountstewart, Co Down, Northern Ireland
Photo © Dave McCormick
07-Sep-2009 |
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![Large White - larva - Forton, Somerset - 3 July 09 [Adrian Dexter]](image_generator.php?src=phpBB/gallery/images/cache/0e80b3dccd7a668a4299ab7b11d7edcc.jpg&r=223&g=246&b=216 "Large White - larva - Forton, Somerset - 3 July 09 [Adrian Dexter]") |
Photo © Adrian Dexter
03-Jul-2009 |
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After wandering for some time, the larva finds a suitable pupation site that is typically away from the foodplant, such as fences, tree trunks, and under any overhang on a building, such as its eaves. The pupa is attached by a silk girdle and the cremaster. This stage lasts around 2 weeks for pupae that produce the summer brood. This stage lasts around 8 months for pupae which overwinter and that produce the spring brood.
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Lagre White - Pupae - Female, 19/07/2009 - Bred in Captivity, Mountstewart, Co Down, Northern Ireland
Photo © Dave McCormick
19-Jul-2009 |
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Description to be completed
The Large White is often confused with the Small White, although the two species can generally be distinguished by size. Another differentiator is to examine the upperwing where, in the Large White, the black marking at the apex of the forewing is generally more vertical than horizontal, whereas in the Small White the opposite is true.
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| Large White |
Small White |
Click here to see the distribution of this species overlaid with specific site information. Alternatively, select one of the sites listed below.
Despite a slight decline in its fortunes, this widespread and common butterfly is not currently a species of conservation concern. |
| Not Listed |  | |
From The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland and the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) (2007 review).
The following links provide additional information on this butterfly.
The species description provided here has been derived from the author's own observations and the information contained in the following works:
- A Natural History of British Butterflies, by F.W.Frohawk.
- British and Irish Butterflies, by Adrian M. Riley
- South's British Butterflies, by T.G.Howarth (which is based extensively on the classic work, "The Butterflies of the British Isles", by Richard South).
- The Butterflies of Britain and Ireland, by Jeremy Thomas and Richard Lewington.
- The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland, by Jim Asher, Martin Warren, Richard Fox, Paul Harding, Gail Jeffcoate, Stephen Jeffcoate.
- The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland Volume 7 (1) Hesperiidae to Nymphalidae (the Butterflies), by A. Maitland Emmet and John Heath (editors).
- The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland, Richard Fox, Jim Asher, Tom Brereton, David Roy and Martin Warren.
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![Large White - imago - nr Elgin - 06-Jul-06 [Anne Burgess]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/91d6b160571c73374e92e97d6e257d0c.jpg "Large White - imago - nr Elgin - 06-Jul-06 [Anne Burgess]")
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![Large White - ovum - Unknown location - Unknown date [REARED] [Brian Clegg]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/9e154513d252293a977b1dde166ac46f.jpg "Large White - ovum - Unknown location - Unknown date [REARED] [Brian Clegg]")
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![Large White - larva - Forton, Somerset - 3 July 09 [Adrian Dexter]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/0e80b3dccd7a668a4299ab7b11d7edcc.jpg "Large White - larva - Forton, Somerset - 3 July 09 [Adrian Dexter]")
![Large White - pupa - Dundee - 12-Jul-05 [Peter Field]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/6458bf71fac8a61a1871e831d1cff5d6.jpg "Large White - pupa - Dundee - 12-Jul-05 [Peter Field]")
