Small White (Pieris rapae) lives in open fields across Europe, Asia, North Africa, North America. It feeds on cabbage and broccoli.
Fascinating facts about the Small White
- A single female can lay a staggering 300-400 eggs over a lifespan of just three to six weeks. Egg production peaks about a week after adulthood, and the adult female lives up to three weeks. This burst of reproductive output means one butterfly can seed millions of offspring in just a few generations, explaining the species' capacity to overwhelm cabbage crops worldwide.
- Unlike many insects that are deterred by mustard-oil chemicals, the small white's larvae are immune to the isothiocyanate-forming reaction that plants use as a defence. They have a specific biochemical adaptation that neutralises these compounds, letting them feast on a wide range of Brassicaceae. This biochemical arms race lets the caterpillar turn plant toxins into a free-for-all buffet, driving its status as a major agricultural pest.
- Cabbage-white caterpillars grow fastest between 10 °C and 35 °C, but their development stalls above 35 °C and mortality spikes past 40 °C. In the lab they reach maximal developmental rate at 30.5 °C, while in the field daily temperature swings of over 20 °C let them survive a broad thermal window. This temperature flexibility lets the species thrive from cool temperate valleys to hot summer fields, widening its ecological reach.
- Within two centuries the small white leapt from its Eastern Mediterranean cradle, hitchhiking on human trade. It reached North Africa around 1800, North America in the 1860s, Hawaii in 1897, New Zealand in 1930 and Australia by 1937.
- A tiny white wing beats at a blistering 12.8 flaps per second, giving the butterfly the power to sprint up to 12 km in a single flight. Females typically cover about 0.7 km each day and stray 0.45 km from their starting point.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeEurope, Asia, North Africa, North America
HabitatOpen fields
DietCabbage and broccoli
About the Small White
As the Small White butterfly dances through the garden, its delicate wings beating in a hypnotic rhythm, it weaves a trail of gentle wonder, its creamy hues glistening like freshly fallen snow. With an effortless elegance, it alights upon a tender bloom, its proboscis uncoiling like a slender thread to sip the sweet nectar within, its very presence a testament to the beauty of impermanence. In its fleeting, whirling journey, the Small White embodies the carefree essence of summer itself, a tiny, winged embodiment of the season's warmth and vitality.
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