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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Whites, Sulphurs, Yellows (Pieridae) » Whites (Pierinae) » Cabbage Whites, Checkered Whites, Albatrosses (Pierini) » Pieris » West Virginia White - Hodges#4196 (Pieris virginiensis)

Species Pieris virginiensis - West Virginia White - Hodges#4196

Classification · Hodges Number · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Internet References

West Virginia White - Pieris virginiensis

Early spring visitor to Dicentra flower - Pieris virginiensis

Mustard White or West Virginia White? - Pieris virginiensis

Is this a West Virginia White? Apparent we do have them in western Maryland, but considered rare. - Pieris virginiensis

West Virginia White (Pieris virginiensis)? - Pieris virginiensis

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)

Family Pieridae (Whites, Sulphurs, Yellows)

Subfamily Pierinae (Whites)

Tribe Pierini (Cabbage Whites, Checkered Whites, Albatrosses)

Genus Pieris

Species virginiensis (West Virginia White - Hodges#4196)

Hodges Number

4196

Size

Wing span: 1 3/4 - 2 1/8 inches (4.5 - 5.3 cm).(1)

Identification

Wings are translucent, whitish, with no yellowish tint underneath. Underside of hindwings with blurry brown or pale gray scaling along veins.(1)

Range

Northern Great Lakes states and from New England southwest along the Appalachians to north Georgia and northeast Alabama.(1)

Habitat

Moist deciduous woodlands or mixed woods.(1)

Season

In the North, one flight in May; in the South, one flight from April-May.(1)

Food

Caterpillar hosts: Toothworts (Dentaria diphylla and D. laciniata) in the mustard (Brassicaceae) family.

Adult food: Flower nectar from toothworts, spring beauty, violets, and other plants.(1)

Life Cycle

Males patrol slowly to locate females. Eggs are laid singly on undersides of host plant leaves. Chrysalids hibernate on stems or plant litter under the plant.(1)

Remarks

The introduction of the non-native garlic mustard Alliaria petiolata endangers this butterfly that sometimes lays its eggs on it but the caterpillars find it indigestible.

Internet References

BAMONA

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (1).

Conservation Assessment for Pieris virginiensis.

Contributed by Joel Kits on 6 April, 2005 - 9:43pm
Additional contributions by Steve Nanz, Beatriz Moisset, Matthew Roth
Last updated 2 July, 2017 - 7:34am

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