(Geyer, 1828)
Mountain Small White
Description:
The Mountain Small White likes warm and dry places, and is found on dry, poor grasslands, in rocky places, in open scrub and in large clearings in woods. The flight areas are usually on calcareous soil. The males can sometimes be seen in large groups on damp ground. Compared to other whites, this butterfly has a slow and measured flight. The main larval food plant is Burnt Candytuft (Aethionema saxatile), but A. orbiculatum and Woad (Isatis tinctoria) are also used.
The eggs are laid singly. The chrysalis is normally fixed to stones and rocks. There are two or three generations a year, and the chrysalis of the autumn generation hibernates.
Habitat:
Dry calcareous grasslands
Screes
Inland cliffs and exposed rocks
Deciduous forests
Similar species:
Pieris rapae
Pieris mannii
Pieris krueperi
Pieris brassicae