(Hübner, 1800)
Peak White
Description:
The Peak White is found high in the mountains in flower-rich grasslands.
The eggs are laid singly on Alpine Bittercress (Cardamine bellidifolia ssp. alpina), Hutchinsia alpina, Erysimum helveticum, and Reseda glauca, especially on those growing on open stony patches. The caterpillars mostly eat the lower leaves, and hide under stones when the weather is bad.
In the Alps, the Peak White usually has only one generation a year and hibernates as a chrysalis. However, in good summers or at lower altitudes, a partial second generation is sometimes produced that passes the winter as a caterpillar. In the Spanish Pyrenees, two generations a year are usual, and it hibernates either as a chrysalis or a caterpillar.
Habitat:
Alpine grasslands
Similar species:
Pontia daplidice complex
Pontia chloridice
Pieris napi