(Mayer, 1851)
Southern Small White
Description:
The Southern Small White, which looks very like the Small White (P. rapae), occurs on both calcareous and non-calcareous dry, grassy vegetation, in open scrub and open woodland.
The most important larval food plants are the candytufts Evergreen Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) and I. saxatilsis, although other crucifers, such as Alyssoides utriculata, and mustards (Sinapis spp.) are also used. The eggs are laid singly or in small groups on the uppersides of the leaves. The caterpillars feed on the leaves. It has two to three generations a year, pupating on plant stalks and stones. It overwinters as a chrysalis, and the butterflies emerge in the spring.
Habitat:
Dry siliceous grasslands
Dry calcareous grasslands
Deciduous forests
Similar species:
Pieris rapae
Pieris ergane
Pieris krueperi
Pieris brassicae