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Pieridae
 
 
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The Pieridae are a large family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of butterflies
Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
 with about 76 genera containing approximately 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and Asia. These butterflies are characterised by mainly white or yellow coloration, often with black spots. The sexes usually differ, often in the pattern or number of the black markings.

The larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e (caterpillar
Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly phytophagous in food habit, with some species being entomophagous....
s) of a few of these species feed on brassica
Brassica

Brassica is a genus of plants in the mustard family . The members of the genus may be collectively known either as cabbages, or as mustards....
s, and are agricultural pests.

Males of many species exhibit gregarious mud-puddling behavior when they may imbibe salts from moist soils.

Classification
The Pieridae have the radial vein on the forewing with 3 or 4 branches and rarely with 5 branches.






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Encyclopedia


The Pieridae are a large family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of butterflies
Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
 with about 76 genera containing approximately 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and Asia. These butterflies are characterised by mainly white or yellow coloration, often with black spots. The sexes usually differ, often in the pattern or number of the black markings.

The larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e (caterpillar
Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly phytophagous in food habit, with some species being entomophagous....
s) of a few of these species feed on brassica
Brassica

Brassica is a genus of plants in the mustard family . The members of the genus may be collectively known either as cabbages, or as mustards....
s, and are agricultural pests.

Males of many species exhibit gregarious mud-puddling behavior when they may imbibe salts from moist soils.

Classification


The Pieridae have the radial vein on the forewing with 3 or 4 branches and rarely with 5 branches. The fore legs are well developed in both sexes, unlike in the Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae

The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterfly which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies....
, and the tarsal
Tarsal

Tarsal could refer to:*tarsus *tarsus *superior tarsal muscle Excess long comment to prevent listing on...
 claws are bifid
Bifid

Bifid may mean:* Bifid ? split or cleft into two parts* Bifid rib, bifurcated rib or sternum bifidum ? a congenital abnormality of the human anatomy...
 unlike in the Papilionidae.

Like the Papilionidae, Pieridae also have their pupae held at an angle by a silk girdle, but running at the first abdominal segment unlike the thoracic girdle seen in the Papilionidae.

Subfamilies


The Pieridae are generally divided into the following four subfamilies:
  • Dismorphiinae
    Dismorphiinae

    Dismorphiinae is a subfamily of butterflies from the family Pieridae. It consists of about 100 species in 7 genera, distributed mainly in the Neotropic, of which only one species occurs in North America and one genus, Leptidea, in the Palearctic region....
     (6 genera) Mostly Neotropical, this group includes several mimetical species. The host plants are in the family Fabaceae
    Fabaceae

    Fabaceae or Leguminosae is a large and economically important family of flowering plants, which is commonly known as the legume family, pea family, bean family or pulse family....
    .
  • Pierinae
    Pierinae

    Pierinae is a large subfamily of Pierid butterflies also known as the Whites , which includes the following species :*Arctic White*Catalina Orangetip...
     (55 genera) Whites, Yellow, Orange-tips, many of these species are strongly migratory. Host plants are in the families Capparidaceae, Brassicaceae
    Brassicaceae

    Brassicaceae or Cruciferae, also known as the crucifers, the mustard family or cabbage family is a Family of flowering plants ....
    , Santalaceae
    Santalaceae

    Santalaceae is a widely distributed family of flowering plants which, like other members of Santalales, are partially parasitic on other plants....
    , and Loranthaceae
    Loranthaceae

    File:Psittacanthus-on-a-tree.jpgLoranthaceae is a family of flowering plants, which has been universally recognized by taxonomists. It consists of about 75 genus and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of them Parasitic plant, all of them except three having the mistletoe habit....
    .
  • Coliadinae
    Coliadinae

    Coliadinae, the sulfurs or yellows, are a subfamily of butterflies. About 300 described species are included here.36 species occur in North America, where they range from Mexico to northern Canada....
     (14 genera) (Sulphurs or Yellows, many of these species are sexually dimorphic
    Sexual dimorphism

    Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include color , size, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks....
    . Some, such as Colias, have wing patterns that are visible only under ultraviolet.
  • Pseudopontiinae
    Pseudopontiinae

    Pseudopontia paradoxa is a species of butterfly native to tropical Central Africa and West Africa. It is the only species in the genus Pseudopontia and the subfamily Pseudopontiinae....
     The sole species in this subfamily, Pseudopontia paradoxa, is endemic to West Africa.


According to the molecular phylogenetic study of Braby et al. (2006), sister group relationships among Pieridae subfamilies are: ((Dismorphiinae+Pseudopontiinae)+(Coliadinae+Pierinae)).

Sulfur5976

Some popular species


  • Brimstone
    Brimstone (butterfly)

    The Common Brimstone is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. In much of its range, it is the only species of its genus, and this conspicuous butterfly is therefore simply known as "the brimstone" locally....
    , Gonepteryx rhamni
  • California dogface butterfly
    California dogface butterfly

    The California dogface butterfly has been the state insect of the U.S. state of California since 1972. Its range is limited to that state. California was the first state to choose a state insect ? and thus, to choose a butterfly ? though most of the other states have now followed, and many even have both a state insect and state butterfly....
    , Zerene eurydice
  • Catalina Orangetip
    Catalina Orangetip

    The Catalina Orangetip , is a subspecies of the butterfly Desert Orangetip that is found only on Santa Catalina Island, California. Very little is known about them except for the fact that they tend to be found on isolated ridgetops....
    , Anthocharis cethura catalina
  • Cloudless Sulphur
    Cloudless Sulphur

    The Cloudless Sulphur is a small to midsized butterfly in the family Pieridae found in the New World.There are several similar species such as the Yellow Angled Sulphur which has angled wings or other sulphurs which are much smaller....
    , Phoebis sennae
  • Clouded Yellow
    Clouded Yellow

    Colias croceus is a small butterfly of the Pieridae family, that is, the Yellows and Whites. In India and nearby regions it is known as the Dark Clouded Yellow or Common Clouded Yellow to distinguish it from the other species of clouded yellows occurring there; elsewhere it is often simply known as "the clouded yellow"....
    , Colias croceus
  • Orange Tip
    Orange Tip

    The Orange Tip is a butterfly in the Pieridae family....
    , Anthocharis cardamines
  • Psyche Butterfly, Leptosia mina


Some pest species


  • Colias eurytheme, Alfalfa butterfly or Orange Sulphur
  • Colias philodice
    Colias philodice

    The Common or Clouded Sulphur is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae....
    , Common or Clouded Sulphur
  • Pieris rapae, Cabbage White
  • Pieris brassicae, Large White or Cabbage White


External links

  • In Japanese but binomial names 3 pages of images. Tip Next page.
  • on the UF
    University of Florida

    The University of Florida is a Public university land-grant university, sea grant colleges, Space grant colleges major research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States....
     / IFAS
    Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

    The University of Florida?s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information accessible....
     Featured Creatures Web site


See also

  • List of butterflies of India (Pieridae)
    List of butterflies of India (Pieridae)

    The article is a list of the Pieridae butterflies of India. It forms part of the full list of butterflies of India.The family Pieridae, or the Whites and Yellows are a family of butterflies of moderate or small size....
  • List of British butterflies
    List of British butterflies

    This is a list of butterfly of Great Britain, including extinct, naturalised species and those of dubious origin. The list comprises butterfly species listed in The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland by Emmet et al. and Britain's Butterflies by Tomlinson and Still....