Cabbage White Butterfly Pieris rapae

Identification

Wingspan 45mm. Above, white with black tip to forewing and base of wings, males with one black spot on forewing and females with two. Beneath, forewing white and hindwing yellow.

Upperside of female Cabbage White
Photographer: Ross Field / Source: Museum Victoria

Underside of female Cabbage White
Photographer: Ross Field / Source: Museum Victoria

Habitat

Widespread and common in urban areas where it is a pest of cruciferous crops. It occurs in all States and Territories of Australia but it is more widespread in southern areas.

Notes

An introduced European species, it was first recorded in Victoria and Australia in 1937. The cylindrical green larvae can be a major pest of Brassica crops but the butterfly is also often common wherever cruciferous weeds occur. The larvae pupate on the host plant or wander off, often pupating on nearby fences or walls. The pupae are usually green and are supported by a central girdle of silk but can be greyer if they have pupated on wooden fences. In the 1940’s two species of braconid wasps were introduced as biological control agents of the Cabbage White Butterfly. These wasps, along with native wasp and fly parasites, have undoubtedly helped reduce the abundance and economic importance of this butterfly.

Larva of Cabbage White
Photographer / Source: M & P Coupar

Distribution and record dates for the Cabbage White near Melbourne (Source Butterfly Bioinformatics, Museum Victoria)

Distribution and record dates for the Cabbage White in Victoria (Source Butterfly Bioinformatics, Museum Victoria)