Pieridae
The Pierids or Whites and Yellows are an interesting group of butterflies. Some of the tropical species have separate “Wet-season” and “Dry-season” forms. These two forms can be so dissimilar that it is hard to guess that they are actually colour variations of the same species.
Many Whites and Yellows engage in mass migrations on a sporadic basis, the cause of which is still unexplained and open to several different interpretations.
One species found in Adelaide, the Cabbage (or Small) White, is an agricultural pest that has spread to most corners of the globe in the last hundred years. Having first been found in South Australia in 1941, it has now become so firmly established that it ranks as one of our most common butterflies.
A point of interest is that research into the colouring compounds in the scales of one species of Pierid uncovered a powerful chemotherapy agent!
Their caterpillars tend to be long and cylindrical and are so well camouflaged that they can be very hard to see on the foodplant, even when present in numbers.
Pieridae butterfly fact sheets
Cabbage White
Pieris rapae
The most common butterfly in the Adelaide area, even flying in winter. Considered a pest species, accidentally introduced.
Small Grass Yellow
Eurema smilax
A small to medium sized migratory species from northern pastoral areas, often seen flying through Adelaide during spring.
Wood White
Delias aganippe
This is a rare butterfly in the Adelaide area, the caterpillars feed on mistletoe (only Amyema spp.) and quandong.
Caper white
Belenois java teutonia
Annually seen migrating (often in very large numbers) from northern Australia in November to December.
