Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Medium

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

Eurasia and North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

A small white butterfly whose namesake green veins are actually an optical illusion — yellow and black scales overlap along the hindwing venation to create the distinctive greenish tracery. Common across meadows, hedgerows, and woodland edges throughout Europe and Asia.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2. 2.
   caterpillar

   A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3. 3.
   chrysalis

   A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4. 4.
   butterfly

   A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Pieridae

Genus

Pieris

Species

Pieris napi