Elodina parthia

Elodina parthia (Hewitson, 1853)
(one synonym : Pieris nivea)
Chalk White
PIERINAE , PIERIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

Elodina parthia
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

The Caterpillar of this species is green with a white dorsal line, and sometimes some dark red spots. It has a forked tail.

(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

It feeds on various species of Capers ( Capparis, CAPPARACEAE ) including :

Australian Native Pomegranate ( Capparis arborea ),

Dog Caper ( Capparis canescens ),

Scrambling Caper ( Capparis sarmentosa ), and

Capers ( Capparis spinosa ).

(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

The pupa is also green with white stripes, and has a pointed head. It is attached to a twig or leaf of the foodplant, and has a length of about 1.5 cms.

(Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

The upper surfaces of the wings of the adult butterfly are white with dark brown wingtips. but the undersides are white with a yellow patch by the body. The butterfly has a wingspan of about 3.5 cms.

underside
(Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

The eggs are barrel-shaped, with 13 vertical ribs, and a height of about 1mm. They are initially white, but develop pink markings. The eggs are laid singly, usually on the uppersides of foodplant leaves.

The species occurs in

New South Wales, and

Queensland.

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 311-312.

Wesley Jenkinson,
Life history notes on the Striated Pearl-white, Elodina parthia (Hewitson, 1853) Lepidoptera,: Pieridae,
METAMORPHOSIS, Magazine of the Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club, Number 62, September 2011, pp. 10-12.

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(updated 1 May 2009)