White Migrant COLIADINAE, PIERIDAE, PAPILIONOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)
The Caterpillars of this species are cylindrical and green, with lateral yellow bands, and black dots on the head. They live alone and grow to a length of about 4 cms. They feed openly on various species of Cassia and Senna ( CAESALPINIACEAE ), including the Australian natives :
and the introduced
The pupa is attached to a leaf or stem by cremaster and girdle. It has a length of about 3 cms.
The adult butterflies have a wingspan of about 5 cms. The upper surfaces of the wings are white. The males have a black tip to each forewing. The females have black margins around each wing, and a black dot on each forewing.
Underneath, the wings are cream coloured, with pale brown freckles.
The eggs are white, spindle-shaped, and ridged. The eggs have a height of about 1.5 mm. They are laid singly on a leaf of a foodplant.
The species occurs as a number of races across south-east Asia, including
and in Australia as the races
over much of Australia, including:
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 289-291.
Wesley Jenkinson,
Life history notes on the White Migrant, Catopsilia pyranthe crokera
(W.S. Macleay, 1826) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae),
Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
Metamorphosis Australia,
Issue 103 (March 2022), pp. 2-8.
William Sharp Macleay,
Annulosa,
in Philip Parker King :
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia,
Volume 2 (1826), Appendix B, p. 458, No. 137.
Frank Jordan & Helen Schwencke,
Create More Butterflies : a guide to 48 butterflies and their host-plants
Earthling Enterprises, Brisbane, 2005, pp. 48, 66.
Carl Linnaeus,
Insecta Lepidoptera,
Systema Naturae,
Volume 1, Edition 10 (1760), Class 5, Part 3, p. 469, No. 66.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 1 January 2012, 5 August 2024)