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Pieris, the whites or garden whites, is a widespread genus of butterflies of the family Pieridae. Many species of this genus have caterpillars which feed on cabbage and other members of the Brassicaceae. The chemical basis of this association with a certain plant group has been studied for over 100 years, and is now known to occur via a number of biochemical adaptations to chemicals called glucosinolates in these plants. In contrast to most other insects, Pieris caterpillars are able to detoxify these chemicals, and have become so specialised that they will not eat any food without glucosinolates. The Pieris females, in turn, check for the presence of glucosinolates before laying eggs on a plant. The crop-damaging species have spread from Eurasia to most of the rest of the world and are considered pest insects almost everywhere.
The females of many Pieris butterflies are UV reflecting, while the male wings are strongly UV absorbing due to pigments in the scales.
Notable species
- Arctic White, Pieris angelika
- Large White, Pieris brassicae
- Dark-veined White, Pieris bryoniae
- Indian Cabbage White, Pieris canidia
- Pieris cheiranthi
- Kashmir White, Pieris deota
- Pieris dubernardi
- Chumbi White, Pieris dubernardi chumbiensis
- Krueper's Small White, Pieris krueperi
- Green-banded White, Pieris krueperi devta
- Margined White, Pieris marginalis
- Reichel's Margined White, Pieris marginalis reicheli
- Pieris melete
- Naga White, Pieris naganum
- Green-veined White, Pieris napi
- Pieris ochsenheimeri
- Mustard White, Pieris oleraca
- Newfoundland White, Pieris oleracea frigida
- Small White, Pieris rapae
- West Virginia White, Pieris virginiensis
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 4 January 2009, at 06:08.
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