Welcome to Marin County Parks

Guide to selected species of:

Marin County

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Cabbage White
credit: S Sepp/CCSA

White Butterflies

Cabbage White  Pieris rapae

Family: Whites and Sulphurs, Pieridae

Description  The Small White (Pieris rapae) is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the Yellows-and-Whites family Pieridae. It is also commonly known as the Small Cabbage White and in New Zealand simply as white butterfly. The names "Cabbage Butterfly" and "Cabbage White" can also refer to the Large White.

It is widespread across Europe, North Africa, Asia, and Great Britain and has also been accidentally introduced to North America, Australia and New Zealand where they have become pests on cultivated cabbages and other mustard family crops.

Dimensions  1 1/4-1 7/8" (32-48 mm).

Habitat  Meadows & fields, Cities, suburbs & towns, Scrub, shrub & brushlands, Freshwater swamps, marshes & bogs, Shorelines & salt marshes, Grasslands & prairies, Forests & woodlands, Canyons & caves.

Range  Alaska, New England, Eastern Canada, Texas, Southeast, Plains, Western Canada, Florida, Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Northwest, Southwest, California.