Pieris

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Amphiesmenoptera
Ordo: Lepidoptera
Subordo: Glossata
Cladus: Coelolepida
Cladus: Myoglossata
Cladus: Neolepidoptera
Infraordo: Heteroneura
Cladus: Eulepidoptera
Cladus: Ditrysia
Cladus: Apoditrysia
Cladus: Obtectomera
Superfamilia: Papilionoidea

Familia: Pieridae
Subfamilia: Pierinae
Tribus: Pierini
Subtribus: Pierina
Genus: Pieris
Species (44): P. acadica – P. ajaka – P. angelika – P. bowdeni – P. brassicae – P. brassicoides – P. bryoniae – P. canidia – P. cheiranthi – P. cisseis – P. davidis – P. deota – P. dubernardi – P. dulcinea – P. ergane – P. erutae – P. euorientis – P. extensa – P. itatiayae – P. krueperi – P. lama – P. mahometana – P. mannii – P. marginalis – P. meckyae – P. melaina – P. melete – P. meneacte – P. naganum – P. napi – P. narina – P. nesis – P. ochsenheimeri – P. oleracea – P. orientis – P. persis – P. pseudorapae – P. pylotis – P. rapae – P. segonzaci – P. shangrilla – P. steinigeri – P. tadjika – P. tadokoroi – P. tomariana – P. venosa – P. virginiensis – P. wollastoni
Name

Pieris Schrank, 1801.

Type species: Papilio brassicae Linnaeus, 1758.
Synonymy

Mancipium Hubner, [1806]. TS: Papilio brassicae, by monotypy.
Danaus Oken, 1815. TS: Papilio brassicae, by selection of Crotch, 1872. Invalid, homonym of Danaus Kluk.
Ganoris Dalman, 1816. TS: Papilio brassicae, by original designation.
Andropodum Hubner, 1822. TS: Papilio brassicae, by selection of Hemming, 1933.
Tachyptera Berge, 1842. TS: Papilio brassicae, by selection of Hemming, 1934.

References

Das, G.N., Eitschberger, U., Singh, N. & Chandra, K. 2021. A new species of the genus Pieris Schrank, 1801 (Lepidoptera: Pieridae: Pierinae) with taxonomic notes on the Pieris napi group from India. Zootaxa 5004(4): 501–520. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5004.4.1. Paywall. Reference page.
Eitschberger, U., 1983. Systematische Untersuchungen am Pieris napi-bryoniae-Komplex (sensu lato) (Lepidoptera, Pieridae). Herbipoliana. Buchreihe zur Lepidopterologie. Marktleuthen 1(1): 1–504, 60 figs, 3 pls, 43 tables. 322 refs. summary. Reference page.
Eitschberger, U., 1991. Vierzehnte ergänzung zu Systematische Untersuchungen am Pieris napi-bryoniae-Komplex (s.l.) Pieris marginalis ziegleri subspec. nov. aus Nordamerika. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Atalanta 22 (2/4): 353–355.
Eitschberger, U., 2001. Fünfzehnte ergänzung zu Systematische Untersuchungen am Pieris napi-bryoniae-Komplex (s.l.) Eine neue Unterart von Pieris napi (Linnaeus, 1758) vom Polar Ural (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Atalanta 32 (1/2): 85–88.
Feltwell, J. & Vane-Wright, R.I. 1982. Large White Butterfly; the biology, biochemistry and physiology of Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus). Series Entomologica 18: xxvi + 450pp. Dr. Junk, The Hague. ResearchGate Reference page.
Huang, H. 2019. New or little known butterflies from China - 3 (Lepidoptera: Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Riodinidae, Lycaenidae et Hesperiidae). Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 78: 203–255. PDF. Reference page.
Lamas, G., 2004. Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera; Checklist: Part 4A; Hesperioidea-Papilionoidea
Schrank 1801. F. Boica, 2 (1), 152.
Tadokoro, T. ; Shinkawa, T. & Wang, M., 2013. Description of a new species of the genus Pieris (Lepidoptera Pieridae) from North Yunnan, China. Lepidoptera Science 64 (1): 1–9. [1].

Vernacular names
English: Whites (butterfly), Whites
magyar: Fehérlepke
日本語: モンシロチョウ属 or オオモンシロチョウ属
中文: 粉蝶屬

Pieris, the whites or garden whites, is a widespread now almost cosmopolitan genus of butterflies of the family Pieridae. The highest species diversity is in the Palearctic, with a higher diversity in Europe and eastern North America than the similar and closely related Pontia. The females of many Pieris butterflies are UV reflecting, while the male wings are strongly UV absorbing due to pigments in the scales.

Ecology

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 (most recently to South America and Africa) and are considered pest insects almost everywhere. There are species of Pieris that are not pests, such as the North American species Pieris oleracea (mustard white) and Pieris virginiensis (Virginia white). These butterflies feed successfully only on specific native vegetation.[1]

Some members of Pieris are threatened by the rapid spread of some plants in the Brassicaceae, such as the way the highly invasive garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) kills the larvae of Pieris oleracea and Pieris virginiensis in North America. Given the large differences between the chemicals that garlic mustard creates versus those of mustards native to North America, it is likely that it is also lethal to other members of Pieris that are native to North America.[1] It is listed as a suitable food plant for the Eurasian Veined white (Pieris napi). Having not evolved with garlic mustard, the aforementioned American butterflies lay eggs on it, confusing it with their host plants due to a similar odor. Just because butterflies are members of Pieris does not mean they are all capable of feeding on the same members of Brassicaceae that other members of Pieris can feed on.[2]
Grey-veined white (Pieris melete), Tokyo
Species and notable subspecies

Arranged alphabetically:[3][4]

Pieris ajaka Moore, 1865 (Kashmir)
Pieris angelika Eitschberger, 1983 – Arctic white
Pieris balcana Lorkovic, 1970 – Balkan green-veined white (southeast Europe)
Pieris bowdeni Eitschberger, 1984 (Iran, Turkey, Transcaucasia, Kopet-Dagh)
Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758) – large white or large cabbage white
Pieris brassicoides Guérin-Méneville, 1849
Pieris bryoniae (Hübner, [1790-1793]) – dark-veined white or mountain green-veined white
Pieris canidia (Sparrman, 1768) – Indian cabbage white
Pieris cheiranthi (Hübner, 1808) – Canary Islands' large white
Pieris chumbiensis (de Nicéville, 1884) – Chumbi white
Pieris davidis Oberthür, 1876 (western and central China)
Pieris deota (de Nicéville, 1884) – Kashmir white
Pieris dubernardi Oberthür, 1884 (western China)
Pieris dulcinea (Butler, 1882) (northeastern Korea)
Pieris eitschbergeri Lukhtanov, 1996 (Kirgisien, Inner Tienshan) – may be synonym of Pieris deota
Pieris ergane (Geyer, [1828]) – mountain small white
Pieris erutae Poujade, 1888 (eastern Tibet, Yunnan (China))
Pieris euorientis (Verity, 1908) (Altai Mountains to central Yakutia)
Pieris extensa Poujade, 1888 (western China, Fukien, India) – sometimes in Pontia
Pieris krueperi Staudinger, 1860 – Krueper's small white
Pieris krueperi devta (de Nicéville, 1884) – green-banded white
Pieris lama Sugiyama, 1996 (western China)
Pieris mahometana (Grum-Grshimailo, 1888) (northeastern Afghanistan and Pamirs)
Pieris mannii (Mayer, 1851) – southern small white
Pieris marginalis Scudder, 1861 – margined white
Pieris marginalis reicheli Eitschberger, 1983 – Reichel's margined white
Pieris meckyae Eitschberger, 1983 – Mecky's white (Alaska) may be subspecies of Pieris marginalis
Pieris melete Ménétriés, 1857 – grey-veined white (northern India, and separately in China, Korea and Japan)
Pieris naganum Moore, 1884 – Naga white
Pieris napi (Linnaeus, 1758) – green-veined white or veined white
Pieris narina (Verity, 1908) (Tian-Shan)
Pieris nesis Fruhstorfer, 1909 (Japan)
Pieris ochsenheimeri (Staudinger, 1886) (mountains of central Asia)
Pieris oleracea Harris, 1829 – mustard white
Pieris oleracea frigida Scudder, 1861 – Newfoundland white
Pieris persis (Verity, 1922) (Iran)
Pieris pseudorapae (Verity, [1908]) (southern Europe, Turkey and Iran)
Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758) – small white or (small) cabbage white
Pieris shangrilla Tadokoro, Shinkawa & Wang, 2013
Pieris steinigeri Eitschberger, 1984 (Weihsi (China))
Pieris tadjika Grum-Grshimailo, 1888 (Iraq)
Pieris virginiensis (W.H. Edwards, 1870) – West Virginia white

References

Davis, S., 2015. Evaluating threats to the rare butterfly, Pieris virginiensis. Wright State University. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=wright1431882480&disposition=inline
Driesche, F.V.; Blossey, B.; Hoodle, M.; Lyon, S.; Reardon, R., 2010. Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the Eastern United States. USDA Forest Service. Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team. http://wiki.bugwood.org/Archive:BCIPEUS
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Pieris, BioLib.cz