Butterflies > Butterflies Index
The Pieridae family of butterflies are commonly known as the “whites and yellows”.
The common name describes the predominantly white or yellow colour on the upper surface of their wings (some with various patterns around the perimeter); and on the underside most of the butterflies of this family have bright markings or patterns, some with striking colours. They are mainly a medium sized group of butterflies, with an average wingspan that range from 36 to 75 mm.
The caterpillars from this family of butterflies are long, often green to brown in colour and usually covered with patches of short, white setae.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Hexapoda
- Class: Insecta
- Informal: Pterygotes
- Order: Lepidoptera
- Unranked: Ditrysia
- Superfamily: Papilionoidea
- Family: Pieridae
- Subfamily:
- Coliadinae
- Pierinae
Footnote & References
- PIERIDAE, Whites or Yellows, CSIRO, https://www.ento.csiro.au/education/insects/lepidoptera_families/pieridae.html
- PIERIDAE Swainson, 1820, Whites, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Pieridae
ButterfliesButterflies Index Acraea andromacha Caper White Butterfly Chequered Swallowtail Butterfly Common Eggfly Butterfly Meadow Argus Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly Pieridae Two-spotted Line Blue (Nacaduba biocellata) Yellow Palm Dart
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