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West Virginia White |
Scientific:
Pieris virginiensis W.H.
Edwards French: Piéride de
Virginie Nipissing Ojibway: waa
shki’ mahn mahn gwa Status: Special Concern Description:
ws
4.5-5.5 cm (1¾ - 2 1/8 in) Wings are translucent, whitish; the hindwing underside has blurry brownish or pale gray scaling along the veins. Habitat: A relatively widespread but uncommon butterfly. It is typically found in moist deciduous woodlands or mixed woodlands. It requires native, relatively undisturbed habitats. Adult food consists of flower nectar from toothworts (Cardamine diphylla and Cardamine concatenata) in the mustard (Brassicaceae) family, spring beauty, violets, and other plants. These two toothworts are the caterpillar food plants. In the north, there is one flight in May before the forest canopy completely leafs out. Adults will not venture into open areas. Similar
Species: Cabbage
white (Pieris rapae): white
forewing with black tip; two sub marginal black spots in female, one in
male. Spring and fall short-day form has reduced black areas. Veined
(mustard) white: Summer form is pure white above and below
(indistinguishable from the West Virginia white from above); spring form
has black-tipped upper forewing. Underside of hindwing and apex of
forewing have veins edged with yellow-green or gray-green. Life
History:
Males patrol slowly to locate females. Eggs are laid singly on
undersides of host plant leaves. Chrysalis hibernates on stem or plant
litter under the plant. Ecological
Role: Pollination,
food source for birds. Threats:
Forest fragmentation, logging, development, overgrazing by deer and the
spread of garlic mustard (Alliaria
petiolata). The West Virginia white feeds on this closely-related
plant in the mustard family and preferentially lays its eggs on the
garlic mustard. The eggs hatch, but the garlic mustard is unpalatable to
the maturing larvae and they die. What you can do: Report to the Natural Heritage Information Centre: http://nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/nhic_.cfm. Compiled
by:
Stephen Romaniuk, Nipissing Naturalist.
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