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West Virginia White (Pieris virginiensis [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 1 3/4 - 2 1/8 inches (4.5 - 5.3 cm).
Identification: Wings are translucent, whitish, with no yellowish tint underneath. Underside of hindwings with blurry brown or pale gray scaling along veins.
Life history: Males patrol slowly to locate females. Eggs are laid singly on undersides of host plant leaves. Chrysalids hibernate on stems or plant litter under the plant.
Flight: In the North, one flight in May; in the South, one flight from April-May.
Caterpillar hosts: Toothworts (Dentaria diphylla and D. laciniata) in the mustard (Brassicaceae) family.
Adult food: Flower nectar from toothworts, spring beauty, violets, and other plants.
Habitat: Moist deciduous woodlands or mixed woods.
Range: Northern Great Lakes states and from New England southwest along the Appalachians to north Georgia and northeast Alabama.
Conservation: A species of native, relatively undisturbed habitats. Declining due to timbering, development, and spread of garlic mustard (Alliaria officinalis).
Management needs: Control spread of garlic mustard. Ensure timbering intensity allows recovery of sufficient habitats on local scale.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
References:
Brownell, V. R. 1981. The West Virginia White Butterfly (Artogeia
virginiensis Edwards) in Canada: a status report. Nongame Program,
Wildlife Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.
Mainguy, S. K. and M. J. Sharp. 1989. THe status of the West Virginia White
Butterfly (Artogeia virginiensis) in Ontario. The Landplan
Collaborative Ltd., Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies east of the Great Plains.
Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 294 pages, 54 color plates.
Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern butterflies.
Peterson field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston. 396 pages,
48 color plates.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University
Press, Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann
State and Regional References:
Cech, R. 1993. A Distributional Checklist of the Butterflies and Skippers of
the New York City Area (50-mile Radius) and Long Island. New York City
Butterfly Club Special Publication. 27 pp.
Forbes, W.T.M. 1960. Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States. Part
IV: Agaristidae through Nymphalidae Including Butterflies. Cornell Univ.
Agricultural Experimental Station, Ithaca, N.Y. Memoir 371. 188 pp.
Glassberg, J. 1993. Butterflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to
Butterflies in the Boston-New York-Washington Region. Oxford Univ. Press,
New York, N.Y. 160 pp.
Klass, C. and Dirig, R. 1992. Learning about Butterflies. Cornell Cooperative
Extension Publication, 4-H Member/Leader Guide 139-M-9. Ithaca, N.Y.
36 pp.
Layberry, R.A., Hall, P.W. & Lafontaine, D.J., 1998. The Butterflies of
Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON. 280 pp.
Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
Shapiro, A.M. 1974. Butterflies and Skippers of New York State. Cornell Univ.
Agricultural Experimental Station, Ithaca, N.Y. Search 4:1-60.
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