Margined White (Pieris marginalis Scudder)
Wing span: 1 1/2 - 2 1/4 inches (3.8 - 5.7 cm).
Identification: Summer form is pure white above and below; 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 for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on underside of host plant leaves on which the caterpillars feed. Chrysalis hibernates.
Flight: Two flights from February-September in the West.
Caterpillar hosts: Various native plants in the mustard (Brassicaceae) family.
Adult food: Nectar from flowers of the mustard family and other plants.
Habitat: Forests, meadows, deciduous woods, streamsides.
Range: Southern British Columbia and Alberta south to central California and southern New Mexico; east to eastern Wyoming and eastern Colorado.
Conservation: Not usually required.
Management needs: Study effects of logging and grazing.
References:
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. Tilden, J. W. 1986. A field guide to western butterflies. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass. 370 pages, 23 color plates.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann
State and Regional References:
Layberry, R.A., Hall, P.W. & Lafontaine, D.J., 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON. 280 pp.