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🧬 Biological Classification (Kingdom to Species)Pieris rapae

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Pieridae

Genus

Pieris

Species

Pieris rapae

Insecta🌿 Herbivore

Small white

Pieris rapae (Small white · モンシロチョウ)

🛡️ Conservation Status (IUCN Red List)NE (Not Evaluated)

Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.

Geological Era

Extant

Diet

Herbivore

Length · Height

No data · No data (Wingspan 0.045m)

Mass · Top Speed

No data · No data

Habitat & Fossil Locality

Sunny areas in and around napa cabbage, cabbage, and radish fields, and open spaces such as meadows, wetlands, and forest edges

💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed

💡 A maximum wingspan of 6.5 cm is slightly longer than two Korean 500-won coins (2.65 cm in diameter) placed side by side (5.3 cm) (Comparison).
💡 Its caterpillar, the cabbage worm, is a field pest that chews napa cabbage, cabbage, and radish leaves, but as an adult butterfly it transfers pollen and helps plants reproduce (National List of Species of Korea; ADW).

Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.

#배추흰나비#Pieris rapae

📖 1. Overview

The small white is a medium-sized butterfly in the family Pieridae and the most commonly seen butterfly in Korea. It lives in sunny places around fields of napa cabbage, cabbage, and radish, and drinks water in wetlands.

🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology

Its wings are bright milky white with black tips. Females have more developed black markings and a yellowish tint on the wings than males; males have one black spot in the center of the forewing while females have two. The spring form is slightly smaller than the summer form.

🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior

Its caterpillars (cabbage worms) eat the leaves of cruciferous plants such as napa cabbage, cabbage, and radish, while adults sip flower nectar. It appears 4–5 times a year, overwinters as a pupa, and a female lays 300–400 eggs singly on the undersides of leaves in her lifetime.

🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea

The National List of Species of Korea records its domestic distribution as 'widely distributed nationwide.' The spring form appears in April–May and the summer form from June to November.