Short Description
The wings of the green-veined white are white to yellow. The tips of the forewings are pale dark-grey. The underside of the hindwings is dusted with green along the veins.
Males generally have a dark spot on their forewings.
Females have two spots on their forewings.
The caterpillar is inconspicuously light-green with yellow dots. Its back bears an indistinct longitudinal stripe.
Features
Green-veined white
Pieris napi
green dusted underside (hindwings)
Similar species
Small white
Pieris rapae
Large white
Pieris brassicae
In the city
The butterfly, which is quite common in Germany, thrives in a number of different habitats. These include forests, open meadows, river banks and waysides. It can be observed quite often in gardens and parks with sufficient tree or shrub cover. It prefers damp, more shaded habitats than its two similar species.
Fun Facts
Green-veined whites are amongst the most common butterflies.
Their elongated white eggs are laid one at a time on their typical food plants. These include garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis).
Despite its common German name “Rapsweißling” [oilseed rape white], no particular affinity between rapeseed and the butterfly has yet been established.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
Sources
Oberseite, Kafuffle, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Green-veined_White_on_Dandelion.jpg
Weibchen, James Lindsey, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pieris.napi.female.jpg
Unterseite, Lmbuga, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Pieris_napi?uselang=de#/media/File:Pieris_Napi_GDFL_Bolboreta.jpg
Settele, J., Steiner, R., Reinhardt, R. & Feldmann, R. (2005) Schmetterlinge. Die Tagfalter Deutschlands, Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
Kolligs, D. (2014) Schmetterlinge Norddeutschlands. 100 Tagfalter, Kiel: Wachholtz Verlag.
Seggewiße, E. & Wyman, H.-P. (2015) Schmetterlinge entdecken, beobachten, bestimmen: die 160 häufigsten tagaktiven Arten Mitteleuropas, Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Gerstmaier, R. (2003) Schmetterlinge. Sicher bestimmen mit Foto und Zeichnung, Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.
Reinhardt, R. & Bolz, R. (2011) Rote Liste und Gesamtartenliste der Tagfalter (Rhopalocera) (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea et Hesperioidea) Deutschlands. : Binot-Hafke, M., Balzer, S., Becker, N., Gruttke, H., Haupt, H., Hofbauer, N., Ludwig, G., Matzke-Hajek, G. & Strauch, M. (eds.) Rote Liste der gefährdeten Tiere, Pflanzen und Pilze Deutschlands. volume 3: Wirbellose Tiere (part 1), Bonn (Bundesamt für Naturschutz): Naturschutz und Biologische Vielfalt, 70 (3), 167–194.
Entomologische Gesellschaft ORION Berlin (n.d.) Monitoring der Großschmetterlinge (Macrolepidoptera) in Berlin, URL: http://www.orion-berlin.de/schmetter/monitoring.php (Accessed: 31.01.2017).
Nuß, M. & Bauer, F. (2018) Grünaderweißling (Pieris napi (Linnaeus, 1758)), URL: https://www.insekten-sachsen.de/Pages/TaxonomyBrowser.aspx?Id=440887 (Accessed: 25.03.2021).
Hensle, J. & Rennwald, E. (2021) Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten. 07000 Pieris napi (LINNAEUS, 1758) - Grünader-Weißling, Rapsweißling, URL: http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Pieris_Napi (Accessed: 25.03.2021).
NABU Landesverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (n.d.) Verwechslungsgefahr zwischen den Weißlingen. Kleiner, Großer und Grünader- Weißling, URL: https://mecklenburg-vorpommern.nabu.de/tiere-und-pflanzen/insekten-und-spinnen/tagfalter/artensteckbriefe/15842.html (Accessed: 02.02.2017).
Entomologische Gesellschaft ORION Berlin (n.d.) Monitoring der Großschmetterlinge (Macrolepidoptera) in Berlin, URL: http://www.orion-berlin.de/schmetter/monitoring.php (Accessed: 31.01.2017).