Elodina angulipennis
Encyclopedia
The Common Pearl White (Elodina angulipennis) is a butterfly
in the Pieridae
family. It is found along the north-eastern coast of Australia
.
The wingspan
is about 40 mm. The upperside of the wings is pearly white, with black marks around the tips of the forewings. The underside of the forewings is pearly pale yellow with a grey patch near the apex, while the underside of the hindwings is white with an arc of grey spots.
The larvae feed on various Capparaceae
species, including Capparis arborea
and
Capparis canescens. They are green with reddish-brown marks and a pale yellow dorsal line. Full-grown larvae reach a length of about 20 mm. Pupation takes place in a green pupa.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
in the Pieridae
Pieridae
The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing approximately 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and Asia. Most pierid butterflies are white, yellow or orange in coloration, often with black spots...
family. It is found along the north-eastern coast of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is about 40 mm. The upperside of the wings is pearly white, with black marks around the tips of the forewings. The underside of the forewings is pearly pale yellow with a grey patch near the apex, while the underside of the hindwings is white with an arc of grey spots.
The larvae feed on various Capparaceae
Capparaceae
Capparaceae , commonly known as the Caper family, is a family of plants in order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, it contains 33 genera and about 700 species...
species, including Capparis arborea
Capparis arborea
Capparis arborea is a bush or small tree occurring in eastern Australia. The habitat is rainforest; usually riverine, littoral or the drier rainforests. Distributed from the Hunter River, New South Wales to Cape Melville in tropical Queensland...
and
Capparis canescens. They are green with reddish-brown marks and a pale yellow dorsal line. Full-grown larvae reach a length of about 20 mm. Pupation takes place in a green pupa.