Southern Small White

Pieris mannii (Mayer, 1851)

Status

Description

A medium white butterfly, with black tips to the forewing upperside, and with pale yellow hindwing underside. The male and female are similar, the male has one obvious black spot and the female two black spots on the forewing upperside. Both have two black spots on the forewing underside. The black apical patch on the forewing upperside, which is more along the costa (leading edge) of the wing, than along the margin but extends down to the black spot, which enables separation from other members of the genius which it can be easily confused. 

Habitat Requirements

To date this species has been most frequently found in the region surrounding Mt Pantokrator.

Larval Foodplants

Mustard Brassica cretica, Black Mustard Brassica nigra, Turnip or Field Mustard Brassica rapa, (cultivated & naturalised), Bittercress Cardamine graeca, White Mustard Sinapis alba (yellow flowers), Hedge Mustard Sisymbrium officinale

Observations

An easily overlooked species because of its similarity with P. rapae. Therefore, CBC's lack of records could reflect poor identification skills or lack of observer effort amongst our members. Perhaps, there is a need to promote a P. mannii observation event, with training for the identification of this species?

*The information provided in the tables below is based on verified sightings of the Southern Small White submitted via this website since 1st January 2021.

First and Last Sightings

Year First Last/latest # Days
2023 07/05/2023 12/05/2023 5 days
2022 07/05/2022 11/10/2022 157 days
2021 18/05/2021 16/10/2021 151 days

Number of Observations

Year Number of observations
2023 3
2022 5
2021 33
Grand Total 41

Distribution Map

Distribution maps for this species are currently unavailable.

Flight Times for the Southern Small White (2023)

The chart below shows flight data by month for 2023 submitted online since 1st January 2023 to 8th June 2023.

Flight Times for the Southern Small White (All Data)

The chart below shows flight data by month based on all data submitted online since 1st January 2019 to 8th June 2023.

Taxonomy

  • Vernacular/Common Name: Southern Small White
  • Family: Pieridae (Swainson, 1820)
  • Sub-family: Pierinae (Swainson, 1820)
  • Tribe: Pierini (Duponchel, [1835])
  • Genus: Pieris (Schrank, 1801)
  • Species: mannii (Mayer, 1851)

References

For a list of references, please see our bibliography page.