Pieris brassicae

Pieris brassicae, the large white, is a butterfly native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Its caterpillars feed mainly on plants in the cabbage family.

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Lepidoptera: An order of insects that includes butterflies and moths, distinguished by scaly wings and a coiled adult proboscis. The large white is one member of this order of butterflies and moths.
Butterfly life cycle: The sequence of egg, caterpillar, pupa, and adult stages in butterfly development. It frames the large white's transition from clustered eggs to flying adult.
Cabbage white butterflies: Common-name grouping for white butterflies whose caterpillars feed on cabbage-family plants. The large white is a prominent member of this crop-associated group.
Pieris: A genus of white butterflies whose caterpillars commonly feed on plants in the cabbage family. The large white is one of the genus's larger and more widespread species.
Pieridae: A butterfly family that includes whites, yellows, and sulphurs. This family places the large white among related pale-winged butterflies.
Oviposition: The process by which an animal lays eggs. Female large whites place egg batches on suitable host plants.
Cabbage pest: An organism that damages cultivated cabbage or related crops. Large white caterpillars can defoliate brassica crops when populations are high.
Pieris napi: The green-veined white, a butterfly whose caterpillars feed mainly on plants in the cabbage family. It shares habitats and family traits but is identified by greenish wing-vein markings.
Pieris rapae: A small white butterfly whose caterpillars feed on plants in the cabbage family. It resembles the large white but is smaller and has different larval markings.
Caterpillar: The larval stage of a butterfly or moth, specialized for feeding and growth. This is the stage that consumes cabbage-family plants and causes most crop damage.