Bug FAQSmall White
Pieris rapae · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Pieridae
Also called: Cabbage White, Small Cabbage White
The Small White butterfly has a wingspan of about 32 to 47 mm and is creamy white with small black dots and black tips on the forewings; females show two extra black spots on the forewings. It lives in open areas such as towns and valley bottoms across Europe, Asia and North Africa, avoiding deserts unless irrigated, and its caterpillars feed on cabbage-family crops. Eggs are laid on wild and cultivated brassicas, with two flight periods in Britain (April-May, July-August) and continuous broods in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are creamy white with small black dots; the forewings have black tips and females have two central black spots.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan ranges from roughly 32 to 47 mm (1.3 to 1.9 in).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found in open areas with diverse plants, often in towns and valley bottoms, but scarce in deserts unless watered.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars, called imported cabbageworms, feed on cabbage, kale, bok choy, broccoli and other crucifers.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Native to Europe, Asia and North Africa.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be confused with the larger Large White, which has a black band at the forewing tip, and sometimes looks like a moth because of its plain look.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 51 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Illinois, Vermont, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in North America; introduced in United States; introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Pieridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieris_rapae
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.