Eastern Dappled White

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This butterfly species belonging to the family Pieridae is grouped within a complex of super species or sub-species, called the ‘Euchloe ausonia-complex’ . This complex of butterfly species is widely distributed across the Mediterranean region and Asia Minor. The Eastern Dappled White is common in the Mediterranean region of Jordan.

They are found in the mountaineous regions upto an altitude of 1600 m. This butterfly species normally inhabits open areas like meadows and grasslands and also scrublands that maybe hot and dry. As the foodplants of this species are normally found in very disturbed habitats, so this species is also commonly spotted along roadsides and cultivated areas. They have normally two generations in a year but in the mountaineous and very dry regions, this species has only one generation. The adults are seen to fly from the beginning of March until the beginning of July.

This species is small-sized with a wing span of 40-48 mm . The upperside of both fore-and hindwings is white in colour with black patches on the apical or upper and outer margins of the forewings with a white mottled effect. The underside of the hindwings is yellowish green in colour against a white mottled background. The females are larger in size than the males and the underside of the hindwings are greenish with a mottled white effect. It is easy to identify the butterly while resting, when it keeps its wings folded up and the underside of the hindwings with the mottled yellow white colouration is seen clearly The adult females lay eggs on the underside of the leaves of larval foodplants including the flower buds.

The larvae feed on plants belonging to the Brassicaceae family (Brassica and Sinapsis sp.).

In Palestine, it is a locally common species and its distribution range is wide extending from the low-lying grasslands in the coastal region to the woody forests in the mountaineous region.

The Eastern Dappled White looks very similar to the Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri) and therefore it is very difficult to distinguish between the 2 species from their external characters. Distribution is the only tool that is used to identify the 2 species separately.

IUCN conservation status - Least Concern