Madeiran large white

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Madeiran large white
Madeiran Large White (female)

Critically endangered, possibly extinct  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Pieris
Species:
P. brassicae
Subspecies:
P. b. wollastoni
Trinomial name
Pieris brassicae wollastoni
(Butler, 1886)
Synonyms
  • Ganoris wollastoni Butler, 1886
  • Pieris wollastoni
  • Pieris cheiranthi wollastoni

The Madeiran large white (Pieris brassicae wollastoni) is a

endemic to Madeira.[2] It was described by the English entomologist, Arthur Gardiner Butler
in 1886.

Description

They can reach a size of 55 to 65 millimeters (2 to 2.5 inches). The wings are pure white with a wide black tip on the apexes of the forewings. Its natural

laurisilva laurel forest.[3]

Larvae have yellow stripes on the upper part of the green body and has black lumps. Known food plants are nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea).[4]

Decline

Considering that the butterfly was last collected in 1977, and not found since despite a 15-year survey during the 1980s and 1990s, it might be either extremely rare or possibly extinct.[5]

The disappearance of this species coincides with the introduction, in the 1950s, of the

granulosis virus, for which the Madeiran large white had no resistance. [6] Another reason may be the introduction of a widely introduced agricultural bioagent, the wasp parasitoid, Cotesia glomerata, which was found in the western Canary Islands in May 2006. It uses the Pieridae as a host and is commonly found where Pieridae species are in abundance.[7]

Distribution

Endemic to Madeira and found in the northern valleys of the laurel forest.

Etymology

The scientific name commemorates

taxa
on Madeira.

Madeiran Large White (male)

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-1.RLTS.T39483A10240995.en
    .
  2. ISBN 90-6193-128-2
  3. ^ Pieris brassicae wollastoni Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Madeiran Large White Pieris brassicae wollastoni Butler, 1886". Madeira Birdwatching. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  5. ^ Lewis Smith (3 November 2007). "Man drives butterfly into extinction and it could be bad news for us too". The Times.
  6. ^ Gardiner, B. (2003) The possible cause of extinction of Pieris brassicae wollastoni Butler (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Entomologist's Gazette 54:267–268
  7. S2CID 35335862
    .

Further reading

  • Holt White, A.E. & Rashleigh (editors) (1894) The butterflies and moths of Teneriffe. Illustrated from the author's drawings. L. Reeve & Co., London

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Madeiran_large_white&oldid=1212334769"