Butterfly ID
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Field guide · Denmark
Whites and yellows · Denmark

Cabbage butterfly

Pieris brassicae

Cabbage butterfly is common in Denmark. The wingspan is 50-65 mm. The flight season typically begins late in April, when 1. Cabbage butterfly does not impose significant requirements on its habitats, and can therefore be found almost everywhere.

Status in this countryCommon in DenmarkLC (Least concern)
Cabbage butterfly

Flight period

The flight period normally starts in late April, with the 1st generation flying for a couple of months.

Habitat

Cabbage butterfly exhibits virtually no habitat requirements and can therefore be found almost everywhere.

Identifying features

Wingspan: 50–65 mm. The forewing tips are black and boomerang-shaped.

Similar species

Large white can be confused with other cabbage whites, black-veined white and female orange tip. Small white is often considerably smaller and has wedge-shaped dark forewing tips, whereas large white has boomerang-shaped dark forewing tips.

Distribution

Cabbage butterfly is one of the most common species of day-flying butterflies in Denmark, and can therefore be found throughout the country, even on the smallest and most isolated islands.

Biology

Cabbage butterfly is a well-known and common pest of cabbage in gardens and in agriculture. The butterfly is, in addition to its damage in the home garden, known for its mass migrations, where it sometimes can make movements in groups of many millions of individuals.