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Small White | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

Small White

Pieris rapae

InsectaFarmland, allotments, gardens, waste ground and any place brassicas grow

Field profile

A small white pierid with black wingtips, familiar wherever cabbages are grown. Caterpillars feed on brassicas and other plants containing mustard oils. It is among the most successful accidentally introduced insects in the world.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-11-01

Small White

The cabbage white defuses mustard oil chemistry

Brassicas defend themselves by converting glucosinolates into toxic isothiocyanates the moment tissue is damaged. Cabbage white caterpillars carry a gut protein that redirects the reaction to a harmless product, turning a defence into a food supply.

Read with evidence →