The Madeiran large white (Pieris brassicae wollastoni) is a subspecies of the large white butterfly, endemic to Madeira.[2] It was described by the English entomologist, Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1886.

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:
Subspecies:
P. b. wollastoni
Trinomial name
Pieris brassicae wollastoni
(Butler, 1886)
Synonyms
  • Ganoris wollastoni Butler, 1886
  • Pieris wollastoni
  • Pieris cheiranthi wollastoni

Description

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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 habitat is the 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

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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 small white butterfly (Pieris rapae). The mechanisms involved are not fully understood but a viral infection may be involved with the small white introducing a different strain 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

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

Etymology

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The scientific name commemorates Thomas Vernon Wollaston, an English entomologist who has discovered several insect taxa on Madeira.

 
Madeiran Large White (male)

References

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  1. ^ van Swaay, C.; Wynhoff, I.; Verovnik, R.; Wiemers, M.; López Munguira, M.; Maes, D.; Sasic, M.; Verstrael, T.; Warren, M. & Settele, J. (2010). "Pieris wollastoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T39483A10240995. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-1.RLTS.T39483A10240995.en.
  2. ^ John Feltwell. Large white butterfly: The Biology, Biochemistry and Physiology of Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus). Springer, 1982 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. ^ Lozan, Aurel I.; Monaghan, Michael T.; Spitzer, Karel; Jaroš, Josef; Žurovcová, Martina; Brož, Václav (2007-11-24). "DNA-based confirmation that the parasitic wasp Cotesia glomerata (Braconidae, Hymenoptera) is a new threat to endemic butterflies of the Canary Islands". Conservation Genetics. 9 (6): 1431–1437. doi:10.1007/s10592-007-9470-4. S2CID 35335862.

Further reading

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