Whites and Sulphurs (Pieridae)
The Pieridae are the whites, sulphurs, yellows and orange-tips — about 1,100 mostly white, lemon or orange butterflies found on every continent except Antarctica. You recognise them by the chalky or buttery ground colour with a black wingtip or border, six fully developed walking legs and a chrysalis girdled upright against a stem. Their caterpillars eat mustards or legumes, which is why the cabbage white is the butterfly most gardeners meet first.
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What are whites and sulphurs (Pieridae)?
The Pieridae are the whites, sulphurs, yellows, marbles and orange-tips: roughly 1,100 described species in about 90 genera, present on every continent except Antarctica. They are the butterflies most people notice first, because they fly in vegetable plots and road verges rather than deep in a wood, and around sixty species occur across the United States. The family holds four subfamilies — Pierinae (the whites, marbles and orange-tips), Coliadinae (the sulphurs and yellows), the Neotropical Dismorphiinae, and the tiny African Pseudopontiinae.
What defines the family is chemistry as much as shape. Pierid wing scales are loaded with pterin pigments, nitrogen-rich molecules built from uric acid — the waste other insects simply throw away. Leucopterin produces the chalk white, xanthopterin the lemon yellow, and erythropterin the orange and red flush on a dogface. No other butterfly family colours itself this way. Pierids also keep all six legs fully developed for walking, unlike the brush-footed butterflies, and each tarsal claw is forked into two points.
How to identify a white or a sulphur
Most whites and sulphurs are medium-sized, with a wingspan of about 1.2–2.4 in (30–60 mm). The smallest yellows drop to roughly 0.8 in (20 mm), while tropical giants such as the great orange-tip of southern Asia pass 3.5 in (90 mm). The ground colour is white, cream, lemon, orange or greenish and never metallic, and the standard markings are a black forewing apex, a dark cell spot and a dark hindwing border.
Check the underside first, because that is where most species-level marks sit. Many pierids are camouflaged below with olive or grey speckling that breaks up the outline while they roost: the ink-dusted veins of the green-veined white, or the silver cell spot ringed in pink on a clouded sulphur. Sexual dimorphism is the rule — female whites carry more black scaling, many Colias females occur in a chalky white "alba" form, and the orange forewing flash of a male orange-tip is absent in the female. Much of that signalling happens in ultraviolet, invisible to us but obvious to the butterflies. The family confused with the Pieridae most often is the Nymphalidae, and the quickest test is to count the legs: a brush-foot stands on four, a pierid on all six.
Life cycle of the Pieridae
Eggs
Pierid eggs are unmistakable: tall spindles standing on end, ribbed lengthways with fine keels, usually laid singly on a leaf or stem of the host plant. They start white or cream and deepen to yellow or vivid orange within a day, which makes an orange-tip egg on a cuckooflower one of the easiest butterfly eggs to find in spring. A few species, such as the large white, lay batches of fifty or more instead.
Caterpillar
The larvae are smooth cylinders with no horns, spines or fleshy tubercles — this family carries no armour at all. Most are green or blue-green with a velvety coat of very short setae and pale stripes down the sides. The cabbage white caterpillar is plain velvety green with a faint yellow dorsal line; it is not the black-spotted, yellow-banded larva of the large white, a confusion that runs through older accounts. Five instars are typical, as in most butterfly caterpillars.
Chrysalis
Pierid pupae are girdled, not hanging. The caterpillar spins a silk pad, hooks its cremaster into it, then throws a silk thread around its own thorax so the chrysalis sits upright against a stem, fence or wall — the same construction the swallowtails use. The shape is angular, with a pointed head projection and a keeled back, and the colour is green or brown-grey according to the surface rather than the species. It is fully exposed, not hidden inside a leaf.
Adult butterfly
Most adults live two to four weeks. The exception is the European brimstone, which emerges in midsummer, hibernates whole among ivy or bramble and flies again the following spring — an adult life of ten to twelve months. Temperate whites normally overwinter as a chrysalis, and broods range from one a year in Arctic and orange-tip populations to three or more in the cabbage white.
Host plants and adult food
Host-plant choice splits neatly along subfamily lines. The Pierinae are mustard specialists, laying on host plants in the Brassicaceae and Capparaceae — cabbage, rocket, watercress, cuckooflower, hedge mustard and caper. Their caterpillars survive the glucosinolate defence that poisons most other insects by redirecting the reaction with a nitrile-specifier protein in the gut, which is why a cabbage patch is a pierid nursery and almost nobody else's. The Coliadinae go instead to the pea family: clover and alfalfa for the sulphurs, partridge pea and other cassias for the little yellow, and sennas for the cloudless sulphur. Older accounts that list ragwort or thistle as pierid host plants are simply wrong — those belong to moths and to the painted lady, not to this family.
Adults are nectar generalists: clover, thistle, aster, lantana, milkweed and roadside composites all get visited. Males of many species also drink at damp sand and mud, taking up sodium and amino acids they later pass to the female in the spermatophore.
Where whites and sulphurs live
Pieridae occur worldwide apart from Antarctica, and the family is richest in the tropics — the Neotropics, sub-Saharan Africa and the Indo-Australian region hold most of the species. In temperate countries the group is small but conspicuous: a couple of dozen species in Europe, roughly sixty north of Mexico.
Almost all of them are open-country butterflies. Meadows, clover fields, arable margins, road verges, gardens, dunes and alpine grassland suit them far better than closed forest, and the few woodland species, such as the wood white and the brimstone, still use sunny rides rather than shade. The family reaches extremes few butterflies manage: Colias sulphurs fly on the tundra of Greenland and Arctic Canada and in the Himalaya above 4,000 m, while Phoebis and Eurema swarm in lowland heat across Texas and into the subtropics. The clouded yellow reaches Britain only as a migrant from the Mediterranean, in numbers that swing wildly from one year to the next.
Behavior: patrolling, basking and migration
Flight style is the quickest field clue. Whites bob and flutter low over the vegetation in a loose, looping line; sulphurs fly faster and straighter, often a metre or two up and hard to follow. Males patrol rather than perch, quartering a meadow all morning for freshly emerged females; a mated female refuses by landing, spreading her wings flat and lifting her abdomen vertically.
Sulphurs are lateral baskers: they close the wings, tilt sideways to the sun and use the dark scaling at the wing base to warm the thorax, which is why Colias of cold climates carry heavier dark scaling. Whites more often reflect sunlight off partly opened wings onto the body instead.
Several pierids are genuine migrants. Clouded yellows push north across Europe from North Africa every spring, the cloudless sulphur streams along the south-eastern coasts of the United States in autumn, and Asian Catopsilia form long directional flights — behaviour covered in our guide to butterfly migration. Males of the California dogface and other sulphurs gather in puddling clusters at wet sand.
Butterflies in this family
13 whites and sulphur butterflies profiles on Butterfly Identification, each with pictures of the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult, identification marks, host plants, range and FAQ.
Eurema lisaLittle Yellow (Eurema lisa)A thumbnail-sized sulphur that flutters low over roadsides and fallow fields, the little yellow is one of the most numerous butterflies in eastern Nor
Zerene eurydiceCalifornia Dogface (Zerene eurydice)The state insect of California is a fast yellow sulphur with a silhouette of a dog's head printed on the male's forewing.
Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur (Colias philodice)The clouded sulphur is the plain yellow butterfly of North American roadsides, clover lawns and alfalfa fields, common from Alaska to the Gulf.
Gonepteryx rhamniBrimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)The brimstone is a large, leaf-shaped yellow butterfly of woodland edges, hedgerows and gardens across Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia, and th
Pieris rapaeCabbage White (Pieris rapae)The cabbage white is probably the most-seen butterfly on the planet: a small, chalk-white insect with one or two black spots that drifts over allotmen
Pontia protodiceCheckered White (Pontia protodice)The checkered white is a medium-sized white butterfly of dry, open, disturbed ground across the United States and northern Mexico, recognised by the g
Colias croceusClouded Yellow (Colias croceus)The clouded yellow (Colias croceus) is a fast, low-flying golden-orange butterfly of open grassland, breeding around the Mediterranean and North Afric
Phoebis sennaeCloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)The cloudless sulphur is a large, fast-flying lemon-yellow butterfly of the Americas, resident from Argentina north through the tropics to the souther
EuchloeDappled White (Euchloe)The dappled whites are the roughly forty small spring butterflies of the genus Euchloe, found across Europe, North Africa, temperate Asia and western 
Pieris napiGreen-veined White (Pieris napi)The green-veined white (Pieris napi) is a medium-sized white butterfly of damp meadows, woodland rides, hedgerows and stream banks across Europe, Nort
Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)The orange sulphur is a medium-sized orange-and-black butterfly of open fields, roadsides and alfalfa farms across almost the whole of North America, 
Anthocharis cardaminesOrange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines)The orange-tip is a small white butterfly of damp meadows, hedgerows, woodland rides and gardens across Europe and temperate Asia, and the male's defi
Eurema nicippeSleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe)The sleepy orange is a small, deep-orange sulphur of the southern United States, Mexico and Central America, easily known by the ragged black border tFamilies that look similar
| Family | Looks like | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|---|
| Brush-footed (Nymphalidae) | Pale species such as the white peacock read as "a white butterfly" | Brush-foots stand on four legs, the hairy forelegs tucked under the head; pierids walk on all six and have forked claws |
| Swallowtail (Papilionidae) | Apollos and other parnassians are white with dark marks and no tails | Parnassians show translucent wing panels and red-ringed eyespots; pierid wings are opaque and chalky |
| Gossamer-winged (Lycaenidae) | Small yellows resemble distant coppers and blues | Lycaenids are much smaller, and most carry hair-thin tails and spots at the hindwing corner; pierids have neither |
| White and yellow moths | Ermines and day-flying geometrids share the same fields | Moths rest with the wings flat or tented and have feathery or thread-like antennae; every pierid has a clubbed antenna |
Did you know?
- Pierid whites and yellows are made from waste: the pterin pigments in the scales are built from uric acid, the nitrogen compound most animals simply excrete.
- The family contains four subfamilies — Pierinae, Coliadinae, Dismorphiinae and Pseudopontiinae — the last with only a few small African species.
- "Sulphur" and "brimstone" are old names for the same yellow mineral, which is where the group's English names come from; one popular but unproven explanation traces the word "butterfly" itself to the butter-yellow male brimstone.
- The California dogface, Zerene eurydice, has been the state insect of California since 1972 and lives nowhere else.
- The cabbage white reached North America around 1860, near Quebec, and is now one of the most widespread butterflies on Earth.
- Many whites recognise a mate mainly by ultraviolet reflectance, a signal channel we cannot see.
In summary
The Pieridae, the whites and sulphurs, are a family of roughly 1,100 mostly white, yellow and orange butterflies identified by six walking legs and forked claws, spindle-shaped ribbed eggs, smooth green caterpillars without spines, and a chrysalis girdled upright against a stem. Pierine caterpillars eat mustards, coliadine caterpillars eat legumes, and several species are true long-distance migrants.
Frequently asked questions about whites and sulphurs
What butterflies are in the whites and sulphurs family?
The Pieridae include the whites, sulphurs, yellows, marbles and orange-tips — about 1,100 species worldwide. Familiar members are the cabbage white, green-veined white, checkered white, orange-tip, brimstone, clouded yellow, clouded sulphur, orange sulphur, cloudless sulphur, little yellow, sleepy orange and the California dogface, the state insect of California.
How do I tell a white butterfly from a white moth?
Look at the antennae and the resting posture. Every pierid has a slim antenna ending in a distinct club and holds its wings closed above the back when settled. White and yellow moths such as ermines and geometrids have feathery or thread-like antennae and rest with the wings flat or tented over the body, and most fly at dusk.
Are whites and sulphurs poisonous?
No. Whites and sulphurs are not poisonous to people or pets, and they do not bite or sting. Some pierine caterpillars store mustard-oil compounds from their cabbage-family host plants, which makes them unpleasant to certain birds, but the amounts are tiny and harmless to humans handling a caterpillar or an adult.
What do whites and sulphurs eat?
Caterpillars eat leaves: whites feed on mustard-family plants such as cabbage, rocket, watercress and cuckooflower, while sulphurs and yellows feed on legumes such as clover, alfalfa, senna and partridge pea. Adults drink flower nectar from clover, thistle, aster, lantana and verbena, and males also sip minerals from damp sand and mud.
Why are sulphur butterflies yellow?
Their yellow comes from pterin pigments packed into the wing scales. Pterins are built from uric acid, the nitrogen waste other insects excrete, and the family recycles it into colour: xanthopterin gives lemon yellow, erythropterin adds orange and red, and leucopterin produces the chalk white of the whites. The colour is chemical, not structural.
How long do whites and sulphurs live?
Most adults live two to four weeks. The brimstone is the striking exception: it emerges in midsummer, hibernates as an adult through the winter and flies again in spring, so a single individual can live ten to twelve months. Eggs hatch in about a week and caterpillars feed for two to four weeks.
Do whites and sulphurs migrate?
Several do. Clouded yellows move north across Europe from North Africa and the Mediterranean every spring, sometimes reaching Britain and Scandinavia. In North America the cloudless sulphur streams south along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts in autumn, and tropical Catopsilia species form long directional flights in Africa and Asia. Most other pierids simply wander locally.
What is the difference between Pieridae and Nymphalidae?
Count the legs. Pierids walk on all six legs and their claws are forked into two points, while brush-footed butterflies stand on four and keep the shrunken, hairy front pair folded under the head. Pierids are also almost always white, yellow or orange, whereas nymphalids are usually orange, brown or dark with complex patterns.
Where do whites and sulphurs lay their eggs?
Females lay on the host plant itself, usually singly and upright on a leaf underside, a flower bud or a stem — whites on mustard-family plants, sulphurs on legumes. The egg is spindle-shaped with vertical ribs and turns from cream to yellow or orange in a day or two. Large whites lay batches instead.
Is the cabbage white a pest?
It can be. Cabbage white caterpillars feed openly on cabbage, kale, broccoli and related crops and a heavy brood will shred the leaves. Growers control them with row covers, hand-picking or Bacillus thuringiensis rather than broad insecticides. In gardens the damage is usually cosmetic, and the butterfly is a useful pollinator of clover and brassica flowers.
13 species profiles · Last updated September 20, 2026