Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Pine White
Neophasia menapia (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1859)


Family: Pieridae
Subfamily: Pierinae
Identification: Upperside of forewing has a mostly all white cell and black band along costal margin. Underside of hindwing has black veins. Female resembles male but is duller; hindwings often with red edges and tinged with yellow.
Wing Span: 1 3/4 - 2 1/4 inches (4.5 - 5.8 cm).
Life History: Males patrol near host trees for females. Eggs are laid stuck together in a row on a conifer needle. Caterpillars feed in groups when they are young and move apart when they are older. Caterpillars pupate at the base of the host tree after descending from the tree on a silken thread. Eggs hibernate.
Flight: One flight June-September.
Caterpillar Hosts: Needles of various conifers including pines (Pinus species), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and true firs (Abies species).
Adult Food: Flower nectar including rabbitbrush, other yellow-flowered composites, and monarda.
Habitat: Western coniferous forests.
Range: British Columbia east to Alberta, south through Rocky Mountain states and California to Mexico; range just extends into western South Dakota and western Nebraska.
Conservation: Not usually needed.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: Caterpillar outbreaks occasionally defoliate ponderosa pine stands (Pinus ponderosa).
Comments: NULL
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