Mountain Green-veined White (Pieris bryoniae)

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2022 photographs highlighted in blue. Click on any photograph to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.

22939_male_Valais, Switzerland_22Jul10

8298_male_Valais, Switzerland_22Jul07

40819_male_Alpes-Maritimes_2Jul16 48283_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_10Jul21

21883_female_Alpes-Maritimes_10Jul10

12206_female_Hautes-Alpes_8Jul08

26944_female_Alpes-Maritimes_11Jul11 36429_female_Valais, Switzerland_20Jul14
 
45572_female_Savoie_12Jul18 47064_female_Savoie_7Jul20 33472_male_Hautes-Alpes_7Jul13  

Bryoniae is a high altitude species closely related to the Green-veined White (P. napi). The bryoniae altitude range is a minimum of 1000m (Lafranchis says exceptionally 700m) but it is normally found at much higher altitudes. Napi has an altitude range of 0-1800m so it cannot be assumed that any green-veined species seen at high altitudes is bryoniae. It is univoltine (single brooded) in France flying from mid-June to mid-August.

 

The male strongly resembles the first brood of the male napi. The bryoniae forewing is rather more pointed, the upf apical marks of bryoniae are rather more extensive than napi. According to the Lafranchis ID book (TLID), the key characteristic is that the uph veins of bryoniae are black where they reach the margins, not so for napi.

The unh veins are heavily suffused grey, reaching to the margins, for bryoniae. This is also true for first generation napi, which has heavily suffused unh veins, but not for second generation napi, where the veins are only lightly suffused and do not reach to the margins.

 

The female has a pale creamy ground colour and is heavily suffused grey to grey-brown. The upf has a grey streak connecting the margin to the post-discal spot, although the ones I have seen have been so heavily suffused, this has been hard to determine. The female is almost impossible to confuse with any other species, even a first brood female napi.

 
ref sex

observations

alt. m
22939 M

a male, the black lining to the uph veins being quite apparent.

2150
8298 M

a male, with a suggestion of a post-discal spot in s3.

2200
40819 M a male, taking salts from the ground and obliging for a photograph. 1780
48283 M a male, with a rather more solid apical mark than others on this page. It appears to on very wet terrain, usually avoided by puddling males. 1560
21883 F

a female, relatively lightly suffused.

2000
12206 F

a female, more typically heavily suffused.

1990
26944 F a female, quite worn, although lightly suffused. 2000
36429 F another female; perhaps they get noticed and seem more common because of the degree of suffusion, whereas males may be confused with other species of whites. 2090
45572 F an unusually strongly marked female, much less suffused than the norm for female bryoniae. 2090
47064 F a particularly dusky female on a rather creamy white background. Quite appealing for a species that would otherwise be considered a little dull by comparison to its more illustrious cousins. 2010
33472 M a male. The veins are heavily suffused and reach the margins, confirming bryoniae. 2040

 

22939_male_Valais, Switzerland_22Jul10

 

8298_male_Valais, Switzerland_22Jul07

 

40819_male_Alpes-Maritimes_2Jul16

 

48283_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_10Jul21

 

21883_female_Alpes-Maritimes_10Jul10

 

12206_female_Hautes-Alpes_8Jul08

 

26944_female_Alpes-Maritimes_11Jul11

 

36429_female_Valais, Switzerland_20Jul14

 

45572_female_Savoie_12Jul18

 

47064_female_Savoie_7Jul20

 

33472_male_Hautes-Alpes_7Jul13