Cabbage Butterfly

Description:

"Large White larvae experience four moltings and five instars.The first instar follows hatching of the egg into Large White larvae. The larvae are a light yellow in color with distinctive brown heads and have soft bodies. The larvae appear as if they are very hairy. Following a molting, the larvae enter the second instar. They have tubercles covered with black hair. In the third instar, large white larvae display more activity. This instar is when the larvae are observed to eat voraciously, and cause significant amounts of damage to their host plant. At this point, they are observed to be more yellow in color, studded with black dots. Following the third instar, the larvae go through the fourth instar, with similar appearances as the larvae of the third instar, but with more aggrandized size and feeding behavior. The Large White larvae are observed to be cylindrical, robust, and elongated by the fifth instar, yellow in color[7] and with bright coloration on their abdomen and thorax.[8] They are also observed to have a gray and black head. This instar requires maximum food quality and quantity in order to aid in full development, otherwise the larvae dies before becoming an adult butterfly. Large White larvae are continuously growing in size with each molting and instal" wiki

Habitat:

meadow countryside, Algarve

Notes:

found in various sizes