Madeiran large white facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Madeiran large white |
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| Madeiran Large White (female) | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Genus: | Pieris |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: |
P. b. wollastoni
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| Trinomial name | |
| Pieris brassicae wollastoni (Butler, 1886)
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The Madeiran large white (Pieris brassicae wollastoni) is a special type of butterfly. It is a subspecies of the well-known large white butterfly. This butterfly was only found on the island of Madeira. This means it was endemic to Madeira. An English bug expert, Arthur Gardiner Butler, first described it in 1886.
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What Does It Look Like?
These butterflies could grow to be about 5.5 to 6.5 centimeters (2 to 2.5 inches) wide. That's about the size of your thumb to your pointer finger! Their wings were pure white. They had a wide black tip on the top corners of their front wings.
The Madeiran large white lived in the laurisilva laurel forest. This is a very old and special type of forest found on Madeira.
Life Cycle and Food
The baby butterflies, called larvae or caterpillars, were green. They had yellow stripes along their bodies. They also had small black bumps. These caterpillars liked to eat certain plants. Their favorite foods were nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea).
Why Did It Disappear?
The Madeiran large white butterfly has not been seen since 1977. Experts searched for it for 15 years in the 1980s and 1990s. But they couldn't find any. This means it might be extremely rare, or it could even be extinct.
Its disappearance happened around the same time another butterfly arrived. This was the small white butterfly, which came to Madeira in the 1950s. Scientists are not completely sure why the Madeiran large white vanished.
One idea is that the small white butterfly brought a new virus. This virus is called a granulosis virus. The Madeiran large white butterflies might not have been able to fight off this new sickness.
Another possible reason is a tiny wasp. This wasp, called Cotesia glomerata, is a parasitoid. This means it lays its eggs inside other insects, like butterflies. This wasp was found in the nearby Canary Islands in 2006. It is common where there are many butterflies like the Madeiran large white.
Where Did It Live?
The Madeiran large white butterfly was only found on the island of Madeira. It lived in the northern valleys of the laurel forest.
Where Did Its Name Come From?
The scientific name of this butterfly remembers Thomas Vernon Wollaston. He was another English bug expert. He discovered many different insects on Madeira.
