Cabbage Butterfly (The Large White)

The Large White is common throughout Europe, north Africa, and Asia to the Himalayas often in agricultural areas, meadows and parkland. It has managed to establish a population in South Africa and in 1995 it was predicted to spread to Australia and New Zealand. The Large White is a strong flier and the British population is reinforced in most years by migrations from the continent. Scattered reports of the Large White from the northeastern United States (New York, Rhode Island and Maine) over the past century are of a dubious nature and indicate either accidental transport or intentional release. Such introductions threaten to establish this agricultural pest in North America.