Southern white butterfly makes spectacular appearance

I got calls. I got letters. I got stopped on the street. Everyone wanted to know what kind of butterfly was fluttering by.

It’s the great Southern white butterfly (Ascia monuste) and it seems to be having a pretty good spring judging by the unusual number of them around. This is probably due to the mild and wet winter and an abundance of wild mustard growing here about. The great Southern white can be found from Argentina to North America. For the most part, in the U.S. its highest populations are in central Florida, but occasionally they will be seen as far north and west as Colorado.

The caterpillars feed on members of the plant family Brassicaceae, which include the aforementioned mustards as well as cabbages, collard greens and radishes. They also will feed on nasturtiums and pepper weeds. The butterflies can be found on a wide range of small-flowered plants. The adults live off of nectar and seem to be especially fond of lantana and verbenas.

The males are bright white with a black to gray area along the tip of the leading edge of the fore wings. Sometimes the underside of the back wings may be a pale yellow. The females are less noticeable. They’re more of a grayish on both the dorsal and ventral aspects of their wings. Both sexes have long, segmented antennae with a clubbed point that is turquoise-green or blue.

The adults live only a few weeks, so enjoy them while you can. There should be another generation along around midsummer. At that point, they may begin their journey (like other members of the Pieridae) south into peninsular Florida.

This story was originally published June 23, 2016 at 5:52 AM with the headline "Southern white butterfly makes spectacular appearance."