Pontia daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758)

Host plants:
Brassicaceae and Reseda. I found eggs and caterpillars in the French Crau to Diplotaxis tenuifolia, in the Italian Susa Valley on Reseda. In the Canaries, the species oviposits on a broad variety of Brassicaceae such as Carrichtera annua, Hirschfeldia incana, Erucastrum canariense or Lobularia canariensis.

Habitat:
Pontia daplidice inhabits hot-dry open land. The butterfly lives in the Mediterranean coastal dunes, on rocky, hot slopes etc. In western parts of Central Europe it is observed in sandy, hot habitats, mostly as rare migrant butterfly.

Life cycle:
Pontia daplidice occurs in several generations per year. The pupa overwinters. The butterflies are on the wing between April and October and are most common in late summer. In the Canaries, they can be found all year round. Oviposition occurs mostly in the inflorescence and more rarely also on stems.

Endangerment factors:
Pontia daplidice is endangered north of the Alps by the decline of sandy grasslands as well as warm fallow areas. Pontia daplidice is more common and still not particularly threatened in Southwestern Europe.

Remarks:
The Pontia daplidice complex consists of a eastern taxon Pontia edusa that occurs from Central Europe and the major part of Italy to East Asia, and the western Pontia daplidice (North Africa, Canaries and Southwestern Europe to west Germany and Northwest Italy).