Species guide

Cabbage white

Nuisance, not harmful

Pieris rapae

Cabbage white

How to recognise it

White wings with charcoal tips and one (males) or two (females) black spots on each forewing.

Is it dangerous?

Harmless to people, but its velvety green caterpillars are a common pest of cabbage, kale and other brassicas.

What to do

Net brassicas or pick off the caterpillars to protect the crop.

Recorded 3,657,255 times in the wild worldwide.

Think you've spotted one?

Photograph it and let SpecieSense confirm the species — and show you the reasoning.

Identify a specimen

Related species guides