Cabbage white
Pieris rapae
Butterfly
Small white butterfly whose caterpillars feed on cabbage-family plants and related mustards. In vegetable gardens it is the familiar imported cabbageworm: ecologically a real Brassicaceae herbivore, practically a pest that turns cabbages, kale, broccoli, and watercress into larval food unless gardeners manage crops with netting, hand-picking, or other low-toxicity controls.
Plants in the catalog
Larval host plants · 1
Cabbage white larvae are the imported cabbageworms that feed on cabbage and other Brassicaceae crops; protect heads with netting or hand-picking where needed.
Range
Native to Eurasia and North Africa, then accidentally introduced widely; now established across North America, Australia, New Zealand, and other regions with brassica crops and weedy mustards.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife page. The source cards below show the upstream references behind the taxonomy, range, conservation, host, forage, and habitat claims.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Cabbage white (Pieris rapae). Retrieved 2026, June 27, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/pieris-rapae
Sources for wildlife facts
8 cited fact fields are backed by the source cards below.
BugGuide: Cabbage White
North American identity, distribution, and imported-cabbageworm host reference.
Backs 4 fields
Taxonomy
Range
Lifecycle
Host plants
Wikipedia: Pieris rapae
Corroborating reference for global introduction history and Brassicaceae host-plant list, including Nasturtium officinale.
Backs 4 fields
Taxonomy
Range
Host plants
Foraging