Pioneer white
The pioneer white is a white butterfly with black edges and black veins on its wings. Underneath, its wings can be yellowish with thick dark lines. In Africa huge clouds of them fly together across the land.
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Fun facts
In Africa it is famous for flying north-east in very large groups in summer and autumn.
Its mother lays about 20 eggs together in one batch.
The young caterpillars stay together in a group.
It looks a bit different in the wet season and in the dry season.
In India it can be found up in the mountains, as high as 2400 metres.
Most asked questions about Pioneer white
?Why do pioneer whites fly in huge groups?
They migrate. In Africa large numbers travel north-east across the land every summer and autumn.
?What does the pioneer white caterpillar eat?
Leaves of caper bushes and related plants.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Belenois aurota
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Pieridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Pieridae
- Lives on
- Africa, Asia
- Also known as
- Pioneer, Caper white, Brown-veined white
Where the facts come from
- Belenois aurota (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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