Cabbage White Butterfly

butterflies · gardens · insects

Loves cabbage plants. This butterfly is obsessed with cabbage and other plants in the same family. Its caterpillars chomp on the leaves, which is why farmers and gardeners sometimes find them annoying.

White with black dots. The cabbage white has pretty white wings decorated with small black spots. You can tell it apart from a bigger cousin butterfly because this one is smaller and doesn't have a thick black band on its wing tips.

World traveler butterfly. This butterfly started in Europe but has spread to North America, the United Kingdom, and even New Zealand. It's one of the most common butterflies you might see in a garden anywhere in the world.

Easy to spot. Because it's small to medium-sized and bright white, you can often see it fluttering around vegetable gardens in spring and summer. Many people spot them for the first time in their own yards.