| Eastern Dappled White | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Tribe: | Anthocharini |
| Genus: | Euchloe |
| Species: | E. ausonia |
| Binomial name | |
| Euchloe ausonia (Hubner, 1805) |
|
The Eastern Dappled White (Euchloe ausonia) is a southern Europe and Eurasian butterfly found mostly to the south and east of its almost indistinguishable relative the Western Dappled White.
The wingspan is 36–48 mm. In most of its range, there are two generations. Adults are on wing from the beginning of March to the beginning of July. In mountainous and very dry areas, there is only one generation.
The larvae feed on the flowers and young fruits of Sinapis arvensis, Isatis tinctoria, Isatis glauca, Aethionema saxatile, Iberis sempervirens, Biscutella mollis, Biscutella laevigata, Bunias erucago and Aurinia saxatilis.
The three species Euchloe ausonia, Euchloe crameri and Euchloe simplona are closely related. Many authors refer to these species as the Euchloe ausonia-complex, -superspecies or -speciesgroup. Sometimes Euchloe naina is also added to this group, but the placement of this species as a subspecies of Euchloe simplonia or valid species is disputed by others. Because of these taxonomic problems, the number of subspecies is not cenrtain. The following subspecies are listed: