FAMILY PIERIDAE

The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing approximately 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and Asia.
Most pierid butterflies are white, yellow or orange in coloration, often with black spots. The pigments that give the
distinct colouring to these butterflies are derived from waste products in the body and are a characteristic of this family.
It is believed that the name "butterfly" originated from a member of this family — the Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni —
which was called the "butter-coloured fly" by early British naturalists.
The sexes usually differ, often in the pattern or number of the black markings. Males of many species
exhibit gregarious mud-puddling behavior when they may imbibe salts from moist soils.

The text above is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and is licensed under the GFDL.

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