  the pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing approximately 1,100 species, mostly from tropical africa and tropical asia.devries p. j. in levin s.a. (ed) 2001 the encyclopaedia of biodiversity. academic press. 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.carter, david, butterflies and moths (2000) it is believed that the name "butterfly" originated from a member of this family â the brimstone gonepteryx rhamni â 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. the larvae (caterpillars) of a few of these species, such as pieris brassicae and pieris rapae, commonly seen in gardens, feed on brassicas, and are notorious agricultural pests. males of many species exhibit gregarious mud-puddling behavior when they may imbibe salts from moist soils. == classification == the pieridae have the radial vein on the forewing with 3 or 4 branches and rarely with 5 branches. the fore legs are well developed in both sexes, unlike in the nymphalidae, and the tarsal claws are bifid unlike in the papilionidae.borror, d. j., triplehorn, c. a., & johnson, n. f. (1989). an introduction to the study of insects (6th ed.). philadelphia: saunders college publishers. isbn 0-03-025397-7 like the papilionidae, pieridae also have their pupae held at an angle by a silk girdle, but running at the first abdominal segment unlike the thoracic girdle seen in the papilionidae. == subfamilies == the pieridae are generally divided into the following four subfamilies: * dismorphiinae (6 genera) mostly neotropical, this group includes several mimetical species. the host plants are in the family fabaceae. * pierinae (55 genera) whites, ye
Insect_families Pieridae