Bath White Butterfly Life Cycle

Bath White Butterfly

Bath White Butterfly (Pontia Daplidice) is one of the most common and widespread butterflies found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They are commonly seen in the months of April, May, September and October. Here are the pictures representing different stages of Bath White Butterfly Life Cycle.

Egg or Ovum Stage
Bath White Butterfly lay individual eggs on the host pant. The eggs are yellow-green when first laid (1st Pic) and then turn orange with the passage of time (2nd Pic). The common host plant in our area are wild mignonette, hedge mustard and sea radish. Eggs hatch in about 6-7 days.

Bath White Butterfly Egg  (Ova)
Bath White Butterfly Egg (Ova)

 Larva or Caterpillar Stage
Bath White Butterfly larva is basically of bluish-green color with yellow strips and black spots. The larva stage lasts from 3 to 4 weeks, depending on temperature.

Bath White Butterfly Caterpillar
Bath White Butterfly Caterpillar
Pre-Pupa Caterpillar

Pupa (Chrysalis) Stage
When the caterpillar is ready to pupate, it attaches itself to a stem or leaf at rear in an upright position, supported by a silk girdle at the center. It shades the outer skin within 24 hours and transforms into pupa. I observed the pupae in two different colors i.e. yellowish-green and brown. The Pupa stage lasts about 6 to 7 days.

Bath White Butterfly Pupa/Chrysalis
Bath White Butterfly Pupa/Chrysalis
Bath White Butterfly Pupa/Chrysalis

Adult Stage

Newly Emerged Bath White Butterfly

19 comments:

சிவாஜி said...

Its really nice! you must be a philosopher and poet. Do u know tamil birdy?

sciencedude said...

Great job capturing the entire lifecycle so well and accurately. I would assume that this is one you found and came back to on a regular basis?

Birdy Official said...

Thanks சிவாஜி for the feedback. Philosopher and poet? I don't know any thing about philosophy and poetry. No, I don't know Tamil.

Sharodindu said...

good to see the insects... nice capture as you always do..
Soo these days u people are talking about poetry and philosophy? Great Combo!!!

Anonymous said...

Most fascinating post, Birdy. I got lost in the stages....I have not come across this butterfly in my area. But I have come across a somewhat similar looking pupa on my tomato plant. Haven't posted that because I wasn't sure. Maybe I'll do that some time.

Thank you for sharing these photos.

Monique et Daniel said...

Superbes photos,
et quelle patience de partir de la chenille et attendre l'émergence !

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

A facsinating and brilliant series Birdy. Well done!!

Birdy Official said...

Thanks Sciencedude for the comment. In most cases I bring the caterpillars to home for better observations. Except the eggs photos, all other photos in this post are taken at my home.

Thanks Sharodindu for your comment and appreciation. The credit of declaring me philosopher and poet goes to சிவாஜி.

Thanks Kanak for your detail comment. The best way to identify a pupa is to keep it under observation till the emergence of butterfly. When I found the above green colored pupa, I was not sure about its ID, but after emergence, I came to know that it was a bath white butterfly pupa.

Thanks Monique et Daniel for taking time to comment on my blog. That's right, capturing the life cycle of insects require patience and time.

Thanks Joan for the comment and appreciation.

Philip said...

Great to see a complete life cycle of this butterfly, very interesting Birdy :))

Birdy Official said...

Thanks Philip for the comment and liking the post.

myonlyphoto said...

Birdy well documented. Thanks for sharing. It isn't that easy to photograph the life cycle of any species, and you did it. Well done. Anna :)

Birdy Official said...

Thanks Anna! You are right, but when it comes to hobby, I really love and enjoy to photograph the life cycle of insects.

Zane said...

Very informative series - gives one a good idea what to look out for. Like the bullet / conical shape of the egg. Lovely photos - you must have been patient and dedicated to obtain this series.

Wonderful!

Andrea said...

Hi Birdy, i dont think i've already seen that butterfly here, but the larvae seems familiar. Whenever i bring pupa home to see how the adult looks like, normally ants eat them so i dont take them home anymore. Why did you not take the top photo, it could be more beautiful.

Elettra said...

This photo are amazing and very interesting.

P.S.I heard news of the floods that hit your country, you're safe as it is the situation?

Marvin said...

A great series, very educational and your photos do and excellent job of illustrating the butterfly's life cycle.

Friend of HK said...

Thanks for sharing the amazing photos and the information. I will definitely come back!

Birdy Official said...

Thanks you all for leaving some encouraging feedback on my blog post. This is your encouragement and appreciation which lead me to keep this blog up.

daisugi said...

wow..what a great post..have all stage of butterfly's life cycle..wish i could do the same thing to my post..

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