Leptidea sinapis
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Leptidea sinapis, or the wood white butterfly of the family Pieridae, is a small white butterfly that is mainly found in England, Ireland, and Northern Europe. The butterfly has white wings with grey or yellow markings near the center or tip of the wing. It flies slowly and low over its shrubbery habitat. Males initiate courtship with females and can mate multiply, while females tend to only mate once in their lifetime.
The wood white was added to the UK BAP Priority Species list in 2005 due to a substantial decline in the population, especially in England. This decline has been attributed to changes in woodland regions, including increased shade due to tree planting, and the failure to maintain woodland rides in a satisfactory way for wood whites to oviposit. Conservation efforts are currently striving to understand how to best maintain woodland regions and are examining the effect of climate change (particularly during the winter months) on egg survival.
There are several subspecies of L. sinapis. These subspecies are all found in nearby regions, and thus geographical variation is slight. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Wood White sighting in Istanbul on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 156th most-seen of the 266 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–July and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Wood White in Istanbul on a given day, against under 5% in August and October–March, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Wood White sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Wood White sightings, Istanbul has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Paris (France, under 5%).
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the Wood White that you can see in Istanbul (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Small White (about 20%), Clouded Yellow (about 10%) and Large White (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Wood White is recorded against all the insects logged in Istanbul (10 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
