Leptidea sinapis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wood White sighting in Paris on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 519th most-seen of the 916 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Wood White in Paris on a given day, against under 5% in May to 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.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Wood White sightings, Paris ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Istanbul (Turkey, about 10%).
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the Wood White that you can see in Paris (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Small White (about 20%), Green-Veined White (about 20%) and Orange-Tip (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 Paris (16 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.
