Pieris wollastoni (Butler, 1886:430)
Madeiran large white
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Ganoris Wollastoni Butler, 1886 (original combination); Pieris brassicae wollastoni Butler, 1886; Pieris cheiranthi wollastoni Butler, 1886
Conservation Status
Extinct (Wiemers et al., 2018; van Swaay et al., 2025)
Last record (disputed): 1977; 1986 (van Swaay et al. 2010a:9, 2025; Wiemers et al., 2018); 1980's (Wakeham-Dawson et al., 2002); 2000 (unconfirmed; Wakeham-Dawson et al., 2000)
IUCN RedList status: Extinct
Unconfirmed records exist from near Rabaçal in 2000 (Wakeham-Dawson et al., 2000).
Distribution & Habitat
Madeira
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Butler, Arthur G. (1886). Description of a hitherto unnamed butterfly from Madeira. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology (5) 17(101): 430.
Other references:
Aguiar, A. M. F. and Karsholt, O. (2006). Systematic catalogue of the entomofauna of the Madeira Archipelago and Selvagens Islands. Lepidoptera 1. Bol Mus Municip Funchal Suppl 9: 5-139.
American Museum of Natural History and Levon Biss (photographer). (2023). Extinct & Endangered: Insects in Peril. ABRAMS. 144 pp.
Fontaine, B., Bouchet, P., Van Achterberg, K., Alonso-Zarazaga, M.A., Araujo, R., Asche, M., Aspöck, U. Audisio, P., Aukema, B., Bailly, N., Balsamo, M., Bank, R.A., Barnard, P., Belfiore, C., Bogdanowicz, W., Bongers, T., Boxshall, G., Burckhardt, D., Camicas, J.-L., Chylarecki, P., Crucitti, P., Deharveng,L., Dubois, A., Enghoff, H., Faubel, A., Fochetti, R., Gargominy, O., Gibson, D., Gibson, R., Soledad Gómez López, M., Goujet, D., Harvey, M.S., Heller, K.-G., Van Helsdingen, P., Hoch, H., De Jong, H., De Jong, Y., Karsholt, O., Los, W., Lundqvist, L., Magowski, W., Manconi, R., Martens, J. Massard, J.A., Massard-Geimer, G., Mcinnes, S.J., Mendes, L.F., Mey, E., Michelsen, V., Minelli, A., Nielsen, C., Nieto Nafría, J.M., Van Nieukerken, E.J., Noyes, J., Pape, T., Pohl, H., De Prins, W., Ramos, M., Ricci, C., Roselaar, C., Rota, E., Schmidt-Rhaesa, A., Segers, H., Zur Strassen, R., Szeptycki, A., Thibaud, J.-M., Thomas, A., Timm, T., Van Tol, J., Vervoort, W. and Willmann, R. (2007). The European Union’s 2010 target: Putting rare species in focus. Biological Conservation 139(1-2): 167-185. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.06.012
Gardiner, B. (2003). The possible cause of extinction of Pieris brassicae wollastoni Butler (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Entomologist's Gazette 54: 267-268.
Holt White, A. E. (author) and Holt White, Rashleigh (editor). (1894). The butterflies and moths of Teneriffe. Illustrated from the author's drawings. London: L. Reeve & Co.
Lace, L. A. and Jones, M. J. (1984). Habitat preferences and status of the Madeiran butterfly fauna. Boletim do Museu Municipal do Funchal 36(162): 162-176.
Lozan, A. I., Monaghan, M. T., Spitzer, K., Jaroš, J., Žurovcová, M. and Brož , V. (2007). DNA-based confirmation that the parasitic wasp Cotesia glomerata (Braconidae, Hymenoptera) is a new threat to endemic butterflies of the Canary Islands. Conservation Genetics 9: 1431-1437. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-007-9470-4
van Swaay, C., Cuttelod, A., Collins, S., Maes, D., López Munguira, M., Šašić, M., Settele, J., Verovnik, R., Verstrael, T., Warren, M., Wiemers, M. and Wynhof, I. (2010a). European Red List of Butterfies. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
van Swaay, C., Ellis, S. and Warren, M. (2025). Pieris wollastoni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T39483A211437583. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS.T39483A211437583.en. Accessed on 18 July 2026.
van Swaay, C., Wynhoff, I., Verovnik, R., Wiemers, M., López Munguira, M., Maes, D., Sasic, M., Verstrael, T., Warren, M. and Settele, J. (2010b). Pieris wollastoni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 15 February 2015.
van Swaay, C., Wynhoff, I., Verovnik, R., Wiemers, M., López Munguira, M., Maes, D., Sasic, M., Verstrael, T., Warren, M. and Settele, J. (2010c). Pieris wollastoni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T39483A10240995. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-1.RLTS.T39483A10240995.en. Accessed on 06 July 2022.
Wakeham-Dawson, Andrew, Aguiar, Antonio M. Franquinho and Martin, Geoff. (2002). The distribution of endemic butterflies (Lepidoptera) on the island of Madeira, Portugal since 1850 with comments on their current conservation status. Entomologist’s Gazette 53(3): 153-180.
Wakeham-Dawson, Andrew, Aguiar, Antonio M. Franquinho, Salmon, M. A. and Warren, L. L. (2000). Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) records from Madeira, 28 February - 6 March 2000, with an identification key to resident and common migrant Madeiran butterfly species. Entomologist's Gaz. 51: 235-238.
Wakeham-Dawson, Andrew, Salmon, M. and Aguiar, Antonio M. Franquinho. (2001). Field Guide to the Butterflies of the Funchal Ecological Park and Madeiran Archipelago. Funchal.
Wiemers, M., Balletto, E., Dincă, V., Fric, Z. F., Lamas, G., Lukhtanov, V., Munguira, M. L., van Swaay, C. A. M., Vila, R., Vliegenthart, A., Wahlberg, N. and Verovnik, R. (2018). An updated checklist of the European Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea). ZooKeys 811: 9-45. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.811.28712
Wiemers, M., Ellis, S., Cosma, E., Sevilleja, C., van Swaay, C. A. M., Wynhoff, I., Gallego-Zamorano, J. and Marques Teixeira, S. B. (2022). Species Action Plan for the Madeiran Large White Pieris wollastoni. Butterfly Conservation Europe.
http://www.extinct.minks-lang.de/a.englisch/arten.p/pieris.brassicae1.html
https://extinctandendangered.com/gallery/pieris-brassicae-wollastoni