Large White vs Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Large White Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet
Scientific Name Pieris brassicae Xanthorhoe ferrugata
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Pieridae Geometridae
Size 58-63 mm wingspan 22-28 mm wingspan
Habitat Farmland Woodlands
Diet Nectar Feeders Herbivores
Regions Europe, Asia, Africa Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Large White

A common white butterfly with black wingtips and one or two black spots on the forewing. Its green-yellow caterpillars are a major agricultural pest of brassica crops.

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Did You Know?

The caterpillars sequester mustard oils from their food plants and can spray these noxious chemicals at attacking predators.

Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet

A common but variable carpet moth found in gardens and hedgerows. Wing pattern ranges from pale to very dark. Larvae feed on bedstraws and other low plants.

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Did You Know?

So variable in appearance that dark and light forms were once described as separate species.