About Pieris balcana Lorkovic, 1970
Pieris balcana, commonly called the Balkan green-veined white, is a butterfly species belonging to the family Pieridae. This species has white upper wings with darkened apex tips. Females have two dark spots on the forewing, while males only have one, which is sometimes absent. The underside of the wings is yellowish, with gray scales running along the wing veins. It can be distinguished from the closely related species Pieris napi by the appearance of these gray underside wing scales: in P. balcana the scales are more spread out and faded, while in P. napi the scales are more sharply defined. P. balcana is found in the Balkans, across regions stretching from Croatia to southwestern Bulgaria and central Greece, at elevations up to 1,300 meters. It inhabits vegetated areas along hedges, at woodland edges, and in woodland clearings. The forest habitats it occupies include broadleaf deciduous forests, coniferous woodlands, and mixed woodlands. Females lay their eggs on various members of the plant family Brassicaceae, which the larvae feed on. Adult generations of this butterfly occur from March to October each year.
