Natural History Wanderings

Bay Nature reports

As is generally the nature of the commonplace, though, I’ve found there’s more to the cabbage white than meets the eye.

an example is

A citizen science effort called the Pieris Project uses cabbage whites as a stand-in for other creatures to study environmental change. The project’s website teaches backyard ecologists how to make their own butterfly nets, trap and preserve the butterflies, and mail them to researchers who can study their genetics. “They are the perfect ambassador to other species because we can engage a whole lot of people who can actually catch these butterflies, and it wouldn’t be too bad if they caught too many,” Pieris Project founder and director Sean Ryan told me recently.

Read more at Bay Nature Magazine: “Plain” Cabbage White Butterfly is Anything but Ordinary