This is a list of the butterflies of China belonging to the family Pieridae and an index to the species articles. This forms part of the full list of butterflies of China. 438 species or subspecies of Pieridae are recorded from China. [1]
The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America. Most pierid butterflies are white, yellow, or orange in coloration, often with black spots. The pigments that give the distinct coloring to these butterflies are derived from waste products in the body and are a characteristic of this family.
Anthocharis bambusarum is a butterfly which has a range of mainly in China and Eastern Asia. It has no known subspecies.
Anthocharis scolymus, the yellow tip, is a butterfly in the subfamily Pierinae whose range is Eastern Asia where it is commonplace. Occasionally it is found in Japan.
Aporia acraea is a butterfly species in family Pieridae. It was first described by Charles Oberthür in 1885 as Pieris acraea and occurs in China.
Pieris, the whites or garden whites, is a widespread now almost cosmopolitan genus of butterflies of the family Pieridae. The highest species diversity is in the Palearctic, with a higher diversity in Europe and eastern North America than the similar and closely related Pontia. The females of many Pieris butterflies are UV reflecting, while the male wings are strongly UV absorbing due to pigments in the scales.
Carterocephalus is a Holarctic genus of skipperlings in the skipper family, Hesperiidae.
Pyrgus is a genus in the skippers butterfly family, Hesperiidae, known as the grizzled skippers. The name "grizzled skipper" best describes this genus, but in some countries the name "checkered" or "chequered skipper" is applied to some species. Strictly speaking, "chequered skippers" applies to butterflies of the genus Carterocephalus. They occur in the Holarctic with an additional group of species extending to the Neotropic.
Aporia, the black-veined whites or blackveins, is a genus of pierid butterflies found in the Palearctic region.
Colias is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. They are often called clouded yellows; the North American name "sulphurs" is elsewhere used for Coliadinae in general. The closest living relative is the genus Zerene, which is sometimes included in Colias.
Pontia is a genus of pierid butterflies. They are found in the Holarctic, but are rare in Europe and central to eastern North America, and a few species range into the Afrotropics. Several East Asian species once placed here are now more often split off in Sinopieris. Like the closely related genus Pieris, they are commonly called whites.
Plebejus is a genus of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Many genera formerly considered independent are at least tentatively included here nowadays, and some others—Agriades, Albulina, Icaricia, Aricia, and Lycaeides—may belong herein too. The species of this genus are found in the Palearctic and Nearctic realms.
Muschampia is a Palearctic genus of spread-winged skippers in the family Hesperiidae.
Sinopieris is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. The genus occurs in Gansu, Nepal, Nanshan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Tibet and Yunnan. All six species were originally included in Pieris and subsequently in Pontia.
Colias cocandica is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Central Asia.
Aphantopus is a butterfly genus of the Satyrinae. The genus is confined to the Palearctic.
Sinopieris davidis is a species of butterfly in the genus Sinopieris, but also possibly in Pontia. It was described by Charles Oberthür in 1876 and is found in China.
Sinopieris dubernardi, or Oberthür's white, is a species of butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is treated as a member of the genus Sinopieris, or alternately, the genus Pontia. It is found in China, where it inhabits grassland plateaus and mountainsides at elevations above 2,000 meters.