Pontia edusa, commonly known as the eastern Bath white, is a species of butterfly in the family
Pieridae. It is found from the southwest of Europe (southern France, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia) up to central Europe, and in the Middle East in Iran and Iraq. It is a migrant that can also be encountered in Belgium, the Netherlands, northern Germany and Poland, in the Baltic states, and in southern Sweden and Norway. The species inhabits open grassy or flowery areas, in stony or rocky places and in roadsides, at altitudes up to 1,500 metres (4,900 feet) and occasionally higher.
P. edusa is a small to medium-sized migrant butterfly, with a
wingspan reaching about 45 millimetres (1.8 inches). The upperside of its wings is white, with black stains on the top of the forewing and hindwing, while the hindwing underside has greenish-grey spots.
P. edusa is nearly identical to
P. daplidice; it is generally only possible to distinguish the two through genital inspection or DNA analysis. This
P. edusa butterfly, displaying its greenish-grey underside, was photographed in
Učka Nature Park in
Istria, Croatia. The photograph was
focus-stacked from four separate images.
Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp