cabbage butterfly

noun

Definition of cabbage butterfly

: any of several largely white butterflies (family Pieridae) whose green larvae are cabbage worms; especially : a small cosmopolitan butterfly (Pieris rapae synonym Artogeia rapae) that is a pest on cabbage — called also cabbage white

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Recent Examples of cabbage butterfly from the Web

Spearmint and peppermint are useful in attracting bees and repelling black flea beetles, ants, mosquitoes, white cabbage butterflies, aphids, and cabbage maggots.

— OregonLive.com, "In vegetable gardens, good-neighbor planting makes all the difference," 29 Mar. 2018
Pieris Project asks citizen scientists to record information about Pieris rapae, or the white cabbage butterfly.

— National Geographic, "10 Easy Ways You Can Help Scientists Study the Earth," 22 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cabbage butterfly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.