Cryptic Wood White
Leptidea juvernica
Leptidea juvernica, the Cryptic wood white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptidea_juvernica
Taxonomy & Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Pieridae
Genus
Leptidea
Cryptic Wood White belongs to the family Pieridae, order Lepidoptera, within the Insecta class.
Species Profile
Leptidea juvernica, the Cryptic wood white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.
The Cryptic Wood White is critically endangered primarily due to habitat loss and fragmentation of its specialized woodland and grassland habitats. Agricultural intensification, urbanization, and changes in land management practices have severely reduced the availability of suitable breeding sites and host plants. Climate change may also be affecting the species' distribution and the phenology of its host plants.
Key Facts
Habitat & Distribution
L. juvernica ranges from Ireland and France in the west to Kazakhstan in the east. The population in Ireland was formerly thought to be Leptidea reali, but is now known to be L. juvernica.
Threats
IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
The Cryptic Wood White is critically endangered primarily due to habitat loss and fragmentation of its specialized woodland and grassland habitats. Agricultural intensification, urbanization, and changes in land management practices have severely reduced the availability of suitable breeding sites and host plants. Climate change may also be affecting the species' distribution and the phenology of its host plants.
Agricultural intensification
Habitat loss and fragmentation
Urbanization and development
Changes in woodland management
Climate change impacts
Community Sightings
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Sources & Attribution
How to Cite
IUCN: IUCN (2025). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS
GBIF: GBIF.org (2025). GBIF Home Page. Available at: https://www.gbif.org
This page: SpeciesRadar (2025). Cryptic Wood White (Leptidea juvernica). SpeciesRadar: Intelligence for Earth's Biodiversity. Available at: https://speciesradar.org/species/cryptic-wood-white