The Checkered White butterfly (Pontia protodice) a very widespread species, is found wherever the caterpillar's food, mustard plants, grows, which is practically everywhere in the United States.
The picture shows a female with an elaborate black or dark checker pattern covering the otherwise white wings. The markings on the wing borders are complimented by a dark bar on the top middle portion of the wing.
Checkered Whites are easily confused with Western Whites, especially females, in areas of the West where their territories overlap. Because the picture was taken in an area without a Western White butterfly population, the identification was fairly straight forward.
The markings on the wing borders are complimented by a dark bar on the top middle portion of the wing.
Males of both Checkered and Western whites are characterized by less black marks on the wings. Please see the Western White article for greater detail.
