Mottled emigrant
Strong migratory flights can carry this butterfly far from where its caterpillars fed, and faint reddish brown streaks on its underside give the species its mottled name.
| Where | Scrub, open woodland and wasteland |
|---|---|
| Size | 50 to 80 mm wingspan |
| When | April to January |
The Mottled emigrant is chalky white with a greenish tinge above, a black apical border on the forewing that is broader in females, and an underside covered in fine, faint reddish brown streaks that create a mottled effect not seen in its plainer relatives.
Caterpillars feed on Senna and Cassia shrubs, including cultivated species grown for their pods and leaves, and adults are strongly migratory, moving between scrub, open woodland, gardens and wasteland wherever their host plants are found.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
White, Green, Black
Active
Day
To people
Migrates widely between host plants; safe to touch.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Underside plain and largely unmarked in its common forms, without the faint reddish brown mottling that covers the underside of the Mottled emigrant.
Questions
Is the Mottled emigrant dangerous to people?
Migrates widely between host plants; safe to touch.
When can you see the Mottled emigrant?
The Mottled emigrant can be seen from April to January, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Swiss Natural History Collections - SwissNatColl, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Whites and yellows›Catopsilia
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.