And they eat cabbages! You might have picked that up from the name, though. So farmers hate them, but for different reasons. It's actually one of the few invasive species that we know exactly when and how they arrived in the U.S. Here's a quote: "For example, the Small Cabbage White rapidly spread across the United States after first being introduced to North America around Quebec City from Europe on cabbages brought over by immigrants in 1860 and again around New York, NY in 1868. By 1886, the species occupied nearly all of the US and southern Canada east of the Rocky Mountains, and covered practically the entire continent as soon as 1901. The rapid western spread in both the northern US and southern Canada was also likely assisted by the transport of cabbages and other related crop species via train lines. Their dispersal ability, host plant generality, and use of domesticated crop species have helped facilitate their spread and continued success in new habitat ranges."
For the full article, you can read here:
http://www.biodiverseperspecti...
