Leptidea morsei (Fenton's wood white) is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found from central Europe to Siberia, Ussuri, Korea, northern China and Japan.Leptidea at funet
The wingspan is 46–54 mm. The wing ground color is white. The forewings are falcate- elongated at the apex and with a concave outer margin. The male forewing has a dark spot at the apex. In spring-generation butterflies, the hindwing base color is grayish-ochre on the underside, while in summer-generation individuals, it is white. Lvovsky AL, Morgun DV (2007) Butterflies of Eastern Europe. KMK Scientific Press, Ltd., Moscow, 443 pp. [In Russian].Adults are on wing from April to May and again from June to July in two generations per year.
The larvae feed on legumes, including Lathyrus niger, Lathyrus hallersteinii and Lathyrus vernus in Europe. Other recorded food plants include Vicia cracca, Vicia japonica and Vicia amoena. Hibernation takes place in the pupal stage.
Subspecies Leptidea morsei morsei Leptidea morsei major Grund, 1905 Grund, Arnošt 1905 Leptidea sinapis L. in der Umgebung Agrams (Kroatien) mit drei neuen Formen Ent. Zs. 19 (26) : 145-148 Leptidea morsei morseides Verity, 1911 Verity, R. 1911 Rhopalocera Palaearctica Iconographie et Description des Papillons diurnes de la région paléarctique. Papilionidae et Pieridae
Taxonomy Julius Rober in Seitz considered it to be "apparently an aberration of Leptidea amurensis in which the subapical spot of the forewing above is less developed. Seitz. A. in Seitz, A. ed. Band 1: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Tagfalter, 1909, 379 Seiten, mit 89 kolorierten Tafeln (3470 Figuren)
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