Most females choose nectar plants like buddleia or thistles, which are green and ideal plants for the larvae. These plants, used as oviposition sites, typically contain mustard oil glucosides, whose primary function is to help the larvae survive as their essential food source. For instance, previous studies have shown that the large white larvae do not survive if the adult butterflies oviposit on a different host plant such as broad bean ("Vicia faba") because this bean does not contain the proper nutrients to aid larval development.