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Photo: G. Bradley |
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UK
Safari Tip:
Need help identifying butterflies? Checkout the beautifully illustrated fold-out
chart in the Nature Shop called "Butterflies of Britain" - click
here
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Latin name: Anthocharis cardamines
Size: Wingspan approximately 45mms.
Distribution: Found throughout the UK
Months seen: April to July
Habitat: Meadows, hedgerows, woodland edges and gardens.
Food: Nectar. The caterpillars eat ladies smock and garlic mustard.
Special features: Only the males have the bright orange colouring on the wings.
 The females have the same black spots, and black wing tips, but no orange patches.
The females look very similar to small white butterflies, but the small whites
lack the mottled markings on the undersides of the hind wings.
 Although they are well camouflaged at rest, the males are highly conspicuous in flight, and can easily be spotted by predatory birds. The orange colouring acts as a warning to birds that these butterflies taste bad. In fact their bodies contain large amounts of mustard oil, and once a bird has tasted this, it is unlikely to eat another orange tip.
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 The females can often be seen fluttering around cuckoo flowers in early spring.
These are the foodplants of the caterpillars and they lay a single egg on each plant.
UK Safari Butterfly Section
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