Orange Tip

If there is one spring butterfly that I like above all others its the Orange Tip. The male is seen more often than the female because it is more active and it has highly visible bright orange wing tips. Its difficult to photograph because it tends to fly for long periods without resting or nectaring. The female, on the other hand, is usually more concerned with egg-laying and is often found in the vicinity of the larval foodplants particularly cuckoo flower and garlic mustard. Apparently the female 'tastes' the food plant with her feet before laying a single orange egg at the end of the flower stalk. If another egg is present they won't lay because the larvae are cannibalistic.

The female is easily mistaken for one of the other small whites, especially the Green-veined White until you see the stunning underwing pattern of green and white blotches which provides perfect camouflage for the resting insect. So here is an Orange Tip bending her abdomen down to lay an egg on this cuckoo flower.