Which white???

A warm and muggy day, which I mostly spent ferrying offspring around and preparing for our next stint at Chatsworth. I managed a walk with the dogs, but was surprised to find that the lowest point of my usual route was still flooded - now a stinking stagnant pool swarming with small black flies. I took a detour!

While I was out I did the Big Butterfly Count in a meadow full of thistles and ragwort - abundant nectar but scarcely any insects. My total count (for 15 minutes) was four green-veined whites, six meadow browns, a gatekeeper, a speckled wood and two commas - rather low for the time of year.

When I arrived home I spotted this green-veined white, feeding on the crown vetch. All the whites have stunning eyes, and are worth looking at closely. The green-veined white has distinct bands of yellow and black scales along the wing veins, while the small white (which is similar in size and can't be reliably distinguished in flight unless it's very close) has plain pale yellow underwings. The large white is significantly larger and has well marked black tips to the wings.

Sorry for the almost complete lack of comments at the moment - I feel a very inadequate blipper!! Thank you to all who are still dropping in - I really appreciate it and will hopefully get back in the swing of things when the fieldwork season draws to an end.