Camouflage

Small White Butterfly - Pieris rapae

We have a small tree in our garden that every year attracts small white butterflies. They don't come for nectar. They don't come to oviposit. They simply come for a bit of peace and quiet.

The bush is Pittosporum tenuifolium 'silver queen'. The butterflies obviously sense that its foliage colour closely matches their own. Once they have closed their wings and settled down, they rely on immobility and camouflage to protect them and you can approach with a camera to within a few centimetres without it budging. Only one warning - Don't look away or you may not spot it again!