And so it starts...

A home based-day recovering from our Sussex trip. Good to see several species of bumblebee in the garden, and the first Orange-tip eggs on the Hedge Garlic. Females lay single, pale, spindle-shaped eggs on the underside of flower buds. These eggs turn deep orange after a few days.

The caterpillars hatch and feed on the developing seed pod. They are green and extremely hard to spot. Orange-tip caterpillars are cannibalistic, liable to eat another of their own species should they meet so egg-laying females emit a pheremone to deter any other females from laying eggs on the same plant.