Green-veined White

Alan Watts, our butterfly enthusiast, took these pics of green-veined white butterflies at Filnore Woods.  See how the green veins on the underside of the wings mimics the adjacent plant. 

You might think it was an ordinary white butterfly looked at from the topside, but if you can get close enough you can see that the tip of the veins at the edge of the wing thicken into dark triangles.  This one is feeding on dandelion nectar.

They have a rather fluttery flight compared to the small white and the large white, the scourge of cabbage growers.

Green-veined whites are doing well.  They are common all over Britain wherever there is lush, damp vegetation.