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Image-of-the-Day by Subject
Butterflies Page 20
Image Taken on 14 Apr 2020
at 14:55 Image of day on 01 May 2020
All this chasing girls is hard work.
Here a male Orange-tip Butterfly refuels on what we think is a Ground Ivy flower.
.jpg)
Ref: 20200501_df3_20200414_1455_060 orange-tip butterfly feeding on ground ivy flower(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 22 Apr 2019
at 13:03 Image of day on 18 May 2019
We caught another male Orange-tip Butterfly on this day, so took the opportunity
to show you female (left) and male Orange-tip Butterflies, so you can compare.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20190518_da1_20190422_1303_088+1319_121_ft1 orange-tip butterfly female & male in flight (montage)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 18 May 2014
at 14:18 Image of day on 16 Jul 2014
Top right is the Male Orange-tip butterfly, together with an
image of the female and a flowering Garlic Mustard - one of their
favourite plants for egg laying which we encourage down our
trackway edge. We would love to have caught this setup 'for real'
but it's hard enough getting a decent image of one insect in
flight at a time, so this is a montage of 3 images to illustrate
what we see in the wild.
(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20140716_da1_20140518_1418_265+1540_338+1529+332_ft1 orange-tip butterfly female & male in flight with garlic mustard (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
Image Taken on 08 May 2018
at 12:52 Image of day on 22 Jun 2018
Here is a female Orange-tip Butterfly (without the orange tips) sipping delicately
from a Garlic Mustard flower.
This plant is the food plant of the Orange-tip caterpillar, so she
is probably attracted to the smell of them, although she can feed on other
flowers.
.jpg)
Ref: 20180622_df3_20180508_1252_131 orange-tip butterfly female feeding on garlic mustard flower(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 19 May 2019
at 13:28 Image of day on 22 Jun 2019
We tend to mostly notice the male Orange Tip Butterflies, so catching
this female (no orange!) feeding on a ground ivy flower was worth a pic.
.jpg)
Ref: 20190622_df5_20190519_1328_066 orange-tip butterfly female feeding on ground ivy flower(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 15 May 2024
at 16:09 Image of day on 08 Jun 2024
A female Orange-tip Butterfly.
No orange tip like the male, but like the male has that beautiful green and white patterning
on the underwing. This one is feeding on Herb Robert.
.jpg)
Ref: 20240608_df3_20240515_1609_019 orange-tip butterfly female feeding on herb robert(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 10 Apr 2011
at 15:44 Image of day on 09 May 2011
A female Orange-tip butterfly (which doesn't have the orange
tips so obvious in the male) on some of our Lady's smock (Cuckoo flower)
flowers they like so much.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20110509_df1_20110410_1544_413 orange-tip butterfly female feeding on ladys smock (cuckoo flower) flower (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 15 May 2024
at 16:09 Image of day on 08 Jun 2024
A different female Orange-tip Butterfly, this one feeding on a Red Campion Flower.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20240608_df3_20240515_1609_025 orange-tip butterfly female feeding on red campion (detail)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 23 May 2012
at 12:45 Image of day on 21 Jun 2012
The only freshly emerged butterflies at the moment are orange tips.
They don't seem to feed to on buttercups but fly over them on the way
to their regular food plants.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20120621_da1_20120523_1245_032+1311_054_ft1 orange-tip butterfly female in flight with buttercup (montage)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 22 Apr 2019
at 12:58 Image of day on 18 May 2019
This is a FEMALE Orange-tip Butterfly - which doesn't have even a trace of the orange
wing tips, but has a similar wonderful lattice pattern on the lower surface of the wing.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20190518_da1_20190422_1258_058+1507_183_ft1 orange-tip butterfly female in flight with garlic mustard (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 09 Apr 2011
at 13:28 Image of day on 02 May 2011
Caught in a sheltered corner on a sunny but cold day this is
the first time we have photographed a female Orange-tip butterfly
flight before. What does she lack - the orange tip! You are seeing her
slightly from the rear with her head lower left.
The pretty flower is called 'Lady's Smock (Cuckoo Flower)' - it seeds freely and
our site is every increasingly awash with it!
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20110502_da1_20110409_1328_119+1511_378_ft1 orange-tip butterfly female in flight with ladys smock (cuckoo flower) (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 11 May 2025
at 12:22 Image of day on 13 Jun 2025
The Orange tip Butterflies are having to wait longer than usual for the Garlic Mustard plants
to appear. Here on a purple flower we see the harder to identify the FEMALE Orange-tip
butterfly - with a smaller and less dense Black tips to the wings to replace the males
glorious orange.
Both sexes have the subtle green patterned underwing.
 flower (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20250613_r70_20250511_1222_009+010 orange-tip butterfly female on (poss red dead nettle) flower (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 09 Apr 2011
at 13:34 Image of day on 02 May 2011
Here she is standing on more of the same flower.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20110502_da1_20110409_1334_158_ft1 orange-tip butterfly female on ladys smock (cuckoo flower) (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 21 Apr 2021
at 15:10 Image of day on 12 May 2021
A few days later this female Orange-tip Butterfly was resting on a Lady's Smock (Cuckoo Flower)
flower-head, wings fully folded so we get a great view of the wonderful green tracery.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20210512_d73_20210421_1510_155 orange-tip butterfly female on ladys smock (cuckoo flower) flower head (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 14 Apr 2026
at 10:47 Image of day on 16 May 2026
A female Orange-tip butterfly - only the males have the orange wing tips.
The lacework of green under the rear wings - always similar as far as
we can tell - is common to both sexes and disguises them rather well
when perched with wings closed.
.jpg)
Ref: 20260516_r52_20260414_1047_155 orange-tip butterfly female showing tracery on underwing on garlic mustard yet to flower(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 18 May 2014
at 14:16 Image of day on 16 Jul 2014
This is a female Orange-tip Butterfly, who lacks the orange tip!
This one has been bird pecked, but you can enjoy the intricate
pattern on the rear wing underside (only) and the patch of the
same pattern on underside edge of the forewings so that the
disguise with wings vertical is complete.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20140716_da1_20140518_1416_256+1421_273_ft1 orange-tip butterfly female with radish flower (montage 1)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 06 May 2011
at 14:44 Image of day on 10 Jun 2011
We don't ever remember such a good numbers or duration of
Orange-tip butterflies. Now the Lady's Smock (Cuckoo Flower) has finished this
now slightly tatty individual is feeding mainly on the Ground Elder.
 feeding on ground ivy flower(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20110610_db1_20110506_1444_009 orange-tip butterfly male (a bit tatty) feeding on ground ivy flower(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 27 Apr 2020
at 12:24 Image of day on 18 May 2020
The insect on the right shows the Proboscis partially coiled.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20200518_d73_20200427_1224_022+025+026 orange-tip butterfly male around ladys smock (cuckoo flower) flowers (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 05 May 2025
at 13:01 Image of day on 13 Jun 2025
The male Orange-tips continue to try to mate with any Butterfly that is white!
Here he picked a Small White that seems to be as confused as he is and is
actively offered to mate. But the genitals don't 'match' and he gives up.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20250613_df3_20250505_1301_006+007 orange-tip butterfly male attempting to mate with small white 1+2 of 2 (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 30 Apr 2022
at 13:33 Image of day on 08 Jun 2022
Whoops!
The male Orange-tip Butterfly woos a female Small White butterfly.
They spend about a minute fluttering around each other before they
spot their mistake and part 'amicably'.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20220608_df3_20220430_1333_021 orange-tip butterfly male courts small white female (q)(r+mb id@576).jpg
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