(Linnaeus, 1758)
Orange-tip
Description:
In Western Europe, the first Orange-tip gives us the feeling that summer has arrived. However, high in the mountains, these butterflies only appear in the middle of the summer. The Orange-tip occurs in damp to quite wet grasslands at the edge of woods, or near thickets.
The eggs are laid singly on flowerheads of different crucifers and their bright-orange colour makes them easy to find. At first, the caterpillars feed on the flowerbuds of the food plant and later on the fruits. They live alone, which accords with their cannibalistic nature. When ready to pupate, they move into rough vegetation, climbing up a little twig and turning into an attractive light-brown chrysalis, suspended from the plant by a silken girdle.
The Orange-tip hibernates in this stage and has one generation a year.
Habitat:
Mixed woodland
Mesophile grasslands
Humid grasslands
Deciduous forests
Similar species:
Anthocharis euphenoides
Anthocharis damone
Anthocharis gruneri