| Wood White (Leptidea sinapis (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Leptidea sinapis (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Wood White French name: Piéride du lotier, Piéride de la moutarde. Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Rhopalocera Family: Pieridae Subfamily: Dismorphiinae Wingspan: 30-40 mm Biotope: Woodland edges, clearings and open woodlands. Geographic area: Europe except Scotland, Netherland, Denmark and Northern Scandinavia. It's range extends eastwards as far as Siberia. Flight time: May to August Number of generations : 2 or more Caterpillar: Thin, pale green with a yellow line along each side. Host plant: Bitter Vetch (Lathyrus linifolius), Common Bird's-foot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Greater Bird's-foot-trefoil (Lotus pedunculatus), Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis) and Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca). |
The Wood White over winters as a chrysalis. It is smaller than other pieridae. Its slow-flying is very characteristic. The second brood is whiter and shows darker apical spots. There is a characteristic courtship display. The male lands opposite the female and waves his head and antennae backwards and forwards with his proboscis extended. |
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You can get easily very close to Wood Whites. They never fly very far away. |
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Yum-Yum, what an excellent nectar! |
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I have mainly observed Wood Whites near woodland edges. This picture clearly shows the lightness of this butterfly. |
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Here is my first picture of a butterfly mating. |
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Backlit shot of the mating. You can see the butterflies' abdomens and the male's apical dark spot showing through. |
André Bon February 2010