Orange Tip
Anthocharis cardamines
Only the males have the bright orange wing tips; females are easily confused with other whites. Both sexes are reliably identified by the green-and-white marbled underside of the hindwing, which provides excellent camouflage on umbellifer flowers.
- Group
- Whites
- Photos
- 13
- Taken
- 2020–2026
Profile: Orange Tip
- Family
- Whites and yellows (Pieridae)
- Wingspan
- approx. 35–45 mm
- Habitat
- Damp and nutrient-poor meadows, open damp woodland and woodland edges, stream banks and wildlife-friendly gardens with crucifers.
- Diet
- The caterpillars eat the flowers and seed pods of crucifers, mainly cuckooflower and garlic mustard; adults feed at the flowers growing around their larval food plants, including the food plants themselves.
- When to see
- One generation in spring, roughly April to June, from late March in warm areas and into July in the mountains; overwinters as a pupa.
Learn more: Wikipedia