The orange-tip is one of the heralds of spring. Single brooded, it usually emerges in April and can be seen into June but they are at their peak in May.
The male is unmistakable with those orange wing tips but the female lacks the orange markings which are replaced with dark grey. The female is often mistaken for other white species as the upper sides of the wing are similar but once settled the wonderfully intricate patterns of the underside are unique to both sexes of the orange-tip. The orange-tip also has a very definite flight movement and once learned also helps to identify them in the field.
The orange-tip can be seen along woodland rides and in clearings, in shrubby gardens and along hedgerows where there are flowers present. The female lays here eggs on members of the cruciferae family (cabbages) and they have a particular affinity to cuckooflower and garlic mustard, both of which flower at the same time as the orange-tip flies of course, and where you find these flowers you will often find the orange-tip.
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