Green Veined White

ADULT: Wingspan - 40 - 52mm. The creamy white uppersides are dusted with fine dark scales and the forewings have a distinct black tip. The male usually has a dark spot towards the centre of the forewing whereas the female has two. On the front edge of the hindwing there is a black spot. The undersides of the hindwings are a creamy pale yellow which are lined with black scales that when mixed with the background give a greenish effect, hence the vernacular name. The undersides of the forewings are white with a creamy pale yellow tip. CHRYSALIS: 19mm. Green or pale brown and attached by a silk girdle within thick vegetation. LARVA: 25mm. Two tone green (darker above) with yellow spots around the spiracles where it feeds on leaves and stems of crucifers. EGG: Creamy yellow, bottle-shaped. Located on crucifers such as charlock, cuckooflower and garlic mustard. Hatching time within 7 days. BEHAVIOUR: Fluttery in flight with incessant feeding, visits are occasionally made to puddles where minerals are taken in. Will fly even on dull days providing air temperature is high enough. HABITAT: Hedgerows, woodland margins and rides, damp meadows, riverbanks. FLIGHT PERIOD: April - September in two separate broods.