Small White - Favourite Photo of 2013

[Vince Massimo]

Week 18.

Here is the opportunity to post your favourite photo(s) of a particular species taken in 2013 (or the last time you saw one!).

This is part of a series of topics which will grow over 20 weeks throughout the winter, eventually covering all 59 species which are regularly found in the British Isles. The intention is to showcase three species per week (in alphabetical order), so please wait until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos. Our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants.

Details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome and please feel free to contribute observations of behaviour, stories of personal encounters, anecdotes or other interesting points.

Vince

[Wurzel]

Small White

This was my fourth species for 2013. I’d just popped out to pick up tea and on the off chance I’d grabbed my camera. I saw this resting on top of a small box hedge by the gate of a sheltered housing block. At first I thought it was just a piece of paper that had gotten caught in the top of the hedge but some instinct made me do a double check – and it turned out to be this Small White.
It’s my favourite as I was able to get up so close to it letting me see the hairy palps, spotted eyes and the lovely lemon streak on the edge of the wing. It also showed the black scales flecking the pale green wings. Perhaps a name change to ‘peppered lime’ would be appropriate?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

There seem to have been more of these around in 2013 than in recent years, so I have a variety of shots to choose from. Most of them (as Wurzel says) deserve a better name than "White": delicate lemon hues characterised the majority, making them definitely worth the trouble of getting close to.

Stanwell Moor 27th July

Stanwell Moor 28th August

Staines Moor 5th September

Dave

[Chris Jackson]

This is the closest I have got to an open-wing shot - still room for improvement then.
Rapae on Rock Rose cistus, south of France.

[Goldie M]

Most of my photo's of the Small White were taken in my Back Garden.
The Small White on the Red plant in my first shot is what I like about this photo taken on the 6th October, in my second photo on the 22nd July this plant was still a favourite with the Whites although not yet in flower. ( The plants name is Autum Glory)Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

I realised last year that I did not have many photos of Small Whites, and those that I did have were not that good. When they started showing up in good numbers in the garden I decided to have a go at getting some better photos and so on a couple of late afternoons in late July I just sat on a step in the garden by where I have a straggly clump of lavender and had a go at getting some shots as they came to me. They were still very active on what were a couple of warm sunny late afternoons but at least the lavender tempted them to settle for a bit albeit with wings firmly closed.

Small White - Coverdale 24.07.2013

Small White - Coverdale 24.07.2013

Small White - Coverdale 25.07.2013

Small White - Coverdale 25.07.2013

I was not until late September at Castle Hills near Solihull that I managed to get photo with open wings that I was happy with,

Small White - Castle Hills 22.09.2013

A much overlooked species and one that can sometimes be difficult to get a decent photo of but one that has a subtle beauty of its own.

Cheers,

Neil.

[MikeOxon]

I mis-identified this one initially as a Large White, mainly on account of the rather large black tips to the wings, but Vince Massimo pointed out to me that the dark spots are characteristic of a male Small White. Taken on the herbaceous border at Waterperry gardens, Oxon.

Waterperry, Oxon - 6th October 2013
Nikon D300s with 90mm Tamron macro - 1/500s@f/11 ISO400

Mike

[Vince Massimo]

2013 was a very good year for garden Whites and lots of eggs and larvae were to be found outside my back door. Getting a clear upperside image of a male Small White was one of my targets for the year and I was very pleased to find a freshly emerged individual basking in the rear garden in September.

Small White male - Caterham, Surrey 1-Sept-2013

This was very different from a Spring brood example seen in May (also in the rear garden).

Small White male - Caterham, Surrey 5-May-2013

Vince

[David M]

Wonderful to see this species in the kinds of numbers I remember from when I was a child in the 1970s. My favourite image was this mating pair at Crymlyn Burrows on 30th May: