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This is a common butterfly of damp grassland and woodland rides and is often mistaken for its cousin, the Small White. It can be found from spring through to autumn in parks and gardens, as well as less-urban areas such as meadows and woodland rides. The first brood has lighter upperside markings than later broods, but darker underside markings. The so-called green veins on the underside of the adults are, in fact, an illusion created by a subtle combination of yellow and black scales. Subspecies: sabellicae This subspecies is found throughout the British Isles with the exception of Scotland and Ireland. Subspecies: thomsoni This subspecies is found in Scotland, and exhibits minor colour differences with the subspecies sabellicae. Subspecies: britannica This subspecies represents the population found in Ireland, and exhibits minor colour differences with the subspecies sabellicae.
This is one of the most widespread species found in the British Isles and can be found almost everywhere although it is absent from the Shetlands and areas of the Scottish Highlands.
First-brood adults typically emerge in late April, peaking around the middle of May and gradually tailing off through June. The second brood, which is always stronger than the first brood, starts to emerge in early July. However, in good years, the second brood may emerge in late June and give rise to a third brood. Subspecies: sabellicae Subspecies: thomsoni Subspecies: britannica
The butterfly can be found in a variety of locations, including parks, gardens, meadows, woodland rides, hedgerows and, in fact, anywhere foodplants and nectar sources exist. This species favours damp areas but can also be found in small sheltered pockets, such as patches of scrub, in dry and open habitat such as chalk grassland.
The primary larval foodplants are Charlock (Sinapis arvensis), Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis), Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium officinale), Large Bitter-cress (Cardamine amara), Water-cress (Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum), Wild Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) and Wild Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum). Crucifers (various) (Cruciferae family (various)) and Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) are also used.
Adults feed primarily on Betony (Stachys officinalis), Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scriptus), Bugle (Ajuga reptans), Buttercups (Ranunculus spp.), Cuckooflower (Cardamines pratensis), Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica), Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea), Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi), Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), Red Campion (Silene dioica), Thistles (Cirsium spp. and Carduus spp.) and Vetches (Vicia spp.).
As in most species, the males emerge a few days earlier than the females, and spend much of their time searching for a mate as they fly along woodland rides and hedgerows. As well as taking nectar, males may also be seen congregating on mud or other surfaces that are rich in nutrients, giving rise to the phenomenon known as “mud puddling”. As in many whites, an already-mated female will indicate an unwillingness to mate by holding her wings flat and her abdomen upright, making it impossible for a male to mate with her. However, this doesn’t always work, and females have been known to mate more than once, although this is completely unnecessary for the fertilisation of the eggs. Subspecies: sabellicae
Subspecies: thomsoni
Subspecies: britannica
This species exhibits great variation in the colour and shade of the ground colour as well as the extent of the spotting. As usual in the 'whites' many aberrations are unique to either male or female specimens, and being seasonally dimorphic some aberrations are also specific to the generation or 'brood'. This species has been the subject of much experimental breeding in the past, particularly of the impressive aberrations suphurea and fasciata. The aberration sulphurea has been recorded chiefly in Scotland and Ireland and specimens from these areas were bred en masse by entomologists in the early 20th century. These aberrations were popular with breeders and collectors and while scarce now in the wild, a large number of these impressive forms can be found in collections. There are 79 named aberrations known to occur in Britain; a selection are described below. ab. biroi (Dioszeghy) Female in which the black apical mark is entirely absent. ab. carnea (Verity) Flesh coloured ground colour veiled with grey scales particularly towards the base of the wings. ab. citronella (Thompson) Outer margin of all wings flushed with bright yellow, especially at the apex. The remainder of the wings exhibit the normal white ground colour. ab. immaculata (Strand) Female in which the black markings on the upperside are completely absent. ab. innocens (Stauder, 1922) Male in which the black markings are entirely absent resulting in a pure white specimen. ab. obscurata (Muller) All wings a uniform pale grey. ab. pallidus (Frohawk) An 'albino' form. All the black markings are replaced by a dull grey, resulting in the markings appearing almost transparent. ab. sulphurea (Schoyen) Yellow ground colour. Ranging from pale primrose to a rich citron yellow. Historically entomologists went to great lengths to discern between the different shades of yellow and there were at least eight individually named shades. These aberrations have now been grouped under the umbrella of ab. sulphurea. ab. virilis (Rober) Female in which the upperside of the forewings have a black apex and a small black costal mark on the hindwings. The base of the wings have a light dusting of dark scales. An aberration in which the female butterfly closely resembles the typical male.
Eggs are laid singly on the underside of a leaf of the foodplant. Small plants are preferred, and the eggs hatch in approximately a week depending on temperature. Eggs are sometimes found on the same plants as those used by the Orange-tip. However, the two species are not in competition since the Green-veined White eats the leaves of the plant, whereas the Orange-tip eats the developing seed pods.
The larva eats its eggshell on hatching, before starting to feed on the leaves of the foodplant. There are 4 moults in total and this stage lasts between 3 and 4 weeks.
The pupa is generally formed away from the foodplant, low down in vegetation. It is supported by a silk girdle and the cremaster. The pupa has 2 colour forms, green and light brown, although some pupae have an intermediate colouring. This stage lasts around 10 days unless overwintering.
Large WhiteDescription to be completed Orange-tipDescription to be completed Small WhiteThe Green-veined White and Small White are most easily distinguished by their undersides, where the Green-veined White has pronounced markings along the veins which is absent in the Small White. It is much more difficult to distinguish between the Green-veined White and Small White based on the upperside, since the amount of marking is highly variable.
Click here to see the distribution of this species overlaid with specific site information. Alternatively, select one of the sites listed below.
This is the most widespread butterfly in the British Isles and its status is considered relative-stable. It is not, therefore, a species of conservation concern.
From The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland and the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) (2007 review).
The following links provide additional information on this butterfly.
The species description provided here has been derived from the author's own observations and the information contained in the following works:
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![Green-Veined White - imago - Fakenham - Unknown date [Adrian Riley]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/2a36c50c3debfe3adf209b402870d2f2.jpg "Green-Veined White - imago - Fakenham - Unknown date [Adrian Riley]")
![Green-Veined White - imago - Clayton, Staffordshire - 21-Apr-09 [John Wood]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/9966f642cac6f0fa36e36a272288d55a.jpg "Green-Veined White - imago - Clayton, Staffordshire - 21-Apr-09 [John Wood]")
![Green-Veined White - imago - Macclesfield Forest - 11-Aug-07 [Janette Bowler]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/7b8587367967e7f8aae7ad4d3f112ef7.jpg "Green-Veined White - imago - Macclesfield Forest - 11-Aug-07 [Janette Bowler]")
![Green-Veined White - imago - Avon Forest Park - 26-Apr-06 [Mark Pike]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/1b318e5689204813fbb6e92787839d55.jpg "Green-Veined White - imago - Avon Forest Park - 26-Apr-06 [Mark Pike]")
![Green-Veined White - imago - Clayton, Staffordshire - 21-Apr-09 (2) [John Wood]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/bc31fd7c53e5689df76e3961460868d6.jpg "Green-Veined White - imago - Clayton, Staffordshire - 21-Apr-09 (2) [John Wood]")
![Green-Veined White - imago - Horsenden Hill - 30-Apr-05 [David Howdon]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/9ddd10a174e116581e88281f97afb399.jpg "Green-Veined White - imago - Horsenden Hill - 30-Apr-05 [David Howdon]")
![Green-veined Whites Clive Burrows [Clive Burrows]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/a3e9d689ebcac17a063ca2235f9d696c.jpg "Green-veined Whites Clive Burrows [Clive Burrows]")
![Green-Veined White - imago - Loch Cre - Unknown date [Adrian Riley]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/3feeaa18b0398eede1f828543e813fd6.jpg "Green-Veined White - imago - Loch Cre - Unknown date [Adrian Riley]")
![Green-Veined White - imago - North Kessock - Unknown date [Phil Brown]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/397180c66d6937e3d79dd048321b3320.jpg "Green-Veined White - imago - North Kessock - Unknown date [Phil Brown]")
![Green-Veined White - imago - Lough Georg - Unknown date [Adrian Riley]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/f38e006d8f3a4d2cbc16137ee7d79c58.jpg "Green-Veined White - imago - Lough Georg - Unknown date [Adrian Riley]")
![Green-Veined White - ovum - Unknown location - 2003 [REARED] [Reg Fry]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/ccfacb7ec0ad827d9d359e49839cacf2.jpg "Green-Veined White - ovum - Unknown location - 2003 [REARED] [Reg Fry]")
![Green-Veined White - pupa - Unknown location - 2003 [REARED] [Reg Fry]](phpBB/gallery/images/upload/26b4d902c2c634e7c5eceb0da0c9c5db.jpg "Green-Veined White - pupa - Unknown location - 2003 [REARED] [Reg Fry]")
