Large White - Favourite Photo of 2012

[Vince Massimo]

Here is the opportunity to post your favourite photo(s) of a particular species taken in 2012 (or the last time you saw one!).

This is part of a series of topics which will grow over 20 weeks throughout the winter until all 59 UK species have been covered. 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 friends 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]

Vince you're not playing fair!


Large White

I really struggled to get shots of Large White at the start of the year but then around August when the summer brood appeared it got much easier. I have noticed that the spring butterflies always seem very skittish and so if you want to get shots of the double brooded and “long-running” species it pays to wait until later in the year, when they’re much more relaxed.
This male was certainly relaxed, fluttering slowly down my garden and playing a quick game of hide and seek with me, which to be frank (and as evidenced by this photo) it was rubbish at!

Have a goodun
Wurzel

[Vince Massimo]

Vince you're not playing fair!

Sorry Wurzel . After our brief chat at the Winter Social, I knew that you would be poised ready to post your favourites at 12.01am, but my internet went down and no amount of swearing could fix it. If I do not open the new topics at midnight then it means I am having a problem.

So to my favourite Large White photo. I took loads of images this year because I reared a batch which hatched in May, but if I had to choose just one it would be this, because it is so unusual.

Large White female and male (reared and released) - Caterham, Surrey 8-May-2012

These and several others had hatched during the morning and were put out in the garden. All of the others took off almost straight away, but these two basked for a few moments before departing.

Vince

[David M]

Always better to have the light on the FAR side when photographing Whites.

I had few opportunities this year to capture an image of a Large White in such conditions but this was probably the best, taken at Sand Point on 26 May:

[Goldie M]

my photo's were taken in June and August, the first one in June was at Walley Abbey 10th of June the second in my Back Garden 28th August I like them both has I didn't get a chance to take many shots of LW at all this year Goldie
I hope they are both Large Whites, I seem to have the ability for getting these species wrong

[John W]

Here are my two favourites, both taken on 21st July 2012 at Southwater woods.

[millerd]

I hardly saw any of these this year - just a scattering. Even my sister's nasturtium field (sorry, garden) near York remained unmunched for the first time we can recall. I have just the one photo, but it comes into the Quite Interesting category for me, because uncharacteristically for a male there is a small black spot on each forewing. This appeared on both wings in the same place, though one side doesn't show here (I do have another shot more open-winged than this, but it is embarrassingly blurred). Taken at Stanwell Moor on 13th May.

Dave

[Vince Massimo]

........... uncharacteristically for a male there is a small black spot on each forewing. This appeared on both wings in the same place.......

I have noticed the same, Dave. The majority of my open-winged males have a variable mark on each upper forewing that exactly corresponds with one of the large spots on the underside. In some cases they look just like patches of androconia scales (scent scales for attracting females), but I'm sure they are not.

Interesting though...........

Vince

[Neil Freeman]

I did not see that many Large Whites this year until september when I saw quite a few whilst in Dorset.

The shot below was taken in early August at Castle Hills near Solihull on the only day last year that I photographed Large, Small and Green-veined whites on the same day.

Large White - Castle Hills Solihull 02.08.2012

Cheers,

Neil F.