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Green-veined White - Favourite Photo of 2016

Week 7

Week seven and we're now offically a third of the way through the 'Favourite shots of 2016'! Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos - just to make it easier to organise and keep everything on track so that we can enjoy this throughout the winter months? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As like last year details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

This spring beauty from Kilvey Hill, Swansea, in April was as good as it got for me in 2016:

These had a pretty good year for me, particularly the spring brood, after a rather poor 2015. I came across several mating pairs on my travels who allowed some nice closeups. This one I like because I managed to get both heads in focus, something I usually struggle with when photographing mating butterflies! This female is a rather standard picture, although rather well marked, but she sticks out for me because she was at Strumpshaw Fen and half an hour later I was watching my first ever Swallowtails

Observed in the wild, I watched this female develop from a young larva that I found feeding on garlic mustard in my back garden in October 2015. This photograph was taken shortly before she took her maiden flight, in April 2016.

I found the GVW very scarce in the Spring a round my area, I'd to go to Mere Sands near Southport to get my first sighting which is so unusual but then the Spring was such a bad one.
My favourite shots I think were taken in F Woods when I saw my first Male PE and then when the GVW did appear at Hall-Lee-Brook also in July so I've posted one from April and two from July. Goldie

I'm glad to be able to say for once that my GVW male photo was actually taken in the UK.
I visited the Egleton nature reserve at Rutland Water when back home in September and notched up 9 end-of-season species including this GVW: Chris

Although Green-veined Whites were ubiquitous in 2016, I felt that in common with many of our wider countryside species, numbers were down on previous years.

A couple of shots of a summer brood male that visited my garden in mid July,
Cheers,

Neil.

I always end up with a lot of GVW photos every year, partly because it is easier to get close to than other whites, but also because it shows great variety between broods and even between individuals of the same brood. Firstly, here are three from the same day (9th May). Two males showing very different degrees of marking, and a very dusky female. Next are two more from May, one with a nice backdrop of blossom and the other a rather good first brood underside. The best examples are really attractive butterflies as these shots of a female from late August show. Dave

Found a couple of Green-vein shots which I was quite pleased with,the first was a very fresh individual ,taken close to home,unfortunately it looks as though it had a bit of trouble,whist drying its wings,but otherwise in beautiful nick,the second was taken along the Royal military canal , at Kenardington (Kent),at the beginning of September. Regards Allan.W.

Green-veined White

This was my favourite Green-veined White shot of 2016 as it showing two pristine individuals together. They’re from the Spring brood and the shot was taken at Vera Jones’s Mill, a small Wiltshire Wildlife Trust reserve near where I work. Another reason for choosing it as my favourite is that the timings of the school day have since been changed with a reduction in lunchtime and so this shot represents possibly the final set of ‘lunchtime at Work’ shots. On the up side I will be finishing earlier so I might be able to get out a bit more…
Have a goodun

Wurzel

I took this snap using all the wrong settings on my camera. I was in my garden taking 'long shots' of groups of flowers and had forgotten to adjust - as such there seems something not quite right about it to my eye. Still, it's a bright and colourful background which contrasts well with the white subject.

I found this strongly marked specimen on the 'Roman Road' at Otmoor, Oxon. I'm always grateful for the electronic finder on my Olympus, which indicates over or under exposure very clearly. In this case, I applied -1.7 EV exposure compensation to avoid 'blowing' the whites.
Mike

I find Green-veined Whites to be more obliging in some years than in others. This one was found in overcast conditions.
Vince