David Element
Wildlife
Photography and Digital Video Images
______________________________________________________________________
Butterflies 6 – Wood Whites
WOOD WHITE Leptidea sinapsis
WOOD WHITE Leptidea
sinapsis
WOOD WHITE Leptidea
sinapsis
WOOD WHITE Leptidea sinapsis
WOOD WHITE Leptidea
sinapsis
- In 2001
it was established that the Irish Wood
White Butterfly population was predominantly
composed of Leptidea juvernica
(formerly reali),
initially identified as Real’s Wood White, but now known as the Cryptic
Wood White (fitting as it had been hiding in plain sight) rather than
the virtually identical L.
sinapsis found in
England and Wales (and in one area of Ireland, The Burren – just to cause
confusion!). L. sinapsis is a butterfly
currently experiencing a significant decline and it is now quite rare.
The insect shown above was photographed at a woodland site in in Surrey so
there is no dispute about its identification. These butterflies prefer
woodland clearings (so they will respond well to active site management)
and the males particularly may prove to be frustrating subjects to
photograph as they are very active in warm weather – so patience may be
required. Courtship is quite involved and perhaps offers the best chance
for pictures to be taken as the butterflies will perch close together on vegetation,
initially facing one another. An account of research into the anything but
straightforward classification of the Leptidea
sinapsis species complex (from 2011) is given
here: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1329.
It is not possible to identify Wood White Butterflies to species in the
field unless they are being observed in an area known not to have any
overlapping ranges.
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