NFY: Large and Small whites

15 Wednesday Apr 2026

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British butterflies, butterfly, Large white, Large white butterfly, Pieris brassicae, Pieris rapae, Small white, Small white butterfly

Monday 6 April dawned bright and sunny, the breeze was light, and the temperature quickly warmed to the high teens Celsius. Conditions were perfect for there being butterflies on the wing in my local parks, so I went out to explore. The first two locations didn’t turn up much – too many people and dogs, but my final stop was just perfect. I saw 14 butterflies of 6 species, two of which were new for the year.

A Large white (Pieris brassicae) (above) appeared first, followed fairly quickly by a Small white (Pieris rapae) (below). Although a Large white is generally larger than a Small white, the size of both species can vary, and the way to positively identify these species is though the size of the dark markings on their wing tips.

My first Large white

12 Friday Apr 2024

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

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British butterflies, butterfly, Large white butterfly, Pieris brassicae, spring butterflies

I’d just got home from walking a circuit of Cardiff Bay when a local birder and butterflier sent me a message to say there were some nice butterflies to be seen in a nearby park so out I went again for a look-see. He was right! Though I didn’t see the Green-veined white he had spotted, I did see the beauty shown below, my first Large white butterfly (Pieris brassicae) for the year, and my first two Holly blues, though neither paused long enough for a photo.

240412 large white

114/366 Little and large

23 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Adela reaumurella, British butterflies, British moths, butterfly, Green long-horn, Large white, Long-horn moth, moth, Pieris brassicae

During yesterday’s exercise meander around Penarth, I found two lovely Lepidoptera in one of the few local parks that’s still open.

200423 green long-horn moth

The first was this amazing day-flying moth, the Green long-horn (Adela reaumurella). It may have a wingspan of only 14-18mm, but just look at those antennae (hence, the name ‘long-horn’). This is a male; the females have shorter antennae, which are half black, half white.

Then, to my delight, soon after seeing that stunning little moth, I spotted my first Large white butterfly (Pieris brassicae) for 2020. And, compared to the moth, it really is large, with a wingspan between 63 and 70mm. This is also a male; the females have two grey-black spots on their upper wings.