Pieridae - Whites, Yellows

All images on this website have been taken in Leicestershire and Rutland by NatureSpot members. We welcome new contributions - just register and use the Submit Records form to post your photos. Click on any image below to visit the species page. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. A coloured rating followed by an exclamation mark denotes that different ID difficulties apply to either males and females or to the larvae - see the species page for more detail.

Butterflies

Butterflies are insects, which together with moths, form the order Lepidoptera. There is no clear difference between butterflies and moths, other than we choose to refer to several families of lepidopterans as butterflies and the others as moths. All have 2 pairs of wings that are covered in minute scales which give them the colours and patterns we are familiar with. Butterflies, like moths, have 4 stages to their life cycle: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa and adult (called an imago). Most species have a life cycle of up to a year, though the adult may only live for a few weeks. However some adult butterflies live for nearly a year by overwintering in a type of insect hibernation. There are around 60 species of butterfly in Britain of which 34 species are thought to be resident breeders in our two counties. The Painted Lady, Clouded Yellow and Camberwell Beauty (a former resident) occur as migrants whose local populations do not over-winter.  

Leicestershire and Rutland resources

East Midlands Butterfly Conservation

Facebook Group: Butterflies and Moths of Leicestershire & Rutland - this is a lively and active group and a great place for sharing news and getting help with identifying photos. This is the quickest and easiest way to get answers or suggestions.

Useful websites and publications

UK Butterflies - an excellent site with many images plus comprehensive information about all the British found species.

Butterfly Conservation

Butterflies of the British Isles - J.A.Thomas (Hamlyn Guide) - pocket size and includes photographs, distribution maps and life cycle of each species

Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland (Richard Lewington, BWP) - excellent compact field guide with accurate illustrations.

Discover Butterflies in Britain - a lovely book describing every British species with good photographs and a very useful gazeteer of where and when to find them.

If you know of other websites or books that you would recommend, do let us know: info@naturespot.org

Pieridae - Whites, Yellows