Great British Lepidoptera

Green-veined White

(Pieris Napi)

Although often thought to be a garden pest that ruins Cabbages, this common butterfly is blameless; only wild relatives in the Cabbage family are its caterpillars' foodplants. It may be seen in gardens taking nectar from radish flowers, but it does not breed in the cabbage patch. Even on dull days the butterfly is active, haunting damp meadows, wet fields, marshy land, wayside ditches near hedgerows and woodland edges. It may be seen where Hedge and Garlic Mustard, Charlock, Mignonette and other wild plants of the Cabbage family grow. The caterpillars feed on seed pods as well as leaves.

The green streaks that trace the veins- more heavily in summer than in spring- make the resting butterfly easy to confuse with the female Orange-Tip, which is green-mottled beow. On the wing, the Green-veined White resembles the Small White. Dwarf adults are sometimes seen, and there are rare albino and yellow forms. Males exude strong but pleasant scent of lemon verbena, probably used in courting. The two generations are on the wing between April and June, and between July and September. If they escape the attentions of birds and spiders, the adult butterflies may live for about a month.