[18-08-2025]

The current species composition only encompasses the most common species, yet even those are largely underrepresented. With thr exception of a single blue paradoxically increasing its populations (C. argiades), only whites such as P. rapae remain stable.

#Lepidoptera #Butterfly #SmallWhite #Insect #Nature #Macro

[27-07-2025]

This year seems to be marking the first time P. rapae is NOT the dominant white in my village. Both of its relatives, P. brassicae and P. napi, continue to increase their respective populations, whereas the new P. edusa appears to be settling down after a single appearance in 2024.

#Lepidoptera #Butterfly #SmallWhite #Insect #Nature

Chenille de la Piéride de la Rave (Pieris rapae).

Dunes du Fort Vert (Marck), décembre 2022

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Small white / Cabbage white / Cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae) caterpillar.

Dunes du Fort Vert (Marck), december 2022


#pierisrapae #piéridedelarave #pieridedelarave #smallwhite #cabbagewhite #cabbagebutterfly #pieris #piérides #pieridae #piéridés #lepidoptera #lépidoptères #dunesdufortvert #eden62 #hautsdefrancenature #hautsdefrance #insectedefrance #insectesdefrance #insecte #insectes #nature

#Tagpfauenauge
#PeacockButterfly
#AglaisIo
#Schachbrettfalter
#MarbledWhite
#MelanargiaGalathea
#Kohlweissling
#SmallWhite
#PierisRapae
#Schmetterling
#Butterfly
#MacroPhotography
#NatureLovers
#WildlifePerfection
#ButterfliesOfInstagram
#NaturePhotography
#InsectLove
#Nymphalidae
#Satyrinae
#Pieridae

[30-05-2025]

Wrapping up this spring season with only my second P. rapae of this year. Out of all currently active whites, it's the least represented and even fell behind P. brassicae, which tended to skip spring within my study area in previous years.

On a side note, all future posts will be followers-only to discuss details of my local biotopes & butterfly populations, as well as to not feed AI scrapers any critical data (& my best shots).

#Lepidoptera #Butterfly #SmallWhite #Insect #Nature

[Archive – 30-06-2022]

(Minor update 7:41 PM: The monthly summary is online and I wholeheartedly recommend rooibos vanilla tea with a good chunk of milk.)

Due to a resurgence of my sinus infection and experiencing cold-like symptoms after having taken care of my ill mother, the monthy summary for October will be delayed until further notice. Updating my capsule requires access to a proper computer where my certs already are stored.

This Pieris rapae was one out of dozens of whites dominating the peak of the drought back in 2022. Lacy phacelia proved to be incredibly popular even among other speices and the absence of it since the end of 2023 caused a rather remarkable change in the species composition of "Zone II", with species like P. rapae now seeking out other areas whereas rare moths like L. sanguinaria have begun to expand their territories to at least two new spots.

(For this shot I used a Lightroom preset of mine I created years before my current male best friend infected me with his enthusiasm for macro photography which prompted me to adapt a more neutral editing style.)

#lepidoptera #butterfly #smallwhite #lacyphacelia #germany #canoneos700d

I just wanted to go outside but it turns out that all farmers decided to cultivate their respecting fields at the same time during the second highest fire risk level AND block my backdoor with a straw bale. On top of this, all regular traffic now drives through my main study area due to some demolition work in my village blocking a street, meaning that even if I would get past that straw ball and find a spot not currently covered in a cloud of dusty soil, cyclists AND cars scare every insect and the little amount of frogs each place still attracts every now and then away.

I already kind of made up for this by checking out my grandparents' garden today, which used to be almost void of insects for decades. While still sparse due to the surrounding plantations, this female Pieris rapae remained calm enough to let me photograph it. One V. atalanta flew over my head, while I failed at capturing one female P. napi and one P. c-album as my hands were busy carrying a bunch of small tomatoes.

#lepidoptera #butterfly #smallwhite #cabbagewhite #smallcabbagewhite #germany #canoneos700d

While I missed the hatching of the second V. atalanta due to my surgeon having requested a disc with some very beautiful CT shots of some part of my body, I caught a female Pieris rapae wanting to lay her eggs on one of our cauliflowers. Since she still is flying around due to being disturbed by my (and one of my cat's) presence, I'll check back later to check whether she deemed this plant worthy or chose one of the others a few meters away.

#lepidoptera #butterfly #smallwhite #cabbagewhite #smallcabbagewhite #germany #canoneos700d

My daily lepidopterological (is that a new word?) activities are truly picking up, as of yesterday.
#InMyGarden not one, not two, but three butterfly species visited me, and two of them gave me the stare: a Red Admiral and a Small White. The third one - a male Orange Tip - was too busy flitting about to look around.
#butterflies #SaveButterflies #ButterflyConservation #RedAdmiral #SmallWhite #OrangeTip #butterfly