Donegal Wildlife Database - Insects - Lepidoptera - Butterflies - Pieridae
Anthocharis cardamines - Orange Tip
The female lays a single egg on the flower stalk of Cuckoo Flower. The larva hatches and eats only the pods of the plant until it is ready to pupate.
The next 5 images show the larva in sequential stages of development.
The mustard-seed oils in the seedpods make the larvae and adults unpalatable to predators such as birds.
Two underside shots; male on the left, and female on the right:
Upper shots of female (left) and male (right).
