Unnecessarily Rare, Pt. 2 - _TNY_4884
The orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) has been given that name for a pretty obvious reason, though it is only the males which have orange wingtips.
Some other languages focus on the same thing so in Dutch, this is known as the "oranjetipje" which means the same thing.
Swedish, German, Finnish and several other languages have names based on "aurora" though. I am not entirely sure about the origin of this, but I'm guessing the green colouration on the underside of the butterflies kinda sorta looks a bit like an aurora on the night sky. Do tell if you know for certain.
The species is not particularily rare, and yet I seldom manage to photograph any. This is due to the fact that they tend to not land anywhere and just keep flying and flying.
This particular one, found at Stensjödal in Tyresta National Park surprised me by landing on (or under?) a water avens (Geum rivale) and staying there long enough for me to snap a couple of shots.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50401173008/
For a (closer) shot of a female - where the possible "aurora" pattern is more apparent - go here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/48064167856/
Unnecessarily Rare, Pt. 2 - _TNY_4884
The orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) has been given that name for a pretty obvious reason, though it is only the males which have orange wingtips.
Some other languages focus on the same thing so in Dutch, this is known as the "oranjetipje" which means the same thing.
Swedish, German, Finnish and several other languages have names based on "aurora" though. I am not entirely sure about the origin of this, but I'm guessing the green colouration on the underside of the butterflies kinda sorta looks a bit like an aurora on the night sky. Do tell if you know for certain.
The species is not particularily rare, and yet I seldom manage to photograph any. This is due to the fact that they tend to not land anywhere and just keep flying and flying.
This particular one, found at Stensjödal in Tyresta National Park surprised me by landing on (or under?) a water avens (Geum rivale) and staying there long enough for me to snap a couple of shots.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50401173008/
For a (closer) shot of a female - where the possible "aurora" pattern is more apparent - go here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/48064167856/