![]() Identifying Small White And Large White Butterflies Using The Underside Of Their Wingsĭespite their names, size is often a poor differentiator between Large White and Small White butterflies. The greenish-white leaf shape of the Brimstone female is also uniquely distinctive, the lemon yellow of the male Brimstone even more so, not to mention their vivid reddish maroon-coloured antennae and shoulder rim. On closer inspection, the underside of the hindwings of “white” butterflies are anything but! The Green-veined White butterfly has a beautiful powdery green-grey veining (when viewed close up, these are actually a combination of black and yellow scales) set on a milky background whereas the Orange-tip butterfy sports a bold, mottled dark green-yellow wing underside pattern against a crisp white base. Of course, this relies on getting a good look or photo from both angles and butterflies don’t always oblige! First, use any patterns to eliminate or identify Green-veined Whites, Orange-tips, and Brimstones and then look at the upper side of the forewing to differentiate between the Large White and Small White. Probably the best method for identifying Pieridae butterflies is to start with the underneath of the hindwings. Being the smallest and flimsiest of the Pieridae family, it’s very local and not resident in Norfolk. I’ve omitted the Wood White here as its extremely rare. They can be tricky to identify because from a distance many of the white butterfly species look very similar, often fly at the same time, in the same habitat and even in some cases use the same caterpillar host plants. In the UK, the “Whites” family Pieridae actually encompasses 5 white and 2 yellow butterflies. ![]() This article uses side-by-side “real-life” comparison photos of “confusion” species taken from similar angles, including images of faded individuals, to help “get your eye in” and identify which white butterfly you saw. It can be awkward to compare distinguishing features of butterflies using guide books, where each butterfly species usually has its own separate dedicated section. One of the hardest common butterfly species to identify accurately are white butterflies, especially when first starting out.
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