Small White Butterfly Courtship

Although this year hasn't matched previous seasons for spectacular butterfly displays, the white butterflies are ever-present. These two caught my attention this afternoon, well one of them did. It was flying vigorously at the edge of a flowering currant shrub. I thought it might be caught in a spider's web, but closer inspection revealed that it had rather more amorous thoughts on its mind. This sequence shows part of the courtship…

Edit: see comments for an explanation of the behaviour shown here.

No sign of the foxes this evening, though one did make the local papers today, relaxing in the gardens at the Royal Pavilion in the middle of town. Nice to see some positive reporting :up:
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Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens.

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This Post Has 12 Comments

  1. anonymous

    5 Sep 2010

    Anonymous writes:

    Hi~
    I've been enjoying your photos of the foxes~ great photographs!
    I've observed this behaviour in Cabbage White Butterflies as well, and it intrigued me so I looked into it. By this display, the female is actually trying to "reject" the male's mating efforts. I wrote about a little bit about it on my blog and posted a link with further info about it: http://www.thepaperbutterfly.net/2010/07/my-white-whale-er-butterfly.html

    Thanks for the glimpses into your daily observations. Your photography is lovely.

  2. gdare

    5 Sep 2010

    They seem not to mind your disturbing 😆

    Words, was it one of the foxes from your garden? Completely cool and undisturbed by attention it caught I just hope it will not become too friendly because someone could try to hurt it :left:

  3. SittingFox

    5 Sep 2010

    Nice sequence! I don't think I've seen a white butterfly (of any species) all year!

    That fox seems to know where it is welcome! Although I hope no one attempts to handfeed it.

  4. anonymous

    5 Sep 2010

    Crafty Gren Poet writes:

    lovely series of photos!

  5. Words

    5 Sep 2010

    Thanks Crafty!

  6. Words

    5 Sep 2010

    Darko, it seems that the female was rejecting the male (see above comments). They flew off together and carried on with the aerial dance.

    The fox isn't one of ours. It should be fairly safe in Brighton. This is the 'greenest' city (politically) in the UK!

  7. Words

    5 Sep 2010

    Originally posted by anonymous:

    By this display, the female is actually trying to "reject" the male's mating efforts. I wrote about a little bit about it on my blog and posted a link with further info about it: http://www.thepaperbutterfly.net/2010/07/my-white-whale-er-butterfly.html

    Caitlin,

    Thanks so much for the full explanation of the behaviour, and the links to further information. That's really appreciated :up:

  8. Words

    5 Sep 2010

    Adele, I guess we've been lucky with butterflies… loads of them constantly. We also had a speckled wood yesterday. I suspect somebody probably is hand-feeding the fox, though that's never a good idea. It's located right in the tourist centre of town so there will be rich pickings for it to find.

  9. Words

    6 Sep 2010

    Thanks Erwin!

  10. Cynthia23

    7 Sep 2010

    This dance is so pleasing to watch, as is your lovely photography, Words!

  11. Words

    8 Sep 2010

    Cynthia, thanks. It was the first time I've seen them stay in one place long enough for more than a grabbed photo. Trying to photograph a pair in flight is a very major struggle!

  12. Wulpen

    19 Oct 2012

    A Lovely set of Pict

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