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Black-veined white

 

The black-veined whites, of the genus with the same name, Aporia, we most often meet in places with a mid-summer abundance of flowers. They wintered as pupae and we see the butterfly imagos in June and July. It is a notably large and easily identified species and the sexes are wholly similar. The body shape is quite characteristic, black wing lines forming a distinct pattern on the translucently white fore and hind wings. In the usual drinking places of butterflies, edges of puddles in dirt roads, several tens of them sometimes gather – good spots for photographing or watching. 

Seeing butterflies has always been considered as an omen. Black-veined whites have heralded good luck ... as well as a hard life. The use of insecticides outside agricultural areas has decreased markedly and the numbers of black-veined whites has increased locally – so a happier life for butterflies.