Orange-tip
Only males wear the bright orange wingtips that give the species its name, while females look so plain that they are easily mistaken for a small white butterfly.
| Where | Damp meadows, hedgerows and gardens |
|---|---|
| Size | 45 to 50 mm wingspan |
| When | April to June |
Males are white with bold orange wingtips, while females share the same white wings but have grey-black tips instead, and both sexes show a mottled green and white marbling on the underside of the hindwing at rest.
Females lay their eggs singly on the flower stalks of plants such as cuckooflower and garlic mustard, because the caterpillars are cannibalistic and rarely tolerate another egg or larva on the same plant.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
White, Orange, Green
Active
Day
To people
Harmless
Activity through the year
Often confused with
The small white lacks any orange on the wingtips and lacks the mottled green underside marbling that both orange-tip sexes show at rest.
Questions
Is the Orange-tip dangerous to people?
The Orange-tip is harmless to people.
When can you see the Orange-tip?
The Orange-tip can be seen from April to June, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Didier Descouens, CC BY‑SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
The plate on this page is shared under the same licence as its source, CC BY-SA.
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Butterflies and moths›Whites and yellows›Anthocharis
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.