orange-tip

Anthocharis cardamines

The orange-tip butterfly is a colorful insect with bright orange tips on its wings. It flits around gardens and fields, bringing joy with its beautiful colors during springtime.

Lebensraum: Grasslands

Aussehen

The orange-tip is a medium-sized butterfly. Males boast vivid orange tips on their white forewings, contrasting with the mostly white females, which instead have distinct black wingtips. Both sexes share unique mottled green markings on the underside of their hindwings, resembling camouflage.

ReichAnimaliaStammArthropodaKlasseInsectaOrdnungLepidopteraFamiliePieridaeGattungAnthocharis

orange-tip

Kategorie

Insekten

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Only the male orange-tip butterfly has bright orange wing tips; females are mostly white!

Orange-tip caterpillars are cannibalistic and will eat smaller siblings if food is scarce.

Their mottled green wing undersides are made of overlapping yellow and black scales, not green pigment!

These butterflies emerge early in spring, often being one of the first to be seen fluttering about.

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Orange-tip pupae can look exactly like a thorn or dead leaf, helping them hide from hungry predators while they transform.

Orange-tip caterpillars can eat plants from the mustard family, using their natural chemicals to grow big and strong.

Orange-tip butterflies can fly in quick, erratic zigzags, making it very hard for birds and other predators to catch them.

Maße und Details

Flügelspannweite: 45-50 mm
Größe: 18-22 mm
Lebenserwartung: 7-14 Tage
Fluggeschwindigkeit: 15-20 km/h
Anzahl der Beine: 6

Ernährung und Fütterung

Caterpillars munch on specific wild plants, while adult butterflies sip nectar from various flowers.

Altersunterschiede: Larvae consume leaves and seed pods of host plants, whereas adults feed exclusively on flower nectar.

Hauptnahrung

Cuckoo flower nectar
Garlic mustard nectar
Hedge garlic leaves
Cuckoo flower leaves
Dandelion nectar

Nahrungssuche

Foraging

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

depends on

Cuckoo Flower

Cardamine pratensis

Main food source for caterpillars and adult nectar.

depends on

Garlic Mustard

Alliaria petiolata

Another key host plant for larvae and nectar for adults.

eaten by

Great Tit

Parus major

A common woodland bird that preys on butterflies.

Merkmale

Bestäubermagnet

Beschreibt Pflanzen, die für eine Vielzahl von bestäubenden Organismen besonders attraktiv und nützlich sind.

Farbenfroh

Farbenfroh beschreibt Organismen oder Objekte, die eine große Vielfalt an leuchtenden und deutlich erkennbaren Farben aufweisen.

Grasland

Grasland-Lebensräume sind terrestrische Biome, die von Gräsern und krautigen Pflanzen dominiert werden und einer Vielzahl von Weidetieren als Lebensraum dienen.