It has been a funny old year for butterflies - after a very slow start in spring, we seemed to have a bumper summer, but species such as Red Admirals still seem to be in very short supply.
One group that appears to have done very well is the whites. I don't know if you've experienced the same, but they seem to be fluttering everywhere this year.
They tend to get lumped in the public's mind as 'cabbage whites', but there are actually three species. The males look a bit different to the females and those in early broods are marked differently to those coming later, so actually identifying them can be something of a challenge, but then we wildlife gardeners love challenges, don't we?
Here are some photos I took last weekend to show some of the differences:
This is a female Green -veined White. Note how the black on the forewing tips extends as little triangles down the outer edge of the wing, the wing veins are rather grey, and there are little grey 'apostrophes' around the outer edge of the hind wing. Underneath, her wing veins would be edged in grey, but only subtly.
Then we have Small White, here a male with just one dark spot on the upper forewing, and the grey at the wing tip is confined to the tip itself.
And finally we have the Large White, here a male which has no black spot on the upper forewing and a large (if slightly tatty on this individual) black wing tip.
So, they're not easy, and I'd need to show you all the other males and females to give you the full picture.
But in a garden context, all breed on plants in the cabbage family, but it is the Large that produces the masses of black and yellow caterpillars, Small White has secretive lone green caterpillars that don't do so much damage, and Green-veined much prefers wild crucifers such as Garlic Mustard.
I know they can be a bit of a pain in the veggie patch, but I'd certainly rather have them than not. Where do you stand? Do you find them tolerable and even welcome them?
If you want to drop by my RSPB wildlife gardening blog, it is updated every Friday, and I'd love to see you there - www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/hfw
I have a love hate relationship with the whites. I love to see them fluttering around the garden but I am also an avid veg grower. With the sheer number of them this year I have had to net my brassica bed. Now, because I love my wildlife and it does need a helping hand, I left a few gaps in the netting. If a white was cleaver/lucky enough to get in, then it was allowed to lay its eggs and the caterpillars could share my brassicas. They completely stripped a few plants, turned others into lace but hopefully the few that remain will give me enough sprouts to have with my Christmas lunch.
Build it and they will come.