Top Ten Pierids of Europe

[Medard]

Mountain Clouded Yellow (Colias phicomone) my first sighting of this species was on on the  Col de l'Izoard, during a visit to the Queyras region, this last year I found them at several places during our visit to the Alps, it has an annoying habit of quickly dropping down into the grass making clean shots difficult.

Mountain Clouded Yellow (Colias phicomone)

Mountain Clouded Yellow (Colias phicomone) Colde l'Izoard,

Mountain Clouded Yellow (Colias phicomone)

Mountain Clouded Yellow (Colias phicomone) Habitat, Col de la Bonnet

Mountain Clouded Yellow (Colias phicomone)

Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi) I first saw this butterfly in the Brenne, widespread and acommon butterfly, but take time to appreciate its subtle under wing colours, this is one of my favourite species.
Video of an eyeball to eyeball encounter with the Black-veined Whites taking up salts.

https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/p18 ... #hb1f9f0d0

Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi)

Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi)

Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi)

Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi)

Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi)

Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi)

https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com

[Medard]

Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) my number two,  forget the rarities, this attractive small butterfly with its splash of orange is for me , like the Cuckoo the harbinger of Spring I hope to enjoy their arrival for many years yet to come.

[petesmith]

Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) my number two,  forget the rarities, this attractive small butterfly with its splash of orange is for me , like the Cuckoo the harbinger of Spring I hope to enjoy their arrival for many years yet to come.

They are absolute beauties aren't they Jim? The most heart-warming of sights each year!

[David M]

#10 - Black Veined White

Possibly the most approachable of the Pierids, and I see plenty of them on the continent, sometimes in almost plague numbers:

#9 - Bath White

Always happy to see one of these. They never seem to turn up in numbers; instead, you'll just catch sight of the odd one in just about any terrain, although they do seem to favour the more arid patches of habitat.

The males are very smart looking:

The females are even more attractive with the greater suffusion of black:

[Medard]

Moorland Clouded Yellow (Colias palaeno)

I have found  palaeno common in the Doubs, this butterfly sets my heart racing , firstly because I had expected to find it a difficult species to photograph, being familiar with the Doubs its very name Moorland suggests a swampy challenge but it proved not to be the case the Doubs was very dry in 2018 ! the year we visited, secondly its an amazingly beautiful butterfly, what artist would think of combining the lemon yellow wings, adding an orange edging then adding orange legs to complete the picture ? No one I suspect, My COUP de COEUR.

https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com

Typical Doubs landscape.

Moorland Clouded Yellow (Colias palaeno).

The Doubs home of the Moorland clouded yellow and many other species

[petesmith]

Moorland Clouded Yellow (Colias palaeno)
I have found  palaeno common in the Doubs, this butterfly sets my heart racing

Jim, the Moorland Clouded Yellow is indeed a dream of a butterfly! I haven't had the pleasure of seeing it in Doubs yet, although I hope to remedy that within the next year of two. I do miss Doubs, a fabulous part of France!

[David M]

Lovely shots, Jim, especially the open winged image - I'd pay a king's ransom for that one.

[David M]

#8 - Clouded Yellow

This may be a bit of a surprise to some, but for me it's an easy choice.

It's one of the butterflies that gets you most excited when you see it in the UK, particularly in Wales, where it isn't at all guaranteed.

Of the Clouded Yellow family in western Europe, it also has the deepest, richest colour, meaning it edges out both Berger's and Mountain Clouded Yellow:

#7 - Mountain Green Veined White

Another that mightn't be on everyone's list, but the female of this species is exceedingly beautiful, with those heavy, dusky markings that mark her out immediately as something out of the ordinary.

The males look like slightly bolder versions of our own Green Veined White, but the females are an absolute joy to behold - here's a mint fresh one from the Italian Alps in 2019:

[David M]

#6 - Mountain Dappled White

This is a tricky customer. Seen in low numbers in the vast expanses of the high altitude Alpine mountains. Getting close to it is a major challenge, but occasionally when conditions are cool and/or cloudy they will come down:

#5 - Brimstone

Yes, the humble Brimstone is #5. It's neither rare nor particularly striking looks-wise, but it's what it represents and the feelings it engenders that count.

It's always a thrill to see that lemon-yellow buzz of bright light flash by you in early spring; it promises much better things to come.

They don't hang around long enough in late summer to be appreciated a second time, so this is one species that has to be followed with resolve at a time of year when the only other butterflies flying in the UK are the adult over-wintered vanessids:

[petesmith]

Very happy to se Mountain Green-veined White on this list David. A highly worthy inclusion!

[David M]

I think so, Pete, and although the males are easy to find, I doubt if I rack up more than 3 or 4 females per year, making them especially welcome!

#4 - Cleopatra

#5's close cousin just edges it, and purely by virtue of the big orange 'splash' on the ups forewings.

It's common enough in southern Europe, but has a touch of the exotic about it as it dances around both gardens and the wider countryside with its enchanting, bright colours.

Must be wonderful to live in Provence and have this beauty be your first butterfly sighting of the year!

[David M]

#3 - Orange Tip

Familiarity with this species does nothing to diminish its appeal. Quite honestly, I could never imagine living somewhere where this butterfly is absent, such is the annual delight I accumulate during those five or six weeks when they are on the wing.

Its dainty yet determined flight, often in far from ideal conditions, is a testimony to its durability, and the colours of the male uppersides and both sexes' undersides makes it well worthy of high desirability status:

[David M]

#2 - Peak White

Possibly the most frustrating of all butterflies I've ever encountered, so how does it elevate itself to #2?

Until last year I had seen quite a few flying purposefully around the many French cols I routinely visit, without ever seeing any actually land for more than a millisecond, forcing me to take airshots to establish their identity definitively.

In 2019 though, quite a few were prepared to put down, for reasons I'm not at all sure about. This finally gave me the opportunity to approach them at rest, which was something I feared would never happen, and perhaps it is this element of shock that has seen me choose it in such a lofty position.

I would still deem seeing a settled female to be in my top ten wishlist of potential European butterfly experiences. For now the wait goes on:

[essexbuzzard]

No surprise to me, David. I can quite understand it’s lofty position. It’s not just how attractive a Butterfly is, but the circumstances behind it. Time and place, who you’re with, and so-on. Think I may be able to guess your #1, but I won’t spoil it. If I’m correct, it would be up there for me too. We’ll see.

[David M]

Your instinct serves you well, Mark, because my favourite Pierid is:

#1 - Provence Orange Tip

This enchanting species is like an Orange Tip infused with sunshine; it's lemon hue adding a dream-like charm to its already seductive character. It has the same purposeful, yet delicate flight as cardamines, similar mottled, cryptic underside hindwings and deep orange apical forewing patches with an interior black border.

Even the females have a dash of pale orange to them:

The males are in a league of their own:

When I look at the European Pierids I've yet to see, I think the only one that could permanently eclipse euphinoides is the Spanish Greenish Black Tip.

[petesmith]

A worthy choice David. I do suspect that should bazae eventually cross your path, you may well re-assess as you have suggested!

[essexbuzzard]

Yes, would probably agree with your choice, David. Like you, I hope to catch up with one of the greenish black Tip group eventually, though none of them appear easy to find. For now POT. Is a worthy winner.

[David M]

Yes, would probably agree with your choice, David. Like you, I hope to catch up with one of the greenish black Tip group eventually, though none of them appear easy to find. For now POT. Is a worthy winner.

Yes, bazae is exceptionally uncommon in Europe, Mark, though from what I've read it's far commoner in Morocco. I hope to find it there next year (Covid permitting).