It is often said that you cannot have too many photos of Orange-tips and with this species flight period in 2020 coinciding with me working from home and then being furloughed, I saw plenty in my garden and within walking distance of home. I saw my first one on 26th March which is early for around here but then a few days of cooler weather meant that it was another week before they really got going. From then on they turned up nearly every day in my garden and on my local exercise walks throughout the rest of April and well into May but by late they May had disappeared for another year.
During some of the warm sunny days we had during that period, I would spend ages just sitting in the garden and watching the same individuals repeatedly returning on their circuits around the houses. Later in the afternoon they would usually slow down a bit and start settling to refuel more often before finding somewhere to roost up.
This is not an obviously variable species but close examination shows a surprising amount of subtle variation in the size and shape of the forewing spots and black markings. This is something that I used to count individuals and confirm how many were actually the same ones coming around again on repeat visits.
![Wagon Lane 09.04.2020 006 resize.JPG (653.66 KiB) Viewed 1254 times Orange-tip - Wagon Lane 09.04.2020](./files/thumb_10101_1f20916b385354209cd4f9c2a8d528bb)
- Orange-tip - Wagon Lane 09.04.2020
![Coverdale 14.04.2020 063 resize.JPG (457.29 KiB) Viewed 1254 times Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.04.2020](./files/thumb_10101_4bfeb46600d20397e259adcc32298281)
- Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.04.2020
![Coverdale 14.04.2020 083 resize.JPG (413.52 KiB) Viewed 1254 times Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.04.2020](./files/thumb_10101_49cbc761c315ec31e5c80eb4ca5a72f1)
- Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.04.2020
![Coverdale 16.04.2020 020 resize.JPG (458.31 KiB) Viewed 1254 times Orange-tip - Coverdale 16.04.2020](./files/thumb_10101_386c0d44b9b77f8abedcd3b9b6f7db36)
- Orange-tip - Coverdale 16.04.2020
![Coverdale 19.04.2020 022 resize.JPG (494.56 KiB) Viewed 1254 times Orange-tip - Coverdale 19.04.2020](./files/thumb_10101_96a9d40c7f6018dc1602a93900d92e94)
- Orange-tip - Coverdale 19.04.2020
One male, seen at my local spot by Wagon Lane Park, was a particularly attractive example with extended black marking along the leading edge of his forewings.
![Wagon Lane 20.04.2020 038 resize.JPG (491.2 KiB) Viewed 1254 times Orange-tip - Wagon Lane 20.04.2020](./files/thumb_10101_92b4d558c64977685d8873de1c8a1899)
- Orange-tip - Wagon Lane 20.04.2020
From mid April onwards, the females steadily increased in numbers.
![Coverdale 21.04.2020 075 resize.JPG (489.27 KiB) Viewed 1254 times Orange-tip female - Coverdale 21.04.2020](./files/thumb_10101_687860283913565e6423ea1187670ac7)
- Orange-tip female - Coverdale 21.04.2020
![Coverdale 23.04.2020 019 resize.JPG (456.59 KiB) Viewed 1254 times Orange-tip female - Coverdale 23.04.2020](./files/thumb_10101_9860715e78138bafd5b0205668ad76c2)
- Orange-tip female - Coverdale 23.04.2020
And finally an underside of a male that settled down to roost for the night on a Spanish Bluebell. These things have been in my garden ever since we moved here over twenty years ago and spring up all over the place, but they do provide some nice spring colour and an attractive perch for a butterfly to settle on.
![Coverdale 26.04.2020 017 resize.JPG (498.38 KiB) Viewed 1254 times Orange-tip - Coverdale 26.04.2020](./files/thumb_10101_489464596ad809d519184a568856252c)
- Orange-tip - Coverdale 26.04.2020
Definitely a species that I reckon we are all probably looking forward to more than ever after the past few months.
Cheers,
Neil