A website dedicated to European Butterflies

Contact Me
Matt Rowlings

Photos: explicit permission must be obtained from Matt Rowlings for any use of any images from eurobutterflies.com.

Mail me to receive
"What's New" Update
e-mails

Anthocharis belia euphenoides

Provence (Moroccan) Orange Tip

Field Notes

Var, France, April 2006

Var, France, April 2006

Var, France, April 2006

Var, France, April 2006

Var, France, April 2006

Provence, France, April 2003 (m)

Bouches du Rhône, France, April 2004 (f)

Female, completely lacks yellow colouration of the male on the upperside
and the orange markings are greatly reduced.

Bouches du Rhône, France, April 2004 (m)

Male underside

Bouches du Rhône, France, April 2004 (m)

Female underside

Provence, France, April 2003 (m)

Provence, France, April 2003 (m)

This is a beautiful species that brings colour to the air very early in the year. It flies from April in one generation. Mostly it is over by the end of May but it can be found ocycasionally into July in high mountains - I've found a single male in the Pyrenees in mid July. It flies in Spain and southern France. It has only recently been split from the Moroccan Orange Tip, A. belia, which it closely resembles.

It is extremely easy to distinguish from the Orange Tip, Anthocharis cardamines, by its yellow ground colour. Its range does not overlap with the similar Eastern Orange Tip, A. damone which flies in SE Europe and Sicily, Italy. That species has the same yellow ground colour but much finer speckling of green on the underside hindwing.

TOP