Quiet female

This female orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) stayed a long moment allowing pictures to be made while I have been running after more colorful but also more agitated males for weeks.

The males are a common sight in spring, flying along hedgerows and damp meadows in search of the more reclusive female which lacks the orange.

The butterfly is found across Europe, and eastwards into temperate Asia as far as Japan. The past 30 years have seen a rapid increase in the range of the orange tip in the UK, particularly in Scotland and Ireland, probably in response to climate change.
The common name derives from the bright orange tips of the male's forewings. This is the case too in Dutch (Oranjetipje), while Aurorafalter in German and Mariposa aurora in Spanish are closer to the French Aurore (dawn).

The female lays eggs singly on the flowerheads of cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis)

or garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

and many other species of wild crucifers very common in our forest.

After hibernation being at pupal stage, adults are visible from March to July. So I still hope shooting a (tired) male.

Other butterflies of our valley: here