Anthocharis cardamines (Linnaeus, 1758)

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Status:

This widespread species is not threatened. It is not listed under any conservation designations.

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Rights holder/AuthorCopyright Wildscreen 2003-2008
Sourcehttp://www.arkive.org/orange-tip/anthocharis-cardamines/

Threats:

Not currently threatened.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright Wildscreen 2003-2008
Sourcehttp://www.arkive.org/orange-tip/anthocharis-cardamines/

Conservation:

No conservation action is targeted at this widespread species.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright Wildscreen 2003-2008
Sourcehttp://www.arkive.org/orange-tip/anthocharis-cardamines/

Anthocharis cardamines:

The Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) is a butterfly in the Pieridae family.

Contents

Appearance, behaviour and distribution

So named because of the male's bright orange tips to his forewings. 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 and is often mistaken for one of the other 'White' butterflies. The undersides are mottled green and white and create a superb camouflage when settled on flowerheads such as Cow Parsley and Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata.[1] The male is able to hide his orange tips by tucking the forewings behind the hindwings at rest. On close examination of the mottling, the green colour can be seen to be made up of a mixture of black and yellow scales. The butterfly is found across Europe, and eastwards into temperate Asia as far as Japan. The past 30 years has 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.

Lifecycle and foodplants

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The female lays eggs singly on the flowerheads of Cuckooflower Cardamine pratensis and Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata and many other species of wild Crucifers, all of which contain chemicals called glucosinolates. Females are attracted to larger flowers, such as Hesperis matronalis, even though some such species are poor larval hosts. Selection of foodplants is triggered by the presence of mustard oils and their derivative glucosinolates, which (in Pierinae) are detected by chemosensory hairs on the fore-legs. Reproductive rate of females appears to be limited by difficulties in finding suitable hosts. As a consequence, the species has evolved to use a wide range of crucifers.

The eggs are white to begin with but change to a bright orange after a few days before darkening off just before hatching. Because the larvae feed almost exclusively on the flowers and developing seedpods there is rarely enough food to support more than one larva per plant. If two larvae meet one will often be eaten by the other to eliminate its competitor. Newly hatched larvae will also eat unhatched eggs for the same reason. To stop eggs from being laid on plants already laid on the female leaves a pheromone to deter future females from laying. There are five larval instars. The green and white caterpillar is attacked by several natural enemies (notably Tachinid flies and Braconid wasps).

Pupation occurs in early summer in scrubby vegetation near the foodplant, where they stay to emerge the following spring. Recent research suggests that the emergence of the butterfly may be delayed for as much as two years, thus insuring the species against unfavourable conditions in a given season.

Habitat

Damp pastures and meadows, damp woodland edges and glades, riverbanks, ditches, dykes, fens, railway cuttings and country lanes.[citation needed]


Habitat.Germany.

Subspecies

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anthocharis cardamines

References

  1. ^ Cott, Hugh (1940). Adaptive Coloration in Animals. pp. 74–75.
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Sourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anthocharis_cardamines&oldid=539438742

Biology:

The main foodplants of the caterpillars are cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis), and garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata); although a range of other members of the crucifer family are used (2). A single generation is produced each year (3); adults usually fly between mid-April and mid-June (2), and females lay eggs singly during May or June on the flower heads of the foodplants (3). The eggs, which are white at first, turn orange after 2-3 days, and are easy to spot (2). It is very rare to find more than one egg on a flower; studies have shown that females mark the flowers on which they have laid an egg with a pheromone, and other females are deterred from laying there as a result. This ensures that each larva has sufficient food in its early stages (2). During June and July (3) the caterpillars feed on the developing seeds in the flowers (2), they are also reported to be cannibalistic; if more than one egg is laid on a plant, this cannibalism gives one caterpillar an advantage, as it eliminates the competition (2). Caterpillars pupate in July (3) on tall vegetation near the foodplant (2), where they spend the winter as a pupa. The adults typically emerge the following May (3), although it has been discovered that in captivity, emergence can be delayed for up to two years, which may prevent an adult facing unsuitable conditions (2).

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright Wildscreen 2003-2008
Sourcehttp://www.arkive.org/orange-tip/anthocharis-cardamines/

On repère facilement le mâle de l'Aurore lorsqu'il vole à la recherche des femelles, exhibant les taches orange de ses ailes avant.  Observation en vol : Avril à juillet.  Nombre de générations par an : 1.  Milieux de vie : Prés marécageux, bordures de haies, lisières des bois.  Description Adulte   Envergure : 40-50 mm.  Apparence : Le mâle et la femelle sont quasiment semblables. Le mâle est blanc crème avec deux grosses taches bien reconnaissables, orange vif, au bout des ailes avant. Chez la femelle, il n'y a pas de tache orange sur le dessus des ailes mais on peut repérer une tache grisâtre à noirâtre à la même place, ainsi qu'un point noir, plus étendu que chez le mâle. Le dessous des ailes est, chez le mâle comme chez la femelle, blanc marbré de vert.

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Rights holder/AuthorObservatoire Papillons Jardins, Noé Conservation
Sourcehttp://www.noeconservation.org/index2.php?goto=module&module=carteidentite&page=contenu&rub=12&srub=31&ssrub=98&id=2

Description:

Only male orange-tip butterflies actually have orange tips to their forewings; females have black or greyish wing tips (1). In both sexes, the undersides of the hindwings have a dappled pattern of yellowish-black scales, which provides good camouflage when the butterfly is at rest amongst vegetation (2). The caterpillar reaches 3 cm in length, and is pale bluish- or greyish-green with white sides. The whole body is peppered with fine black spots (3).

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright Wildscreen 2003-2008
Sourcehttp://www.arkive.org/orange-tip/anthocharis-cardamines/

Range:

This resident species has a wide distribution in the southern half of Britain. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this butterfly was lost from many areas of Scotland. Since the 1940s, however, the orange-tip has extended its range. It also occurs throughout Ireland, much of Europe, reaching north to central Scandinavia, and extends through the Middle East and temperate Asia, reaching Japan. At present, this butterfly is spreading northwards in Europe (2).

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright Wildscreen 2003-2008
Sourcehttp://www.arkive.org/orange-tip/anthocharis-cardamines/

Habitat:

Found in a variety of grassy, damp habitats, including meadows and road verges (2).

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright Wildscreen 2003-2008
Sourcehttp://www.arkive.org/orange-tip/anthocharis-cardamines/

Associations:

Animal / parasitoid / endoparasitoid
larva of Phryxe nemea is endoparasitoid of larva of Anthocharis cardamines

Animal / parasitoid / endoparasitoid
larva of Phryxe vulgaris is endoparasitoid of larva of Anthocharis cardamines

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Rights holder/AuthorBioImages, BioImages - the Virtual Fieldguide (UK)
Sourcehttp://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/Anthocharis_cardamines.htm
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith