Identifying White Butterflies in Flight

[clb100]

Most of the white butterflies I see are in flight and so I have difficulty in identification - they rarely settle close enough to do this.

Is is possible to reliably identify these in flight and if so how?

Thanks

[Jason Claxton]

Hi Clb100


They are a bit tricky in flight for sure.But with experience you get an idea of size.A very small white will usually be a female Orange Tip and the male of course has the orange tips. A large one generally,a Large White(albeit the Brimstone is generally larger still but has no black tips to the wings,and the male is a nice lemon colour).
Seperating Green-veined and Small White in flight is tricky,and an assumption may need to be made based on the habitat that it is in ,which gives some degree of accuracy.I.e if it is in a damp area it may well be Green-Veined,this is also described as having a weaker ,more fluttery flight than Small white.It is best to see to the underside of these two species for a certain I.d.So you may have to keep trying to find them grounded.This is based on the butterflies around me,we have no Wood White here.I hope this is some use to you.

Cheers Jason