Caterpillar of Small White in my garden
A few months ago I planted seeds of 37 wild plants in a small patch in our garden, and just let nature do its thing. It has led to some very beautiful wild flowers, and it has sustained dozens of bees and hover flies and a whole range of other insects. I was of course hoping for some butterflies and dragonflies as well.
Dragonflies is a problem. There's not much water around and the few that arrive are almost instantly eaten by some birds nesting around the gardens of our neighborhood. I can hear their bodies cracking in mid-air when there's another catch.
There's not a whole lot of butterflies either. However, the above is a small success. This is the caterpillar of a small white. A very common butterfly, but I still think it's cool that it's born in this brand new habitat.
Note that I have no idea what I'm doing. I just planted some seeds without any skill or knowledge, and all of this is playing out automatically.
The Small White is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the Yellows-and-Whites family Pieridae. It is also known as the Small Cabbage White and in New Zealand, simply as White Butterfly. The names "Cabbage Butterfly" and "Cabbage White" can also refer to the Large White.
