Cabbage White butterflies (Pieris rapae) are so small and plain that many people mistakenly believe they are moths. I find real elegance in their simplicity, especially when I am able to see their striking speckled green eyes. I spotted this little beauty during a brief visit yesterday to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia with my friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer.
Cabbage Whites are always hyperactive, in constant motion as they flit about from flower to flower, stopping only momentarily for a short sip. Consequently they are hard to track and you have to be quick on the trigger to have a chance of getting a shot. In the first photo I was lucky enough to capture a “bonus bug,” a hoverfly that was in action below the much larger butterfly. Cindy coined the term “bonus bug” to refer to insects that are in the frame that you never even noticed when you were taking the shot.
Be sure to double-click on each image to get a more detailed view of this beautiful butterfly, including its mesmerizing eyes.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Congratulations! Cabbage whites are very flitty. While I can appreciate their beauty, as a vegetable gardener, I admit to a serious grudge against them as I don’t grow cabbage and broccoli anymore because I am tired of picking off the larvae and we don’t use chemicals.
I can definitely understand your feelings, Ann. I have found that many of the insects and plants that I love to photograph are pest and weeds that complicate the work of gardeners. Because I am not a gardener, I have the luxury of focusing on the beauty of these species and not on their destructiveness.
Great shots! I see more Cabbage White butterflies than any others. I especially notice them on hot days!
They are very pretty.
As you say Mike most people overlook these butterflies but they have their beauty (don’t tell brassica growers that).
Gardeners and photographers are on opposite sides when it comes to many insects, alas. Some of the most destructive agricultural pests are quite beautiful.
So true!
I had to laugh at “bonus bug” 🙂
You may not have “bonus bugs,” Dan, but I am sure that you sometimes find unexpected items in your photos when you review them and wonder how you could possibly have missed them when you were taking the photos. It is amazing how we can have tunnel vision when we are focusing on something intently.
You did a good job bringing out the venation in the wings.
I enjoy sexing Cabbage Whites. Boys have one spot and females two (two syllables in female). I see you captured a male.
Wow, thanks, Sherry. I didn’t know that it was so easy to tell them apart.
Very Nice Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!
Gorgeous images. You are right about the mesmerizing green eyes! And I love the “bonus bug” idea.
Thanks, Nina. From the moment Cindy first mentioned it, I too like the “bonus bug” idea. No matter how much I try to carefully compose my images, I often find extra things, including bugs, that were in the frame that I never saw when taking the photo.
amazing captures! i always spot Cabbage White butterflies, they are beautiful! thank you for sharing this wonderful post with us!!🤍
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Thanks–I love these little white butterflies.