I was surprised and delighted to spot this Cabbage White butterfly (Pieris rapae) as it was feeding on a newly sprouted dandelion on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I love chasing these elusive little butterflies that I used to think were moths.
Gardeners consider Cabbage Whites to be pests, because their caterpillars can do significant damage to plants, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and collard greens, but I find them to be beautiful. In that respect I guess I am a kind of dreamer who prefers to focus more on form than on function.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
That’s real kind of you, Mike. I suppose you do not grow cabbage, or broccoli etc, and have never bitten in half one of those beautiful worms. 😝😂😂 Arghhh! 😳
You are quite right, Mitzy, that I do not grow cabbage or broccoli and I can only imagine what it would be like to encounter one of those worms. It reminds me of a joke I learned as a kid, “What’s worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm? Biting into an apple and finding half of a worm.” Sorry!
🤣🤣😂Love it, Mike. True SO true! 😳😵💫Blue Rock HorsesFrederick County, Virginiabluerockhorses.com
In our area the whites have been hard for me to photograph. They are always on the move. And, just don’t land or sit still long enough.
I have the same experience with them too, Randy, and have chased them around for quite a while to try to get a shot. Perhaps in the springtime they are a bit more sluggish or maybe I was just lucky to capture this photo.
Even though I do not like to see cabbage whites in my garden, I must say that is a beautiful photo. I love how crisp the butterfly and dandelion are in contrast to the blurred but colorful background. Thank you.
Thanks, Ann. In case you are curious, I took that photo with my 150-600mm telephoto zoom lens, probably at 600mm. What that means is that I was at a pretty good distance from the butterfly and had to focus very carefully to be able to get that shot.
Well done!