Belenois java (Caper White)

Synonyms

This species was formerly known as Anaphaeis java

Other Common Names

Common White

Notes

The first one of these I spotted was a male feeding on the Lantana in my front garden. I only saw it because I noticed one of our cats, Slinky Malinki, watching it through the window.

Since then I’ve seen the occasional one around Sydney, but once in a while they’re all over the place, as a large migration hits town. There’s often a large number of them to be seen in the Blue Mountains during the spring, but as generally seems to be the case with Pierids these butterflies are not all that easy to photograph. Whilst they may settle, it’s usually not for long and they’re usually difficult to approach without disturbing them.

Sightings

Ingleburn – March, April, October, November 2004
Royal Botanical Gardens – October 2004
Blackheath – October 2005
Lithgow – November 2008

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