another early butterfly

[Chris Raper]

On Wed, 2 Feb 2000 18:58:16 -0000, "colinjacobs"
<colina.jacobs at ukgateway.net> wrote:

>A colleague at work told me that he had seen either a Small White or Large
>White butterfly feeding around Fresh cut flowers at Tesco's Food store in
>Lowestoft Suffolk on January 26th.

>Do Whites overwinter as adults? 

I think the Pieris sp. all hibernate as pupae and it would normally
take a prolonged warm spell to make them emerge - though it isn't
unheard of to get them emerging early.

The only other alternative is a Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni), which
do hibernate. Males emerge from hibernation on sunny days - even quite
cool ones. Females, which look more like a 'white' at a distance,
emerge much later in the year but it could always have been disturbed
and forced out prematurely(?)

Best wishes,
Chris R.