Cabbage White ButterflyCabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae)
One of God's Little Folk - From All-Creatures.org Art and Photo Journals and Galleries Directory

Dedicated to the Preservation and Restoration of the Whole of Creation: Humans - Animals - Environment
"And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31)
On the sixth day of creation, God made them, and us!

Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) -
One of God's Little Folk

Butterfly, Cabbage White - 01
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 01)  This is a female cabbage white butterfly identifiable by its twin dots on each wing.  The male has only one dot.  The fully extended wing span is about two inches across, plus or minus a quarter inch.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 02
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 02)  The host plants for the cabbage white butterfly to lay her eggs and for the caterpillars to mature are members of the mustard (Brassicaceae) family, or occasionally members of the caper (Capparidaceae) family.  The eggs are laid on the underside of the leaves.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 03
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 03)  This female cabbage white butterfly is feeding on a wild aster, one of many flowers that the adults feed on, which also include the host mustards, as well as dandelions, red clover and mint.  In this photo, we can see a greenish tint on the underside of the wings, which may range in color from yellow-green to gray-green.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 04
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 04)  This is a friendly cabbage white butterfly that came to visit while we were on one of our walks.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 04a
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 04a)  In this close up photo of this female cabbage white butterfly, we can see more of the detail of her head with the curled mouth part that she extends into flowers to suck out the nectar, her antenna, and her three left legs, which project from her thorax.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 05
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 05)  This is another close up look at this female cabbage white butterfly.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 05a
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 05a)  In this close up look at our friendly cabbage white butterfly, we can see even more of the marvelous details that God created into this little soul.  We can see her compound left eye, the projections from her head, her curled mouth, the hairs on her body, and the scales on her wings.  We need to cherish every one of God's creatures, and protect them from harm.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 06
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 06)  The is another look at our visiting cabbage white butterfly friend.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 07
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 07)  This is a top-right side view of our visiting cabbage white butterfly friend.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 08
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 08)  This is another top view of this visiting female cabbage white butterfly.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 09
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 09)  This is a partial top view of our visiting cabbage white butterfly friend.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 10
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 10)  This is another look at our visiting cabbage white butterfly friend.
Butterfly, Cabbage White - 11
(Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 11)  This is the final photo we took of our visiting cabbage white butterfly friend before she bid us good-bye and flew away.
Butterfly, Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) - 12
(Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) - 12) For many years, we have been trying to get a photo of a male cabbage white butterfly, but the only ones we are able to take are additional photos of females, such as this one on a chicory flower.
Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) - 13
(Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) - 13) This is another look at a cabbage white butterfly on a chicory flower in a sea of other wildflowers.
Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) - 14
(Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) - 14) This is the last photo of this female cabbage white butterfly we are able to take before she departed.

Reference source:  Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Return to: God's Little Folk
Return to: Art and Photos

lamb-right lamb-left Presented here are just a few of the countless components of God's creation.  Just as we cannot have human and animal life without water and plants, neither can we have lasting peace without love and compassion.  It is our hope and prayer that this series will motivate people to live and act in a cruelty-free manner; that we would no longer hurt or destroy each other, the animals or our environment.