Marbled White

Scientific Name - Melanargia galathea

Flight Period - June to August

Overwinters as - Larva

Habitat - Grasslands, woodland clearings

Larval foodplants - Cock’s-foot, Red Fescue, Sheep’sfescue, Timothy, Tor-grass, Yorkshire-fog

Conservation status - Low Priority

Northamptonshire distribution - Widespread (large expansion over last 20 years)

Best public sites to see them - Anywhere with suitable habitat but hotspots include Bradlaugh Fields, Fermyn Country Park, Old Sulehey and Ring Haw, Twywell Hills and Dales

The Marbled White is a stunning grassland butterfly and one which in recent years has increased its range dramatically. This is a butterfly that can readily find and colonise new sites and, in many cases, just a few years after the first few Marbled Whites have been seen at a new site, can then be recorded in fantastic numbers. Some of its range expansion can almost certainly be credited to the nectar-rich roadside verges. It has a beautiful pattern of white and black chequering on both the upper and the lower wings. They will readily come to nectar, but it can be just as fruitful to look for them in the late afternoon after they have gone to roost where the stunning underwing pattern can be easily admired.

Marbled White Distribution 2018 - 2022

Marbled White Upperwing

Marbled White Underwing

Marbled White