Wood White (Leptidea sinapis) in Ireland

Bánóg choille in Gaeilge. The Wood White, Leptidea sinapis, has a restricted Irish range confined to the Burren and neighbouring limestone country in the west, and is one of Ireland’s rarest breeding butterflies.

Identify it in four steps

1. Small, delicate white with a rounded wing shape and slow, drifting flight low through vegetation.
2. Underside hindwing pale grey-green with a diffuse band; upperside forewing tip carries a dark smudge in males.
3. Cannot be reliably separated from the Cryptic Wood White (Leptidea juvernica) on wing pattern alone; Irish identification depends on locality context (Burren and adjacent limestone) or genitalia examination.
4. Wingspan 36 to 48 mm; flight is a low, weaving bounce over grass and sparse vegetation, characteristic of the genus.

Habitat in Ireland

The Wood White in Ireland occupies limestone grassland and open scrubby margins in the Burren, mainly on flower-rich green roads, sheltered grykes, and light hazel-scrub edges. It depends on Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis), and Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) as its principal larval foodplants.

One main brood a year in Ireland, with a May-July flight and occasional smaller second-brood individuals in warm seasons. Following the 2011 Leptidea split (Dincă, Lukhtanov, and Talavera), earlier Irish records under the name Wood White have been reassessed and most are now attributed to the Cryptic Wood White.

Where to see it

• Burren green roads, County Clare: sheltered flower-rich tracks near Fanore and Ballyvaughan produce reliable May-June sightings.
• Slieve Carron Nature Reserve, County Clare: limestone pavement edges with vetch-rich turf.
• east Galway limestone country: verges and scrub margins near Kinvara and Gort hold small populations.

Related species

• Cryptic Wood White (Leptidea juvernica)
• Small White (Pieris rapae)
• Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines)