Mud puddling butterflies, Standish, 18 July 2013

A group of 7 or more butterflies – Small White (Pieris rapae) and Green-veined (Pieris napi), I think – were mud-puddling on the edge of my garden pond.  According to Wikipedia, they do it to obtain nutrients such as salts and amino acids. They did not spread out along the available bank to do this, but congregated in a little group, with much wing shivering whenever a new butterfly flew over or came to join them.

White butterflies mud puddling
White butterflies mud puddling

I did not observe other butterflies present in the area (Comma and Small Tortoiseshell) engaged in this activity.

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