Butterfly Love...

This male Cabbage White is in the late stages of courtship with his lady - flapping his wings madly and getting very excited!

I spotted them in the garden; fortunately the courtship lasted long enough for me to go and get my camera. I took a series of shots and then had great trouble deciding which one to blip! The series is on Flickr here.

I admit I found the anatomy a bit confusing - I assume that the female is sticking her tail up between her wings. If anyone knows better then please enlighten us!

According to what I've read on the web, butterfly mating can take quite a long time. This didn't seem to be the case here; once they got started it was all over quite quickly (lol). Immediately afterwards the male disappeared into the undergrowth (maybe he went for a cigarette?) whilst the lady flew off to feast on some nectar from a nearby flower.

At least they chose a nice pretty romantic location in amongst the flowers :)

Best viewed large.