The butterfly’s love life

In a butterfly’s short adult life, mating is the top priority – for both sexes. Butterflies find their mate first by sight, then by smell, which is located in the feelers (antennae). The males have scent scales on their wings, which tell the female that she has found the right partner of her own species.

The reproductive organs are unique to each species, which means that only butterflies of the same species can mate with each other. In most species both males and females mate with several different partners to maximise their chances of passing on their genes. In most species mating lasts a couple of hours.

Moths cannot see one another in the dark, so instead the female gives off scents (pheromones) that the male can pick up – in some species from several kilometres away.

More photos

Sooty Copper – mating – female on the right

Silver-studded Blue – mating – female below

Large Skipper – mating

Amanda’s Blue – mating – female on the left

Small Heath – mating on Heather

Grayling – mating in a dune on the dike

Large White – mating

In a few species, including the whites, i.e. the cabbage whites and the Orange-tip, the female mates only once. The photo shows a female Orange-tip rejecting a male by raising her abdomen stiffly, which means she has already mated.