Orange-tip
Anthocharis cardamines (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedbutterflies and moths
The orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup, placed in the family Pieridae of the order Lepidoptera. It belongs to the genus Anthocharis, the superfamily Papilionoidea, the class Insecta and the phylum Arthropoda.
Quick facts about the orange-tip
Its scientific name authority is (Linnaeus, 1758), and the Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct. Other English names for it are Orange tip and Orange tip butterfly.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 2.9 cm – 5.1 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Nectarivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- flowerssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forest, grassland, human_modified, shrubland, wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- On the wing
- March to Augustsrc for On the wing
- Generations a year
- Onesrc for Generations a year
- Larval food plants
- Brassicaceae familysrc for Larval food plants
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the orange-tip?
Photos of the orange-tip
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the orange-tip live?
Not recorded
What is the orange-tip?
Anthocharis cardamines, the orange tip, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae, which contains about 1,100 species. A. cardamines is mainly found throughout Europe and temperate Asia (Palearctic). The males feature wings with a signature orange pigmentation, which is the origin of A. cardamines' common name.
Males and females of this species occupy different habitats: males mostly frequent the edges of forests whereas females frequent meadows. A. cardamines feeds on most plants found within its habitat but the females selectively oviposit on young inflorescence of crucifers.
Mating is usually controlled by females as virgin females found in flight are always pursued by males immediately. Females can signal different meanings to the approaching males by using their abdomen. There is evidence that mated females have an anti-aphrodisiac and that their usage of the abdomen has a closely related function in presenting these pheromones to males.
This species has been affected by changing temperatures, and its first appearance has shifted forward 17.3 days in the Spring.
From the Wikipedia article “Anthocharis cardamines” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anthocharis_cardamines&oldid=1333773884), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the orange-tip sound like?
Is the orange-tip endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the orange-tip classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderLepidoptera
- familyPieridae
- genusAnthocharis
- SpeciesAnthocharis cardamines (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Anthocharis cardamines extensa, Anthocharis cardamines f. femininus, Anthocharis cardamines f. orientalis, Anthocharis cardamines f. speciosa, Anthocharis cardamines lasthenia, Anthocharis cardamines meridionalis, Anthocharis cardamines montivaga, Anthocharis cardamines ondrii, Anthocharis cardamines sajana, Euchloë cardamines, Euchloë cardamines meridionalis, Euchloe cardamines montivaga, Papilio cardamines, Pieris cardamines
Other names and names in other languages (54)
- Orange tipEnglish
- Orange tipEnglish
- Orange tip butterflyEnglish
- فراشة برتقاليةArabic
- Кардаминова пеперудаBulgarian
- Gwennig orañjezBreton
- bělásek řeřichovýCzech
- Gwyn Blaen OrenWelsh
- Boneddiges y WigWelsh
- Gwynion Blaen OrenWelsh
- AuroraDanish
- AurorasommerfuglDanish
- AurorasværmerDanish
- Eng-vaaralfDanish
- AurorafalterGerman
- Ανθόχαρις της ΚαρδαμίνηςGreek
- Aŭroro-papilioEsperanto
- Aurora BlancaSpanish
- KoiduliblikasEstonian
- نارنجیکنارPersian
- AuroraperhonenFinnish
- AuroreFrench
- Aurore (L')French
- L' AuroreFrench
- OranjetipkeWestern Frisian
- Barr buíIrish
- dealan-dè flùr na cuthaigeScottish Gaelic
- dealain-dè flùr na cuthaigeScottish Gaelic
- Baare jiarg-buighManx
- כתום-כנף המצילתייםHebrew
- ZoricaCroatian
- HajnalpírlepkeHungarian
- ԱյգաթիթեռArmenian
- クモマツマキチョウJapanese
- ಕಿತ್ತಳೆ ತುದಿKannada
- 깃주홍나비Korean
- 유럽갈고리나비Korean
- AušrelėLithuanian
- Ķērsu baltenisLatvian
- OranjetipjeDutch
- aurorasommarfuglNorwegian Nynorsk
- Zorzynek rzezuchowiecPolish
- Zorzynek rzeżuchowiecPolish
- پیلی پھوارWestern Panjabi
- Ponta-laranjaPortuguese
- АврораRussian
- ЗорькаRussian
- aurorabeaiveloddiNorthern Sami
- mlynárik žeruchovýSlovak
- ЗорицаSerbian
- AurorafjärilSwedish
- Turuncu SüslüTurkish
- Зоряниця АврораUkrainian
- 紅襟粉蝶Chinese
Relatives of the orange-tip
Other species in the same genus Anthocharis.
Moroccan orange tip
Anthocharis euphenoides
Grüner's orange-tip
Anthocharis gruneri
Sara Orangetip
Anthocharis sara
Eastern orange-tip
Anthocharis damone
Moroccan orange-tip
Anthocharis belia
Desert Orangetip
Anthocharis cethura
CompareOrange-tip vs Moroccan orange tipOrange-tip vs Grüner's orange-tipOrange-tip vs Sara OrangetipOrange-tip vs Eastern orange-tip
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the orange-tip?
The orange-tip is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup, in the order Lepidoptera.
What is the scientific name of the orange-tip?
Its scientific name is Anthocharis cardamines.
Who named the orange-tip and when?
The scientific name authority is (Linnaeus, 1758).
What family does the orange-tip belong to?
It belongs to the family Pieridae, in the superfamily Papilionoidea.
Is the orange-tip extinct?
No. The Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.
What other names does the orange-tip have?
It is also called the Orange tip and the Orange tip butterfly.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1 - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/orange-tip
“Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/orange-tip.
@misc{orange_tip_2026,
title = {Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/orange-tip},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}