page_title: Leptidea sinapis
section_title: Courting
hierarchical_section_title: Leptidea sinapis / Mating / Female-male interactions / Courting
caption_attribution_description: Leptidea sinapis Deutsch: Der Senfweißling (Leptidea sinapis) ist ein Artkomplex aus den beiden Schmetterlingsarten Leptidea sinapis und Leptidea reali. Es handelt sich dabei um Tagfalter aus der Familie der Weißlinge (Pieridae). Der Artkomplex wird auch als Tintenfleck-Weißling oder Leguminosen-Weißling bezeichnet. Gesehen bei der Balz im Widdermoos im Gemeindegebiet von Sennwald im Rheintal. English: The en:Wood White is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. The plant is a en:Galium species. Photographed in en:Sennwald. Français&#160;: La piéride de la moutarde ou piéride du lotier (Leptidea sinapis) est un insecte lépidoptère de la famille des Pieridae, de la sous-famille des Coliadinae et du genre Leptidea.
context_page_description: Leptidea sinapis, or the wood white butterfly of the family Pieridae, is a small white butterfly that is mainly found in England, Ireland, and Northern Europe. The butterfly has white wings with grey or yellow markings near the center or tip of the wing. It flies slowly and low over its shrubbery habitat. Males initiate courtship with females and can mate multiply, while females tend to only mate once in their lifetime.
  The wood white was added to the UK BAP Priority Species list in 2005 due to a substantial decline in the population, especially in England. This decline has been attributed to changes in woodland regions, including increased shade due to tree planting, and the failure to maintain woodland rides in a satisfactory way for wood whites to oviposit. Conservation efforts are currently striving to understand how to best maintain woodland regions and are examining the effect of climate change on egg survival.
context_section_description: There is an elaborate courtship ritual between wood whites, initiated by the male. They begin by wagging their head from one side to another, extending their proboscis towards the female. The female, with her antennae pulled back, would be unmoving if already mated and would immediately move their abdomen towards the male if not.
caption: Two wood whites courting
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