Cabbage white butterfly Coloring Pages

Dancing in Fields and Parks! A White Butterfly You Know Well

The Cabbage white butterfly is one of the most common butterflies you can find in Japan, belonging to the whites and yellows family. People know it as one of the very first butterflies you see in early spring. You can find them all around you in places like vegetable fields, parks, and riverbanks.

English Names and Where the Name Comes From

In English, the Cabbage white butterfly is called "Small White" or "Cabbage White."

• Small White simply describes its small, white body.
• Cabbage White comes from how its caterpillars love to eat leaves from cabbages and mustard plants.

Its Japanese name, Monshiro, means "white with black spots." It got this name because of the black spots (patterns) on its white wings. Males have two black spots on their front wings, while females have just one!

Small and Gentle Body

Compared to butterflies like the Asian swallowtail, the Cabbage white butterfly has a smaller body and smaller wings.

• When it spreads its wings, it measures about 4 to 5 centimeters wide. That is about as big as the palm of a child's hand!
• Its wing color is a gentle white, so clear it almost looks see-through.
• Male wings have two black dot-like spots near the edges of the front wings.
• Female wings have just one black spot, and it is a little darker than the male's.
• The Cabbage white butterfly you see in spring is a little smaller than the ones in summer. The black parts on their bodies and wings tend to look darker too!

They fly softly and gently through the air in a lovely way.

Where Does It Live?

The Cabbage white butterfly lives in almost every part of Japan.

• Main homes: They live across a huge area, from Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu all the way to the Southwest Islands!
• Where to find them: You can see many of them in places where mustard family plants grow, like flat lands, vegetable fields, parks, and schoolyards.

Many people think they came to Japan long ago from the Asian continent along with farm crops when people first started farming!

What Does It Eat?

• Grown-up butterflies live mostly by drinking flower nectar. They gather at many different flowers, like yellow and purple ones!
• Caterpillars grow big by eating leaves from mustard family plants. They love to munch on leaves from cabbages, napa cabbages, broccoli, and rape blossoms that bloom in spring!

How to Choose Colors: Let's create a soft, gentle white that feels clear and light!

The wings of the Cabbage white butterfly are not just plain white, but a lovely, soft white that looks a little see-through. When you do your coloring page, the key is how you show that white color.

• Basic wing color: It is best to use the white color of the paper just as it is. If you want to color them, paint shadows by lightly adding very pale gray or light blue.
• Pattern color: Use dark black to carefully color the round black patterns on the males and females. Making this black dark will make the white wings next to them stand out even more!
• Body color: Start with black or dark gray for the body. Then, add a little white over it. This gives it a soft look, just like it has soft fur!

How to color the patterns: Let's make it look soft and light!

Imagine a Cabbage white butterfly fluttering lightly in the air, and try to color it with a soft touch.

• Showing shadows: To make the white wings look 3D, gently add light shadows with very pale gray or pale light blue in spots that light does not reach, like the edges of the wings or the base where the wings meet the body.
• Gradients: When you color the shadows, make a gradient (where the color changes bit by bit) from dark to light so the shadows look natural.
• Eyes: Color the eyes in strongly with black and add a white highlight (a tiny spot of light) around them. This will make the Cabbage white butterfly look full of life!

Tips for enjoying your coloring page!

• Let’s express yourself freely!
  • Cabbage white butterflies are white, but you can add a little bit of your favorite color to create your very own colorful Cabbage white butterfly. Have fun! Express yourself freely!
• Draw a background, too!
  • Cabbage white butterflies love rapeseed flowers! If you add a bright yellow field of rapeseed flowers, a blue sky, and white clouds in the background, your picture will look even more lively!