The green-veined white (Pieris napi) is a common European butterfly carrying a delightful secret: the “green” veins on its underwings don’t actually contain a single speck of green pigment! Instead, the striking color is a clever optical illusion created by tiny black and yellow scales packed tightly together. Unlike their notorious cabbage-eating relatives, these butterflies are completely harmless to garden crops. Their caterpillars prefer wild plants like garlic mustard and cuckooflower. Newly emerged males spend their mornings “puddle-drinking” on damp mud or dung to absorb essential minerals. Females, meanwhile, have a no-nonsense approach to courtship—they reject unwanted suitors by raising their abdomens straight up and releasing a scent tag left by a previous mate that signals they are already taken! While I occasionally see these common butterflies flitting around, taking a sharp macro photo is another story. It took immense patience and a stroke of luck to capture these close-ups in a flowery meadow near Barkarby, Sweden.