Other Common Names
Common Pearl White

See my Blog post about this species.

After any number of attempts, I finally found this butterfly. I'd read that there was a colony in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, living on two Capparis trees. There is even a sign underneath the larger tree claiming it is the only colony in the Sydney area. I looked for them there every time I went to the Gardens, which is a lot of times, without seeing hide nor hair of them. At times there were loads of Caper Whites, but no Elodina. But whilst showing relatives around, I checked the trees again and there were the Pearl Whites, maybe a couple of dozen in total. They weren't easy to photograph - like most whites they do tend to flutter around a lot. It was a partly cloudy day, and when the sun went in they always landed, but generally too high up for me to get shots. They're very pretty little things - I love the way they shimmer when they're flying around.
Since I first found this species, it has been flying at the Royal Botanic Gardens every time I've been there, regardless of the time of year.

Sightings
Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney - April 2007
Chapel Hill, Brisbane - November 2008
Mount Annan Botanic Garden - April 2021