The marbled white has a distinctive black and white pattern and a wingspan of up to 52 mm. The underwing is much paler, almost a gray version of the upper wing. Male and female look similar except quite often the female will have a suffusion of yellow on the hindwing underside.
The marbled white is found across most of Europe (not Scandinavia), north Africa, and as far east as Iran. It flies in areas of unimproved grassland and can occur in large numbers. It shows a marked preference for purple flowers such as wild marjoram, field scabious, thistles, and knapweeds.
The photograph of the dew-covered butterfly was taken in the nature reserve ‘La Petite Camargue Alsacienne’ early in the morning.