• ABOUT
  • BIRDING 2018
  • Birding 2019
  • BLOG POSTS
  • Butterflies 2018
  • Resources

earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Tag Archives: blue butterfly

A blue blessing

26 Friday Aug 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

blue butterfly, British butterflies, butterfly, Holly blue, second brood Holly blue

This Holly blue was a lovely unexpected surprise during this morning’s meander around Cosmeston. Holly blues do have two broods each year but this is quite late in the season to see adults of the second brood. A blue blessing!

Like this:

Like Loading...

First Holly blue

28 Monday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

blue butterfly, British butterflies, butterfly, Celastrina argiolus, Holly blue

I’ve skipped a few butterfly firsts but all the species I see will get their turn over time. Today, I am simply too excited at seeing my first Holly blue of the year to choose anything else, as there’s just something extraordinary about a butterfly this colour.

220328 holly blue

Like this:

Like Loading...

First Common blue

21 Friday May 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

blue butterfly, British butterflies, Common blue, Common blue butterfly

This has been a strange spring, with frequent cool winds, a lack of rain that was restricting plant growth and cracking the ground, and now a couple of weeks of frequent rain that is saturating the land. This unseasonal weather has had a definite effect on wildlife, with some insects out and about early, but others emerging a week or more later than usual.

210522 common blue (2)

I would usually expect to see my first Common blue butterfly in mid May but this year’s first sighting came on Wednesday 19th and, somewhat surprisingly, it was high in the Welsh valleys, where the weather is often a few degrees cooler than my usual coastal patches. In fact, in between the sunny spells on Wednesday’s walk, I got hailed on. Go figure!

210522 common blue (1)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Holly blues

20 Sunday May 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

blue butterfly, British butterflies, butterflies, Holly blue, Holly blue butterfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve

180520 Holly blue (2)

With clear blue skies and temps in the mid 20s, it was hot work chasing the Holly blue butterflies (Celastrina argiolus) around Lavernock last Monday. I think I saw five but they move so quickly along the scrub and up and over the trees that it was hard to be sure. Those fast fliers are mostly the males, I think, constantly sniffing for the female pheromones.

180520 Holly blue (1)

I know there were at least two Holly blues, as I managed to get a male and female together in one photo, and then was lucky enough to catch the female laying an egg on a Dogwood plant. Once she’d departed I carefully examined the plant but couldn’t find the egg. I think she must have tucked it well in amongst the flower buds, which I didn’t pry apart in case I damaged the newly laid egg. But I remember where it was so will try and go back in a week or so to check for a caterpillar.

180520 Holly blue (3)180520 Holly blue (5)

Holly blues are the first of Britain’s blue-coloured butterflies to emerge each year, which is one way to distinguish them from the many other blue butterflies. Another is their flight pattern – the other blues usually fly close to the ground. And the Holly blues are the only ones with small black dots on the undersides of their wings though, unless you see one perched, you’ll need to be quick to spot those dots ’cause these little beauties are speedy.

180520 Holly blue (4)

Like this:

Like Loading...

About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

View Full Profile →

Follow earthstar on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent blog posts

  • Down the hatch January 30, 2023
  • First Primroses January 29, 2023
  • Encounters with grebes January 28, 2023
  • Fern Friday: Hart’s-tongue January 27, 2023
  • Feasting Chiffchaff January 26, 2023

From the archives

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

COPYRIGHT

Unless otherwise acknowledged, the text and photographs on this blog are my own and are subject to international copyright. Nothing may be downloaded or copied without my permission.

Fellow Earth Stars!

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • earthstar
    • Join 578 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • earthstar
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: