Tag Archives: British butterflies

205/366 Sightings at Slade Wood

23 Thursday Jul 2020

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On Wednesday I ventured on to public transport for the first time in four months – suitably masked, of course – for a visit to Slade Wood, near Rogiet. This was a site where I’d seen Silver-washed fritillaries and White admiral butterflies last summer so I was hoping for more of those but, unfortunately, huge areas of the woodland have been felled over the winter months, which has destroyed a lot of the butterflies’ habitat.

200723 1 peacock200723 2 gatekeepers

I did still see a lot of butterflies on the Buddleja bushes – in fact, probably more Peacocks than I’ve seen in one day before, and I got some pics of a pair of Gatekeepers mating – but only spotted one Silver-washed fritillary (and didn’t manage a photo) and no White admirals. There was also a butterfly consolation prize in the form of a Brown argus, a butterfly that’s not common locally, which was in Minnett’s Field, a nearby meadow managed by Gwent Wildlife Trust.

200723 3 brown argus

Though the butterflies were a little disappointing, the birds were a huge bonus as I managed to find a family of Spotted flycatchers, with two adults and a couple of juveniles (below left), which I’d not seen before.

And the flycatchers were joined at their watering hole, a couple of muddy puddles, by two beautiful bright Siskin.

200723 6 siskin and spot fly200723 7 siskin

I may not have seen what I was expecting and I was saddened to see how many trees had been felled but I still had a wonderful day out. The sense of freedom was exhilarating, and Nature certainly didn’t disappoint!

202/366 More misc minis

20 Monday Jul 2020

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Some snippets from the insect world around me:

200720 common red soldier beetles

A sure sign that it’s now high summer, Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) can be seen everywhere, especially on the flowers of umbellifers, demonstrating why they are often called bonking beetles.

Also caught copulating, these Green-veined white butterflies (Pieris napi) were being annoyed by a third of their kind, trying to get involved in the action.

200720 small copper

On the subject of butterflies, the second brood of Small coppers (Lycaena phlaeas) is now on the wing. This stunning specimen was only the second Small copper I’d seen this year, so was a very welcome sighting.

200720 nettle weevil

There’s nothing cuter than a weevil. This one is, I think, a Nettle weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus).

I found this odd: a colony of ants, farming a horde of aphids on this ragwort plant, have extended their nest up the very stem of the plant.

200720 meadow grasshopper

To finish this post, first, a Meadow grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus) nymph and …

200720 long winged cone-head nymph

… another nymph, also often a meadow dweller, this time a cricket species, a Long winged cone-head (Conocephalus fuscus).

200/366 Purple hairstreak

18 Saturday Jul 2020

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The key to where to locate this gorgeous butterfly, the Purple hairstreak, is in its scientific name Favonius quercus – quercus is the genus of the Oak tree – and I suspect that there are many more colonies of Purple hairstreaks living in our old Oak trees than we currently know about, as these butterflies spend much of their time unseen, high in the leafy boughs, feasting on honey dew.

200718 purple hairstreak (2)

There is a colony at Lavernock, and I’ve seen these butterflies at a couple of locations along the road that leads to Lavernock Point, but they were the only local sites I knew about. So, you can perhaps imagine my delight when, during Thursday’s walk at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, I came face to snout with a female Purple hairstreak, which had ventured down to head height, and was happily running her yellow proboscis over the honey-dew-covered leaves.

200718 purple hairstreak (1)

This was the closest I’d been to one of these lovely creatures and had previously seen neither the purple sheen on their open wings nor the yellow proboscis. I was in butterfly heaven!

200718 purple hairstreak (3)

199/366 A cycle of life and death

17 Friday Jul 2020

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I am constantly reminded of how transitory life can be for the smaller creatures that share our planet. Take, for instance, the Ringlet butterfly. The adults usually emerge in the second half of June and only a few survive into August. In their few short weeks of life they experience a frantic rush to reproduce …

200717 1 ringlets mating

… a time full of danger from pecking birds, of collisions with damaging foliage …

200717 2 ragged ringlet

… before death takes them – unless, like this rather ragged creature, they are caught in a spider’s web, die prematurely but, in so doing, give life to another creature.

200717 2 ringlet caught by spider

196/366 First Brown argus of 2020

14 Tuesday Jul 2020

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By this date last year, I had managed to find Brown argus butterflies at two different local sites (and one of those was the first Cardiff record in eight years). This year I only spotted my first Brown argus last Saturday, almost two months later than last year. The Polyommatinae family (that’s the blues and arguses) are not faring well in my part of south Wales this year, which is a great shame, as they are all gorgeous little butterflies.

200714 brown argus (1)

If you’re having trouble telling a Brown argus from a Common blue female, my blog Flying on the wings of Confusion, July 2018, has ID pointers and photos that should help.

200714 brown argus (2)

189/366 Keepers of the gate

07 Tuesday Jul 2020

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It’s a week since I spotted my first Gatekeepers of the year and, in the past seven days, I’ve seen them in several of my local walking places, though so far only males .

200707 gatekeeper (1)

They grab the wandering eye, as their bright orange pops from the vibrant green of the hedgerows and woodland rides, and in the long grass of fence lines and the gates that divide them.

200707 gatekeeper (2)

You can read more about these gorgeous butterflies in my previous blogs The Gatekeeper, July 2018, and Sexing Gatekeepers, July 2019.

200707 gatekeeper (3)

184/366 Eggs-citing!

02 Thursday Jul 2020

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Though I set off on yesterday’s walk clad in a rain jacket, the first day of July brightened up and turned into a day full of butterflies, with sightings of my first Gatekeepers of the year, a couple of second-brood Holly blues and more than 20 second-brood Small whites, as well as seven other species. But the highlight for me was watching two Commas egg-laying on nettles, and then taking a look at their tiny eggs, which I’d not seen previously.

200702 commas egglaying (1)

The butterflies were fluttering around, checking out nettle plants growing alongside the footpath I was walking and, when they found a plant to their liking, they would alight briefly on a leaf, lay a single egg, then flutter off again.

At less than 1mm tall, these eggs are tiny, and I would never have spotted them unless I’d seen them being laid. They’re pale green in colour, with 10 or 11 white ribs running vertically up the sides.

Comma egg one
Comma egg two

According to Peter Eeles’s Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies, each female Comma will lay about 250 eggs, usually on the upper side of a leaf, in a sheltered, sunny position. The eggs will gradually change colour to yellow and, in two or three weeks, to grey, before the little caterpillars hatch. Eggs-citing!

200702 commas egglaying (5)

Comma showing the distinctive marking that gave it its name

178/366 Essex skippers

26 Friday Jun 2020

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I’ve been melting in this week’s heatwave but it’s been a wonderful week for butterflies: on Monday, a long-lost Small heath, on Wednesday my first Painted Lady of the year, and yesterday two Essex skippers.

200626 essex skipper (1)

I went early to Grangemoor Park to avoid the worst of the heat but it was already roasting, and the skippers, Large and Small, were scooting around the grasses and wildflowers so rapidly that I couldn’t get many photos. Then, along one path, two skippers flew up, one disappeared but the other found a perch and stayed there, most patiently, while I quietly edged my way around in front of it to check what I suspected from the rear view. And, bingo, black-tipped antennae – an Essex skipper.

200626 essex skipper (2)

A second path, an almost perfect repeat performance, a second Essex skipper. I do find these gorgeous little skippers will remain on a perch when they find one to their liking, which is extremely convenient for getting photos to confirm their identities.

177/366 A Small heath and a Painted lady

25 Thursday Jun 2020

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As well as the Great crested grebes I wrote about yesterday (and many other birds, of course), I also found a little treasure on Monday’s Cardiff Bay walk, a Small heath butterfly. These are common butterflies in many parts of Britain but, for some unknown reason, they are now rare in my part of south Wales. In almost five years of looking, this is the first I’ve found, and Monday’s find is only the third confirmed local record in ten years. Sadly, I only managed a couple of not-very-good photos so I’ll need to try to re-find it.

200625 small heath

Yesterday’s walk, in the meadows next to a local woodland, also produced a treasure. As well as many other butterflies (Meadow browns and Ringlets, Large and Small skippers, a couple each of Commas and Red admirals, a Speckled wood and a few flyby white species), I saw my first Painted lady of 2020. I love both the top and side markings of this beautiful creature.

200625 painted lady (1)200625 painted lady (2)