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Tag Archives: butterfly

To a Butterfly

31 Wednesday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, butterflying, Large white butterfly, Small tortoiseshell, Small white butterfly

‘Stay near me – do not take thy flight!
A little longer stay in sight!’

These are the opening lines of William Wordsworth’s 1802 poem ‘To a Butterfly’, lines I can easily identify with, thoughts I also utter often – though not in Wordsworth’s exact words, of course.

Fortunately, the butterflies occasionally, and unknowingly, heed my pleas and stay long enough for me to take photographs, like these recent new sightings for 2021, the beautiful Large and Small whites, and Small tortoiseshell.

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A five-Brimstone day!

17 Wednesday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

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Brimstone, Brimstone butterfly, British butterflies, butterfly, Grangemoor Park

Though yesterday’s weren’t my first butterfly sightings of the year (I’ve seen two different species fly rapidly past in recent weeks but haven’t managed photos), they were simply splendid. A walk around Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park produced five (!) Brimstones and, though most were patrolling their chosen territories at speed, I waited patiently for one to stop for a rest and managed to get close enough to get some good images. I can’t tell you how truly wonderful it feels to be sharing my air space with butterflies again. They are such magical creatures!

210317 brimstone

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298/366 The last Meadow brown

24 Saturday Oct 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, butterflying, Meadow Brown

Meadow brown butterflies have a long season, on the wing from early June to the end of October, and those dates are exactly what I’ve observed in my area this year and last.

201024 meadow brown 200918

In 2019, I spotted my first Meadow brown on 5 June and the last was a single butterfly seen on 7 October.

201024 meadow brown 200925

This year, I saw my first Meadow Brown at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park on 1 June.

201024 meadow brown 200927

And, as September was drawing to a close, I kept a special eye out for these lovely butterflies, each time taking a photograph and asking myself, ‘Will this be the last Meadow brown of the year?’

201024 meadow brown 201001

I knew time was fast slipping away for them and, on 5 October, again at Cosmeston, it really was the last time I would see a Meadow brown in 2020. That butterfly is the one shown below … and I’m already looking forward to seeing them again next June.

201024 meadow brown 201005

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282/366 Saffron surprise

08 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, Clouded yellow, Colias croceus, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park

After the strong winds and heavy rain of recent days the last thing I expected to see at Cosmeston yesterday was this Clouded yellow butterfly (Colias croceus). I was initially surprised at what good condition it was in but, in his Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies, Peter Eeles writes that ‘In good years, this species can produce up to three broods in the south of England, with the third brood emerging in late September and October.’ Presumably, this is also true for south Wales and, as several other butterflies have had additional broods this year, I wonder if this saffron beauty is one of a newly emerged third brood.

201008 clouded yellow

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277/366 A heartening splash

03 Saturday Oct 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature

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British butterflies, butterfly, Peacock, Peacock butterfly

I’ve been saving this photo, taken quite recently, on 22 September, for just such a day as this. We are currently under the thumb of Storm Alex, the Met Office having issued a yellow warning for heavy rain and wind gusts over 20mph until midday tomorrow. So, to me, this is the perfect day to post this gorgeous Peacock butterfly, a heartening splash of bold cheery colour.

201003 peacock

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274/366 Another extra brood

30 Wednesday Sep 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects

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Aricia agestis, British butterflies, Brown argus, butterfly, butterflying, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Lavernock Nature Reserve, second brood Brown argus

This year I saw my first Brown argus butterfly (Aricia agestis) on 11 July and thought I’d seen my last on 26 August, a short but very sweet season of sightings. Then, to my astonishment and absolute delight, I discovered two more on the same day, 16 September, one at Lavernock Nature Reserve and the other at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

200930 brown argus (1)

These had to be the product of the first brood of butterflies breeding and so were a second brood, not something I’d seen before with this butterfly. As the local populations of Dingy skippers have also produced a second brood and the Small coppers a third brood this year and nothing has changed in their environments, I can only assume this has been caused by the warmer climate.

200930 brown argus (2)

I haven’t managed to find the Lavernock Brown argus again but the Cosmeston butterfly was still in the same spot last week. A late summer-early Autumn treat!

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270/366 Going down

26 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, butterflying, Small copper

200926 small copper

I love the peculiar habit Small coppers have of walking head first down the stems of grasses.

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265/366 Hutchinsoni

21 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, Comma, Comma variation hutchinsoni, Polygonia c-album, Polygonia c-album var. hutchinsoni

If you happen to see a Comma butterfly on one of our fine autumnal days, have a good look at the colour of its wings. You may notice that both the upper and the undersides of its wings are quite dark, particularly when compared to some of the Commas you saw in the summer months. Why is that?

200921 comma (1)
200921 comma (2)

It may be that your paler summertime Comma was a hutchinsoni. The splendid Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies explains:

The Comma is known for a particular form named hutchinsoni that is much paler in appearance on both upperside and underside that the nominate form. This form is found throughout the butterfly’s range and is normally attributed to individuals that go on to produce a second brood in the same year. Its name is a tribute to Emma Hutchinson, a renowned Victorian entomologist … who ultimately discovered its double-brooded nature and the corresponding variation between broods. The name was announced by J.E. Robson in 1881 in The Young Naturalist: ‘The Summer form is so different, and so constant in its appearance, that it ought to have a distinctive name, and we suggest it be called var. Hutchinsoni, in compliment to the lady … whose knowledge of the species is not exceeded by that of any one living.’

200921 comma (3)
200921 comma (4)

In my photos, the Comma on the left, Polygonia c-album var. hutchinsoni, was photographed on 24 June, the Comma on the right on 17 September, both in the same location and on fine, sunny days. I think you can see how marked the difference in their colouring is.

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244/366 Butterfly magic

31 Monday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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aberrant Meadow brown, British butterflies, butterfly, Comma, Green-veined white, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Small copper, Small tortoiseshell

To celebrate – or, perhaps, to mourn – the last calendar day of summer, here’s a tribute to some of the beautiful butterflies I’ve seen in recent days, just because, when they’re gone, I’m really going to miss their magic.

200831 comma

A Comma doing what they do so well when their wings are closed – blending in.

200831 green-veined white

Most of the white butterflies I’ve seen lately have been Small whites so this Green-veined white stood out from the crowd.

200831 meadow brown

Here’s another that stood out – an aberrant Meadow brown. There always has to be one!

200831 painted lady

The heat wave a couple of weeks ago seems to have brought in a small influx of Painted ladies, though nothing like the numbers we had last year.

200831 red admiral

Have you ever noticed how much Red admirals like blackberries? And their colours blend in to this background rather well.

200831 small tortoiseshell

Small tortoiseshells have been having a good year locally, which has been a real treat. I even found two feeding on Red valerian right at the edge of one of the local beaches this morning.

200831 small copper

A delightful surprise from Saturday’s walk at Cosmeston, a pristine Small copper.

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232/366 Third time lucky

19 Wednesday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterfly, Clouded yellow, migrant butterfly

I had hoped the recent combination of southerly winds and heat wave would bring a wave of migrants to our shores and it did. The most exciting for me was the Clouded yellow butterfly. I saw my first on 10 August but, as is often the case with these beauties, their rapid flight can make them difficult to photograph, and this one flew over a fence into a shrubby area, disappearing immediately. My next Clouded yellow sighting came on 16 August, in a different location but with almost the same result – over the fence and gone! I managed to grab a single ‘record’ shot, below.

200819 clouded yellow (1)

Then, last Monday 17 August, I got lucky. I did have to follow this Clouded yellow around a sizeable field, watching intently, not following too closely so as not to spook it, waiting for it to settle but, finally, it paused briefly to feed and I got my photograph. They are such lovely butterflies, so different from anything else in Britain – I just wished they lived among us.

200819 clouded yellow (2)

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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.

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