Tag Archives: butterfly

Three days in a row

15 Monday Aug 2022

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I couldn’t believe my luck (and wondered whether I should’ve bought a lottery ticket) but, after the first lucky day (Brown argus) and a second lucky day (the Silver-washed fritillary), the very next day my luck was in again. I’d seen Clouded yellow butterflies already in 2022 (one on 16 June; two – probably the first one and a friend – on 17 June; one – probably one of the previous two – on 20 June; all in the same general area) but hadn’t been able to get any reasonable photos. With the new camera, and a slightly more co-operative subject – it stopped a few times to feed, this time I managed to fire off several quick shots. This is the best of them.

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p.s. I wrote this blog a few days ago and, since then, we’ve had an amazing influx of Clouded yellows, with five noted yesterday at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, so here’s another of these beauties.

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Second lucky day

12 Friday Aug 2022

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My first lucky day happened when I took the new camera for its first outing, and not only produced the Robin photo I posted yesterday but also the Brown argus I blogged about on Wednesday. The very next day I was, if anything, even more lucky, as I found this superb, if rather faded Silver-washed fritillary in a local woodland. Long time followers might remember I found a male Silver-washed frit (A golden surprise) last July, which was in the same woodland. This latest butterfly was quite a distance from last year’s find spot but that may just be because the scarcity of food sources had forced it to fly a little further than usual. This year’s butterfly is a female so I’m hoping she had found/can find a male and laid/will lay some eggs.

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Finally, Brown argus

10 Wednesday Aug 2022

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The Brown argus butterfly (Aricia agestis) usually has two broods each year, the first adults flying during May and June, the second brood appearing in late July and fading away in late September. Somehow, I missed the first brood this year so, for the last couple of weeks, I’ve been systematically checking the spots of every female Common blue (at a glance, they look quite similar to Brown argus – see my July 2018 blog Flying on the wings of confusion for tips on how to differentiate the two species). Finally, last Friday, this beautiful Brown argus flitted into my field of vision. I didn’t quite do a happy dance but there was a not-too-loud ‘Whoop’!

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Big butterfly count 2022

15 Friday Jul 2022

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Starting today and running until 7 August, this year’s big butterfly count is underway. The general public – that’s you! – are crucial in assessing the state of the nation’s butterflies by taking part in this annual count. There’s still time to get involved, as you can download the necessary materials from the Butterfly Conservation website, and it only takes 15 minutes of watching and counting the butterflies in your back garden, your local park or green space, then logging those counts online. Easy peasy! And a massive thank you to everyone who takes the time to make a difference!

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Mating hairstreaks

14 Thursday Jul 2022

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Saturday’s walk to my local woodlands started with a magical experience when I spotted these mating hairstreaks sitting, almost hidden, on a leaf of a small sapling. The tree was a young Oak, so I assumed the butterflies were Purple hairstreaks but a closer look showed these were actually White-letter hairstreaks, though there were no Wych elms, their usual habitat, anywhere in sight. The lessons for me were twofold: I should always check rather than make assumptions, and butterflies don’t always do what you expect them to. And, though I felt a little like a voyeur, the butterflies were a joy to see so close, and they stayed quite still while I took this series of photographs.

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Small or Essex?

11 Monday Jul 2022

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I’ve blogged about this before but, as it’s the skipper time of year and there are quite a few newbies following along here, I thought I’d do a repeat post. For anyone who finds the little skippers confusing, I hope this helps you. The first two photos illustrate the differences in the length and angle of the male scent brands on the upper wings of the Small and Essex skippers.

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Small skipper on the left, Essex skipper on the right

And the two photos below show the differences in the colour of their antenna tips viewed head on, orange on the Small skipper and black on the Essex.

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Small skipper on the left, Essex skipper on the right

Graylings are go

08 Friday Jul 2022

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I think I picked the hottest day of the year so far to head to the top of the Aberbargoed coal spoil tip to look for Graylings but it was worth every drop of perspiration to spend time with these gorgeous butterflies.

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I hadn’t realised before yesterday how territorial Graylings are. They are so well disguised that it’s almost impossible to see them so, as I wandered carefully across the slope of coal spoil, they would fly up almost from under my feet. Then they would land, I’d try to get close for a photo, and they would immediately flit up and around, buzzing me, even landing on me (my shoes twice, see the image below), as if saying ‘this is my place, you’re not welcome’. It wasn’t just the intrusive human they were bombarding – they were defending their territories against each other too. Fascinating to watch.

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The chocolate butterfly

05 Tuesday Jul 2022

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What’s not to love about a butterfly whose colour is described as chocolate … except that you can’t eat it.

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Its rich brown colour enables the Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) to warm itself more quickly than light-coloured butterflies, which means it can be seen bobbing its way through the long grass even on overcast days.

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The Ringlet is named for the marks on its underwings, the circles of white, black and caramel, which can vary considerably in size and shape.

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Commas, again

30 Thursday Jun 2022

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I saw my first Comma butterfly on 18 March and continued to spot them quite regularly until the end of April, by which time they were looking increasingly tatty. Although the adults then died off, the next generation was underway, and I saw my first ever Comma caterpillars on two consecutive days in mid May. Now, the pristine adults have begun to appear, floating along the hedgerows and woodland rides, trying very hard to convince me they’re really Silver-washed fritillaries. Their vibrant orange-and-black patterning is a joy to behold.

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