Tag Archives: butterfly

A Marbled white surprise

24 Saturday Jul 2021

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Considering the Marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) thrives in tall grasses, growing in calcareous unimproved grasslands, in woodland clearings and rides, in disused quarries and roadside verges, I always expect to find them in my part of south Wales. But they are rare here, my very occasional sightings consisting of rapid fly-bys and distant record-only photos like the one below.

210724 marbled white (1)

So, getting close views of this beauty during my trip to Slade Woods last week was a lovely surprise, not from within the woodland itself, but rather at the edge of a farmland footpath on my way back to the train.

210724 marbled white (2)

Though it may seem difficult to believe when you look at its colouring, the Marbled white butterfly is a member of the ‘brown’ group of butterflies that also includes those that are recognisably brown (Speckled wood, Meadow brown, Ringlet, etc).

The glider

23 Friday Jul 2021

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My first visit to Slade Wood last week, though a wonderful wander, did not produce any sightings of the particular butterfly I was hoping for. So, when I read on Twitter that evening that they had been seen in a particular spot, and knowing that these butterflies can be territorial so would probably be faithful to that location, I just had to go back for another look. And I’m so very glad I did.

210723 white admiral (1)

By sheer coincidence, Frank, the person who had provided the site details, was there when I revisited Slade Wood last Friday. We had brief views of one butterfly but it wasn’t until I met Frank again along the main woodland ride that we had these exceptionally close views of another.

210723 white admiral (3)

The butterfly, the one true glider of the 59 British butterfly species, is a White admiral (Limenitis camilla) and, as it was patrolling a small territory and defending that territory from other, passing butterflies, it was probably a male. It was amazingly confiding, and I felt incredibly fortunate to be able to observe this gorgeous creature so closely.

210723 white admiral (2)

Purple poser

19 Monday Jul 2021

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You may remember that at the end of May I made the surprise discovery of a Purple hairstreak butterfly larva in my local woodlands. Despite much searching I never found another but, as these butterflies are now on the wing, I’ve been keeping an eye out for any adults when I walk the woodland rides in that area.

210719 purple hairstreak (1)

And last week I found one … or, I should really say, it found me. I was focused on checking for butterflies flying high in the canopy of the Oak trees when a small grey-looking butterfly flitted close around my head and then disappeared into the branches next to the path. A few seconds later it reappeared and spent a few minutes, feeding on the honeydew on the leaves, before floating back up to the canopy again. A fanciful thought but it was almost like it was saying ‘Here I am. Look at me’, so I did.

210719 purple hairstreak (2)

Though these butterflies give a predominantly grey impression when you see them, they are named for the deep purple markings on their upper wings. You can catch just a glimpse of that vibrant colour in the photo above.

A future butterfly

06 Tuesday Jul 2021

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Golden Large skippers have been flitting through the tall grasses of my local meadows for about a month now and soon, too soon, they will disappear for another year.

210706 large skipper

But, if they manage to escape the cutting blades of mowers and survive through whatever weather the winter throws at us this year, then the larvae that emerge from their miniscule eggs, like the one below, will guarantee we see these handsome creatures again next year.

210706 large skipper egg

Small pearl-bordered fritillaries

30 Wednesday Jun 2021

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Another visit to Aberbargoed Grasslands National Nature Reserve last week produced my best ever views of Small pearl-bordered fritillaries so I thought I’d share a couple of photos of these stunning little butterflies.

210630 small pearl-bordered fritillary (1)

They get their name from the series of pearl-like markings that can be seen along the outside edge of the underside of their hind wings, though I personally think all their markings, on both the upper- and under-sides of their wings are as exquisite as pearls.

210630 small pearl-bordered fritillary (2)

The light and the dark

17 Thursday Jun 2021

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I’ve seen three Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies on my local walks so far this summer, two that looked as they usually do …

210617 painted lady (1)210617 painted lady (2)

And one particularly darkly coloured creature. I don’t know what would have caused this variation, though there is some scientific evidence that very cold temperatures when a butterfly is pupating can lead to darker than usual wing colouring.

210617 painted lady (3)

Small, small, large

10 Thursday Jun 2021

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The adjectives small and large are, of course, relative: of the three butterflies featured in today’s post, the large (skipper) is actually the smallest, but it’s larger than the Small skipper to which the adjective in its name refers. So, having explained that, let’s take a look at these three latest beauties to grace my (reasonably) local airways.

210610 small heath

I wrote (reasonably) local because these first two butterflies were seen on my journeys up the Welsh Valleys to Aberbargoed Grasslands NNR. The Small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) (above) is now only occasionally seen in my coastal area – I found one in Cardiff Bay last summer but that was, sadly, a rarity.

210610 small pearl-bordered fritillary

The Small pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene), of which I saw seven on Tuesday’s trip to Aberbargoed, is a bright orange beauty that thrives in the National Nature Reserve’s wet grassland environment, though, even there, the numbers are usually quite low. Sadly, the British population of this butterfly is suffering a long-term decline, and the changing climate isn’t helping matters.

210610 large skipper

I found my first Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) in the same local field where I spotted my first last year, and I’ve only seen one so far but, hopefully, they’ll soon be adorning the grassy fields in better numbers.

Roosting

02 Wednesday Jun 2021

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When we think of creatures roosting or going to roost at night, we usually think of birds – one magnificent example is the murmurations performed by Starlings before they all fly down to roost together, or you may have seen photos of mass gatherings of Pied wagtails roosting together for warmth during the colder winter months.

210602 roosting common blues (1)

However, birds aren’t the only creatures that roost – some butterfly species also roost at night, or earlier, if the weather is particularly dull and grey. One such species is the Common blue, which roosts, with head pointed downwards, usually on a tall stem of grass.

210602 roosting common blues (2)

These photos were taken late last Friday afternoon, following a morning of rain, when the cloud cover was still low and quite dense. The butterflies had obviously given up on the prospect of more sun that day and gone to bed early. I’m sure we all know that feeling!

the lower butterfly had just flown in and, as I watched, assumed the head-down position.

Marsh fritillaries

29 Saturday May 2021

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Having lucked out last week, I was over the moon during this week’s visit to Aberbargoed Grasslands NNR to see my first Marsh fritillaries of the year.

210529 marsh fritillary (1)

Perhaps it was the company of my friend Sharon that brought me luck (it was our first meeting in almost nine months).

210529 marsh fritillary (2)

And, no doubt, bumping in to the ranger on site really helped, as he pointed out which field he’d just seen half a dozen butterflies in (the main field where they’re usually seen is still very waterlogged).

210529 marsh fritillary (3)

The day of our visit was the first really sunny day in a while, and, as most of the fritillaries were sitting quietly amongst the tussocks and clumps of grass, soaking up the sunshine and flexing their wings, I got the feeling that many had only just emerged from their pupae.

210529 marsh fritillary (4)

We saw nine Marsh fritillaries in total – I’m sure there were more we missed. They are such stunning creatures that I’m already planning a return visit.

210529 marsh fritillary (5)

To a Butterfly

31 Wednesday Mar 2021

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‘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.