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Tag Archives: Kent butterflies

135/365 Green hairstreak et al

15 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Tags

Brimstone butterfly, British butterflies, Green hairstreak, Kent butterflies, Peacock butterfly, Small copper, Wall brown, Wall butterfly

I was hoping to see several different butterfly species during our days in Kent but the weather was mostly against us – we had, at various times, gale-force winds, squally rain showers, and batterings of hail, and it was generally quite cool. I was quite hopeful, though, when we arrived at Cliffe Pools on our last day, as the sun came out to play and the paths were mostly enclosed by sheltering trees and low scrub. It was by sheer chance, though, that I managed to spot my first ever Green hairstreaks – two butterflies were swirling around each other, disputing territory, and I immediately realised they were something different.

190515 green hairstreak (1)

Luckily, I kept an eye on them, as their camouflage is so good that they’re incredibly difficult to spot once they’ve landed on a bush.

190515 green hairstreak (3)

Plus, they often do this thing where they angle their wings to one side, presumably to make themselves look even more like a leaf.

190515 green hairstreak (2)

I also saw my first Wall brown butterfly for the year at Cliffe Pools – this was the species I’d seen reports of and was particularly looking for there.

190515 wall brown

At the RSPB nature reserve at Dungeness I also saw my first Small copper for 2019.

190515 small copper

And during the rest of our trip we also saw Peacock, Brimstone, Holly blue, and some of the White species – not a lot really but, though I didn’t get the quantity I expected, we certainly saw quality butterflies.

190515 peacock
190515 brimstone

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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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