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Tag Archives: Painted Lady

246/365 On the scabious

03 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

bees, Devil's-bit scabious, hoverflies, insects on scabious, Painted Lady, scabious, Small white butterfly

190903 devil's-bit scabious (1)

At this time of year, the delicate lilac tinge of Devil’s-bit scabious casts its imperial purple shadow across the meadows at Cosmeston and at Lavernock. I love it, and I’m not the only one.

190903 devil's-bit scabious (7)

It’s proving extremely popular as a late-summer early-autumn source of nectar for all manner of bees, butterflies and hoverflies. Here are a few I’ve seen in recent days …

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219/365 High on Hemp agrimony

07 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, Dingy footman, Gatekeeper, Hemp agrimony, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Ringlet, Six-spot burnet, Speckled wood, Willow beauty moth

I’ve been spending a lot of time over the past couple of weeks staring at Hemp agrimony flowers. I’ve not yet found what I’ve been searching for – you’ll be the first to know when/if I do – but, in the meantime, here are just a few of the lovely creatures I’ve spotted nectaring on these pretty flowers: a Dingy footman moth, a Six-spot burnet moth and a Gatekeeper, a Painted lady, a Red admiral, a Ringlet, a Speckled wood and what might be a Willow beauty moth, but the jury’s still out on that one.

190807 dingy footman190807 gatekeeper 6-spot burnet190807 painted lady190807 red admiral190807 ringlet190807 speckled wood190807 willow beauty maybe

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213/365 A privilege of Painted Ladies

01 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

2019 Painted Lady influx, British butterflies, butterfly, butterfly migration, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Painted Lady, Painted Lady migration

190801 painted lady (1)

I’ve been pondering what the most descriptive collective noun might be for a group of Painted Ladies? Apparently, for butterflies, there are several possibilities including swarm, flutter, flight and kaleidoscope. The latter appeals because it conjures well the vision of a mass of beautiful, ever revolving colours. I thought of a ‘pleasure’ of Painted Ladies but the double entendre is a little tacky.

190801 painted lady (2)

Then, one of my Twitter acquaintances came up with ‘privilege’, which is just perfect, thank you, Martin. Because it certainly was a privilege to see 27 of these gorgeous creatures as I walked the fields at Cosmeston yesterday (and I’m sure there were a lot more than that). We’re not getting the thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) that have been arriving along England’s east coast in recent days, but it’s still a lot for this area and it was an absolute delight to see so many.

190801 painted lady (3)

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159/365 On the wings of the storm

08 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly migration, Cathays Cemetery, Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui

There are two good things about the drenching and battering we’ve just suffered at the hands of the Spanish Storm Miguel: the first is that we really did need the rain, as the ground is already dry and cracked in places, and the second is that the strong winds may well be responsible for this glorious little lady I discovered at Cathays Cemetery today.

190608 painted lady (1)

She (or, in fact, it may be a he) is a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), a butterfly which, according to the Butterfly Conservation website, ‘Each year … spreads northwards from the desert fringes of North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia, recolonising mainland Europe and reaching Britain and Ireland.’ And s/he’s still looking quite pristine, despite that long journey.

190608 painted lady (2)

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The Painted Ladies

06 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Tags

British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, migrating butterlies, Painted Lady

A google search on “Painted Ladies” will take you to San Francisco, as this is the name used by Americans to describe the local Victorian and Edwardian buildings, particularly houses, that have been repainted in multiple colours to highlight the details of their architectural style.

180806 painted lady (2)

Britain’s Painted ladies have also been painted in multiple colours but not by human hands – these are the masterpieces of Mother Nature.

180806 painted lady (3)

And they are not static – they fly, and not just around our local meadows and gardens – these beauties fly all the way from North Africa and the Middle East to dazzle us with their kaleidoscope of colour.

180806 painted lady (4)

Some years – 2009 was one – these butterflies arrive in huge numbers – and I do mean huge. That summer, tens of millions of Painted ladies arrived in Britain and the skies were filled with fluttering colour. I hope I live to see such a sight.

180806 painted lady (1)

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Lucky last?

05 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, nature, nature photography, wildflowers

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Tags

butterfly quote, Devil's-bit scabious, Irish blessing, Painted Lady

171005 Painted lady on Devil's-bit scabious

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
~  an Irish blessing, to be sure, to be sure, to be sure

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Fluttering at Lavernock

13 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Brimstone butterfly, British butterflies, British moths, butterflies, Common blue, Large white, Lavernock Nature Reserve, moths, Painted Lady, Peacock, Red Admiral, Silver Y moth, Small copper

Now, I know I’ve been posting quite a few butterfly photos lately but I just adore them and, as summer will soon be over and they’ll disappear for another year, I can’t help but share their beauty while I can. So, as well as that gorgeous Jersey tiger I showed you yesterday, here are just a few of the 16 species of Lepidoptera from Lavernock Nature Reserve on Thursday: there were 4 Brimstone butterflies; large numbers of Common blues; this pair of Large whites mating; 5 Painted ladies; 2 stunning Peacocks; 4 Red admirals; 2 Silver Y moths that just wouldn’t keep still for a sharp photo; and only my second-ever Small copper that got scared off when someone came walking down the path towards me.

170813 Brimstone butterfly
170813 Common blue
170813 Large whites mating
170813 Painted lady
170813 Peacock
170813 Red admiral
170813 Silver Y moth
170813 Small copper

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A riot of butterflies

06 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, nature photography

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Common blue, Meadow Brown, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Vanessa cardui

The Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) is supposed to be quite a common butterfly but I’d only seen two this year until this morning’s butterfly fest at Cardiff Bay, in a tucked-away spot full of Buddleja, Ragwort, Hemp agrimony and other assorted wildflowers.

170806 Painted lady (3)
170806 Painted lady (2)
170806 Painted lady (1)
170806 Painted lady (4)

The nectar bonanza was being licked up by four Painted ladies, two Red admirals, one Small white, two Meadow browns, and two Common blues. What a riot of colour they made!

170806 Common blue (2)
170806 Common blue (1)
170806 Red admiral
170806 Meadow brown

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Butterflies!

09 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterflies, Comma, Painted Lady, Peacock, Small tortoiseshell, Speckled wood

Yesterday I was celebrating the return of the Sand Martins, today it’s the turn of the butterflies. We’ve had 4 days of wall-to-wall sunshine and daily high temperatures in the mid teens which has encouraged all the small critters we share our world with to emerge and get active. And it’s a wondrous sight to behold!

170409 Peacock & Small tortoisehell

These two, a Peacock (Aglais io) (top) and a Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) (below) were in one of my local parks. They flew in together and sat very close like this for at least ten minutes, after which time I walked on. It’s unusual to see them like this and one of my knowledgeable friends speculated that the Small tortoiseshell might me a confused male, showing an ‘interest’ in the Peacock.

170409 Comma
170409 Speckled Wood
170409 Painted Lady

I saw these three, plus another Peacock and some Small whites that were too fast to photograph, on a walk along the local coastal path on Friday. They’re a Comma (Polygonia c-album) on the left, a Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) in the centre – one of eight I saw on this walk, and a Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) on the right. The Painted Lady is a long-distance migrant, flying back to Britain at this time of year from the desert fringes of North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia so it’s no wonder it’s looking rather battered.

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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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