Butterfly Islands: July 2012

Saturday, 28 July 2012

Many More Chalk-hill Blues

Another walk over West High Down yesterday in the continuing summery weather and many more Chalk-hill Blues to see.The females are now out and as with many 'blue' butterfly species it is brown and inconspicuous.

Tuesday, 24 July 2012

A Skipper

A trip today to a West Wight stream flowing through farmland and plenty of dragonflies to see.Close by I found this small skipper which I am confident is an Essex Skipper.

Sunday, 22 July 2012

The Down in Summer

With the summer at last putting in an appearance the Downs of the Island were today a sight to behold.The blue sky,the bright blue sea , and a slight sea breeze made a wander over West High Down a pleasure.The butterflies too enjoyed the sunshine and plenty were to be seen.Small Heath,Marbled White and Meadow Brown are abundant Small Copper together with Common Blue are to be found in the more sheltered, grassy, parts on the Down.

As mentioned in my previous entry,Dark Green Fritillaries are whizzing low over the gorse and bramble in search of mainly purple coloured flowers and now the Chalk-hill Blues have emerged. I saw only eight males today but soon the Down will be a mass of these silvery-blue butterflies.It will not be long before the brown females will join them.

Sunday, 8 July 2012

Woodland Butterflies

The weather this week has continued to be wet.Woodland butterflies will no doubt suffer from this dismal time and species such as the White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary will have a disappointing season.

A visit today to Walters Copse at Newtown was a mixed one of sunshine and showers.Meadow Browns were numerous as this butterfly is a common sight.Just a single Marbled White was to be seen together with a Red Admiral.The White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary were also flying.

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Isle of Wight Heathland

Ningwood Common is protected heathland just west of the village of Shalfleet.It is a breeding site for the Nightjar and until last year an area where the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly was found.Unfortunately this season no sightings of this butterfly have been reported and along with the Pearl-bordered Fritillary I regret to say that both species are no longer likely to be seen on the Island.
The weather has been very wet of late but a few rays of sunshine did appear this afternnon when I was on the Common.It is edged by woodland and now Marbled Whites,Ringlets and Small Skippers can be seen flitting along the woodland edges.Out too is the summer brood of the Comma,seen above in the 'hutchinsoni' form.

The Adonis Blue

The Large Tortoiseshell

It seems the general view on the status of the Large Tortoiseshell in Britain is that it is now extinct as a breeding butterfly.
It is a butterfly of woodland edges and hedgerows that abound in willows,elms,and poplars.These trees are used by the adult to lay its eggs and this single brood appears in July and August.The emerging butterfly then hibernates over the winter in log piles and hollow trees until the next spring.
On the Isle of Wight sightings are more often than not made from early March to April.Have these butterflies overwintered on the Island or have they come from the continent where it is common?
Any sightings made in July/August pose the same question.Another explanation could be that captive-bred releases are responsible.Only the discovery of eggs and caterpillars will probably answer these questions.

I can now report that evidence has been found of breeding just along the coast at Portland in Dorset (June 2020) and again at the same location in the summer of 2021.

The Glanville Fritillary

This elegant butterfly is mainly confined to the crumbling undercliffs and chalk downs of the Isle of Wight.It is also found on the Channel Islands and at one or two isolated colonies on the British mainland.In Britain the Glanville Fritillary is at the extreme north-western edge of its range.On the continent it is readily found in flowery habitats.
Around the southern shores of the Isle of Wight the cliffs constantly erode causing them to slip away and provide perfect conditions for new growths of the butterflies laval host plant,Ribwort Plantain.
The eggs are laid to the underside of the leaves of this plant and normally hatch after about three weeks.The resulting caterpillars live together in communal webs spun over the plantain.In the autumn they hibernate and recommence feeding in the spring,eventually dispersing to prepare for pupation.
The adult butterfly is on the wing from May to the end of June with the female being larger than the male.They will feed on,amongst other things, Birds-foot Trefoil and Thrift.

The Wall Brown

On the Isle of Wight in particular,the Wall Brown is a butterfly of field edges,coastal cliffs and dunes,and rabbit-grazed downland.
The male is territorial and spends much of the time patrolling and basking on the ground.
The female,which lacks the males conspicuous dark sex brand across the forewings,is larger.The undersides of both sexes are beautifully cryptic when at rest.
The Wall Brown generally produces two broods a year,the first from late April until late June and the second from mid-July to mid-September.