Butterfly Islands: April 2022

Tuesday 26 April 2022

More First of the Season Sightings.

Today's early morning visit was rewarded with three first of the year sightings at Whiteways NT carpark near to Freshwater Bay. Vying with the now dozen or so Green Hairstreak was a Small Copper and sighted now again were two Dingy Skipper. The third first record was a handsome looking Wall Brown which settled briefly before being shooed away by a bevy of smaller butterflies. In addition to these were at least three Small Blue,one individual showing a rather bent forewing.

Tuesday 19 April 2022

Small Blue on the Wing at Freshwater.

The sighting of a Small Blue today at Whiteways is the earliest record here since the outstanding sighting of two males on the 30th March 2012. As seen in the photograph below, today's individual is rather tatty which seems to indicate that it has been around for a while. Also on show were three Green Hairstreak and two Grizzled Skipper.

Wednesday 13 April 2022

First Green Hairstreak & Grizzled Skipper at Freshwater.

A well known site for first of the season sightings is Whiteways Quarry,now a National Trust carpark at the foot of Afton Down close to Freshwater Bay. As explained many times in this blog the grassy area at the back of the carpark has a interesting number of species especially in the spring.

Today's visit produced a first Green Hairstreak of the year. It was seen on the flowering Spanish Bluebells,just like the individual in the photograph below. Unfortunately I only sighted it on two brief occasions and it failed to return again ,probably due to the cloudy conditions. Also present were possibly two Grizzled Skippers. Another first for this season

Tuesday 5 April 2022

Spring Butterflies Thin on the Ground.

Following a short cold snap,today's sunshine and mild temperature encouraged me to pay a second visit of the year to Bouldnor Forest. Immediately on entering the forest I was passed by a very fast flying male Brimstone but just a few yards farther on I came across this Speckled Wood butterfly. This is a first sighting of the season of this species for me and it obligingly settled on the side of the track for a few seconds. The only other butterfly encountered was a Comma, and it was not until I was returning that a rather tatty Red Admiral appeared on the track.This was followed by a second Speckled Wood fluttering around and landing in a sunny spot.

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.