Butterfly Islands: Helice

Showing posts with label Helice. Show all posts

Tuesday, 2 June 2015

More from Lefkada.

The common butterflies of Lefkada are always a treat to see although numbers of particular species seem to vary from year to year.Several seasons ago Black-veined Whites were very numerous, but during my last two visits to the Island I have seen just the odd one or two.

This year the Clouded Yellow is enjoying high numbers with quite a few helice form females on show together with many conventional coloured individuals.So too the Cleopatra,a very spectacular butterfly and always a common sight.It is seen in the villages and towns feeding from most garden blooms,and also in hill and mountain meadows and olive groves nectaring on the wild flowers.

Spotted Fritillary male.

Spotted Fritillary female.

Clouded Yellow helice female

Black-veined White.

Cleopatra.

Ilex Hairstreak.

Tuesday, 21 April 2015

Baywatch.

The sunny weather is still here and a visit to Wheelers Bay was a must today.The brisk breeze of the morning abated in the afternoon warmth and I was pleased to come upon two Common Blue butterflies.The first a very bright blue male that I had already heard was on the wing at the Bay.The second a beautiful blue variety female with orange margins, rather than the normal brown colour of most females. The undersides of both sexes are similar but the female underside is slightly browner than the male.
As usual the Clouded Yellows were evident by their swift flight along the base of the cliff and I was lucky to be treated to the sight of a female helice form briefly flitting from dandelion to dandelion, before it flew on.

There are numerous references to Wheelers Bay on my blog with photographs of this coastal stretch between the town of Ventnor and the village of Bonchurch.
It is perhaps the best spot on the Island for butterflies as many species can be seen here throughout the season.With the Bays south facing position continental species do fly in over the Channel given favourable conditions.

The piece de resistance of this site however is the presence of the Glanville Fritillary that was encouraged to colonize here in the early 1990s because of a suitable habitat in which to breed.Although numbers at the Bay have fallen over the years due to some habitat loss it is the first place to see newly emerged Glanvilles in the UK.

Tuesday, 8 October 2013

Still Clouded Yellows To See.

There are still Clouded Yellow butterflies to see at Wheelers Bay,Bonchurch as the sunny and mild weather has persisted.Among these butterflies are also several helice,which are females and sport much paler upper side wings than the normal rich yellow.In fact the underside too can be almost white but in the case of the helice pictured below these undersides are more inclined towards the usual colour.

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.