Butterfly Islands: May

Showing posts with label May. Show all posts

Sunday 15 November 2015

Top Highlight of 2015.

The past season has thrown up several exciting sightings, such as the close encounter with White-letter Hairstreaks on an elm in Newport town centre,the joy of seeing the valezina form of the Silver-washed Fritillary in numbers at Porchfield,and finding a colony of Lesser Spotted Fritillaries on the beach on the Greek Island of Thassos. However the best must be the discovery of Glanville Fritillary pupae or chrysalies on the Island back in May.Here the habitat for this fritillary is unique as the continental Glanvilles frequent meadows,riverbanks,and woodland clearings.On the Isle of Wight it is a butterfly of our cliffs and clifftops.Therefore finding a spot to pupate can mean under stones or rocks and this is the place where these chrysalises were found.As normal they use a strand of silk to attach themselves to their chosen stone where it will take up to three weeks to emerge as an imago.

Thursday 30 July 2015

Something New,Something Blue.

With a report of a probable second brood of Small Blue at a nearby established colony a few days ago,I was at last able to take a look for our smallest butterfly.The weather has been very changeable over recent days but thankfully today the strong wind had abated and we enjoyed some warm sunny periods.It was not long before I came across two mating pairs and although Small Blue colonies tend to be fairly small ,such as this particular one,hopefully a few more butterflies will emerge.

The flight period is from May to late June with an occasional second brood in late July and August.At this location however it is normal for this species to appear in April.

Friday 27 February 2015

More Very Special Little Gems.

On the Isle of Wight we can look forward to our own very special butterfly again this season when the Glanville Fritillary emerges at the end of April or early May.

The female butterfly will lay up to 200 eggs on the host food plant,Ribwort Plantain.Following the fourth moult or instar the larvae build a web in order to hibernate over the winter.After the sixth and final moult the caterpillars will disperse from their protective web and pupate

When disturbed or in inclement weather the larvae will retreat back into the undergrowth behind their web and form into a protective ball.

Wednesday 19 November 2014

Thinking of Next Year.

Now that the winter is fast approaching my thoughts turn to next year and what I can look forward to seeing.Of course the first possible treat would be to see the return to our local woodland rides of the Large Tortoiseshell from early March onwards depending on the kindness of the weather.

If I am fortunate enough to visit the Greek Islands in May the wonderful sight of the Cleopatra awaits.This butterfly of the Mediterranean resembles the Brimstone in general shape and pattern but is larger in size.

Above all, the males have an extensive orange flush across the fore-wings that can be seen when in flight.This dazzling butterfly hibernates over the winter and appears again in the spring just as the first flowers are coming into bloom.

Sunday 26 October 2014

Best Bits of 2014.

Unlike 2012 and 2013 which were highlighted by sightings of the Large Tortoiseshell at Walters Copse,Newtown, this year the butterfly was not to be seen despite a good search in the spring.We can just hope that next season it will excite us with it's presence.

At the end of May I took a trip to Hod Hill in Dorset to get my first look at the Marsh Fritillary. This lovely butterfly is no longer resident on the Isle of Wight and I was not disappointed when at last I came across several individuals sheltering away in a grassy old hill fort moat from the inclement weather that day.

Another excellent highlight was a second brood of White Admirals in Walters Copse in September.This species had done well here in the summer but to see three pristine White Admirals so late in the season was a treat.

Perhaps the highlight of 2014 though,had to be recording the first Glanville Fritillaries on the wing in the UK.As usual they appeared at Wheelers Bay,Bonchurch in April.This site is always the first site to produce this unique butterfly and is followed throughout May by other Island colonies on our south west coastal cliffs.

The Glanville pictured below is from Wheelers Bay,photographed on the 30th April and it can be classed as a variant partly due to it's rather dark hind wing colouring.

Friday 4 April 2014

A Special Resident.

In the UK the Glanville Fritillary is only resident on the Isle of Wight.Therefore that makes it a very special butterfly to us here on the Island.Normally at this time the Glanville larvae are approaching full size after spending the winter months secure in a web deep in the long grass on the cliff top or the cliff slopes.The coastal cliffs along our south western shore are ideal habitat and the webs are on or very near to its foodplant, Ribwort Plantain

Now is the time for the larvae to disperse and find a safe place to pupate.The chrysalis stage lasts for about three weeks and the adult is on the wing during May and June.

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.