Summer Butterflies on the Wing.

A long overdue visit to Walters Copse at Newtown today was rewarded with a bevy of summer butterflies.At least six Silver-washed Fritillaries,all males,good numbers of Marbled White,two White Admirals,and a rather worn Painted Lady.The latter no doubt,one of many to reach our shores this week from the south.

Just the Usual Suspects.

With the spring weather warming up over the last few days and set to continue,I was very hopeful of seeing the first newly emerged butterflies of the year today.

Speckled Wood and Orange Tip have already been sighted on the Isle of Wight and an afternoon walk through Bouldnor Forest and later Walters Copse at Newtown proved to be a disappointment as I failed to see any of these two species.Still,the usual suspects were out and about.Male Brimstone forever on the move, along with several basking Comma,a Red Admiral or two on the tracks,and good numbers of Peacock.The latter it seemed always to be found close to  Pussy Willow which is now flowering in our damp woods.

First Butterflies of the Year as the Fine Weather Continues.

The very mild weather continues and temperatures reached nearly 20 Celsius today.A first trip of the year to Walters Copse,Newtown owned by the National Trust resulted in five Comma butterflies and at least four Brimstone.The Commas were basking in their usual spots, namely sunny and sheltered rides whereas the male Brimstone flew energetically about looking for females, pausing briefly to nectar on the few primrose flowers and enjoying a sunny location.

Spring Returns for One Day Only.

With the prospect of yet more cold weather on the way this week,today was perhaps only the second springlike day of the year.This sunny and warmish morning heralded the first butterfly of the season in the garden.The ever reliable Peacock appeared in the flower border close to the rear of the house where it nectared on the perennial wallflower 'bowles mauve',a real favourite it seems for butterflies.

Later,a walk around my local copse at Newtown saw an increase in the number of butterflies compared to last week's visit.Although the species were the same,more Comma,Brimstone,and Peacock were on the wing.It seems that the weather is not yet right for new emergents .and it could be another couple of weeks before the first of them will be seen locally.

Slow Going.

I must say that my spring sightings of newly emerged butterflies have been poor so far with just a couple of Small Whites to date.However a stroll around my local copse at Newtown today did produce at least three Speckled Wood and a possible female Orange Tip having an aerial duel with a Brimstone, before they both flew off at speed.Of course I may have been mistaken as my 'Orange Tip' could have been just another Small White.

Still the weather this week is settled and we are hoping for some near summer temperatures.So things are set to improve.

Rounding Up the Usual Suspects.

At this time of year all the butterflies on show are hibernators from last summer although it should not be too long before newly emerged individuals are enjoying the warmer temperatures.Apart from all these Brimstone flying about today,which by the way were all males,I had my first 2015 records of a Comma and at least two Peacock.
At this time of year all the butterflies on show are hibernators from last summer although it should not be too long before newly emerged individuals are enjoying the warmer temperatures.Apart from all these Brimstone flying about today,which by the way were all males,I had my first 2015 records of a Comma and at least two Peacock.

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It's Warming Up.

With the promise of rising temperatures over the next few days spring is almost here and  time to take a stroll through Walters Copse at Newtown. The sun was shining today and the cold wind that we have endured recently is all but gone.

It wasn't long before I came across a Red Admiral basking on the leaf litter.In fact over the two hours that I spent walking about I passed this butterfly three times in exactly the same spot.However I must say that despite the warm sunshine and almost cloudless sky this was the only butterfly I saw today.Nectar sources are scarce in the copse at the moment with only the odd primrose flower to be seen but hopefully given several days of sunny weather the plants, which carpet the wood, will burst forth in the usual springtime display.

Will They Be Back in 2015?

The recent history of the Large Tortoiseshell on the Isle of Wight is one of several sightings of individuals scattered around the Island mainly during the summer months.This has been interpreted as migrants from the continent and that is probably a correct assumption.However in 2009 at Woodhouse Copse no less than five were reported on the 19th March.All it seems were along a single woodland ride in what was then a well managed copse.Where did all these originate from?who can tell, although the time of year would indicate they had just emerged from hibernation.

The following year it seemed that this would be 'a one off' for the copse as none were seen there and sightings in general were again restricted to the odd one or two about the Island.But in 2011 the Large Tortoiseshell was back at Woodhouse with three seen on the 7th March,another two on the 22nd March,and seven more sightings of 'ones' until the 8th April.

When it seemed that the copse could be the next 'stronghold' of this iconic species,2012 proved to be a disappointment as Woodhouse Copse was sold,woodland management was abandoned, and human disturbance put an end to the chance of further sightings.As far as I am aware no sightings of the butterfly have been made there since.

Still,there are other woodlands,and at Newtown the National Trust maintain several copse,one of which is Walters Copse.This is very well managed and without a doubt my favourite haunt for all sorts of wildlife.

So it was here on 27th March 2012 that a Large Tortoiseshell was spotted taking moisture from a damp area of ground in a clearing.It was a female in excellent condition and recently out of hibernation after maybe spending the winter in or around the copse.Over the next few days many butterfly watchers visited the copse and two further sightings were made of different individuals.

Hopes were now high for a repeat performance at Walters Copse in 2013 but due to the very cold weather that lasted  into March the spring was put on hold for a while.Finally, in April it warmed up and on the 19th a rather tatty male was seen in Walters.This male proved to be very accommodating and stayed on its territory for several days allowing all to get a good view.In fact it was not the only Large Tortoiseshell in the immediate area as others were also recorded in.the copse and in the surrounding meadows.

In contrast to the previous two years,the spring of 2014 did not produce any probable sightings at Walters Copse,so we can only hope that this year the Large Tortoiseshell will return to grace our Island woodlands.

The African Queen.

More commonly known as the Plain Tiger but also has the title of African Queen or African Monarch, as well as several others perhaps.

It is a beautiful butterfly with the male smaller than the female but more brightly coloured. Apart from size and colour intensity the male can be distinguished by the presence of a black scent producing pouch located on the lower- centre of the hind wing.On the underside this feature appears as a black patch with a white centre.This can be noticed in two of the following photographs

I have as yet only had the pleasure of seeing the Plain Tiger(Danaus chrysippus) in Egypt which seems to be very apt as this species was the first ever butterfly recorded in art, on  a three thousand five hundred year old Egyptian fresco in Luxor..

This species can however be found in certain areas around the Mediterranean including Greece as well as Africa and right across Asia where it is very common.

In fact at least one has turned up on the Isle of Wight as the individual pictured in the last photo was snapped by a visitor to the Newtown Nature Reserve in 2011.(Thanks to Andy Butler for providing the photo.)

Back on the Wing.

A beautiful calm  and warm afternoon at Walters Copse,Newtown, and among the usual late summer butterflies were three White Admirals.This seems to be late for this species and as they all looked 'new', they must have very recently emerged.

A Walk in Walters.

This National Trust copse  at Newtown village boasts a good selection of  flora and fauna and I took an extended wander through it today.

White Admiral numbers continue to grow with the Silver-washed Fritillary numbering just three at the moment with two males and a female.Ringlets are very numerous,as are Meadow Browns but Marbled Whites are scarce at present.A few more Small Skippers are out now together with a couple of Commas.With the weather continuing settled,in the main,butterfly numbers and species are set to increase.

Fewer Late Summer Butterflies

Despite the continued sunny weather the feel of autumn is now about and the count of butterflies has fallen.A walk along the hedgerows at Newtown today and a visit to the adjacent Walters Copse was rather disappointing with just Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood in enough numbers to count along with eight Commas on a large expanse of bramble bush feeding on blackberries.However I did see two Small Copper,one of which was the form caeruleopunctata.Quite a common form but nevertheless attractive to see with its silvery-blue spots.

In the Copse just two Comma,a Common Blue,and a Red Admiral, all on fleabane.

The Lady Returns

It has been over five months since I last saw a Painted Lady when on a spring like day at Wheelers Bay I saw three of them were feeding on Winter Heliotrope.That was just before the winter started here and now there are reports of this butterfly coming to our shores again.

Butterflies have been scarce this spring so it was good to see this one feeding  in a sunny spot.In addtion,along the field edge on National Trust land at Newtown I came across Large Skipper,Meadow Brown, and a Small Tortoiseshell.

A Fistful of Commas

This time last year we were enjoying a period of rather dry weather with very mild temperatures.As a result butterfly emergences began earlier than usual.However this spring temperatures have remained low throughout March and it seems that everything is struggling to get started.Today I made another visit to Walters Copse at Newtown in the hope of catching a glimpse of  a rare butterfly,at least in the UK,the Large Tortoiseshell.In 2012 we were lucky enough to see this gem of a butterfly at the copse.

Although todays weather was sunny and warm I saw no sign of it but instead came upon six Comma butterflies that had come out of hibernation.It is not surprising to see these as they must be one of our commonest sights at this time

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