A return visit today to Newtown discovered a good number of summer butterflies on the wing despite rather cloudy but bright conditions.The hot weather continues and towards the end of my walk the sun appeared to encourage more butterflies to take flight. The species on show in particular are Marbled White,Ringlet, a small number of Gatekeeper,Painted Lady, and Small Skipper. The brighter weather at the end of my stroll saw several White Admiral but just one Silver-washed Fritillary.
The weather today was mainly cloudy but bright with the occasional sunny spell and warm temperatures.A brief visit to Walters Copse,Newtown at lunchtime yielded numerous Meadow Brown and a small number of Painted Lady.The latter all too common at present. In addition to 3 Marbled White,the same number of White Admiral were observed flitting around in the trees.The Silver-washed Fritillary has proved to be elusive to me up to now this season and at last I managed to record a male in the copse today.
Weather conditions today were not ideal with what can be described as cloudy but bright.There was just the odd short sunny period to encourage the butterflies and consequently numbers were low.However the White Admiral made several appearances feeding on bramble flowers.I hoped to register a first Silver-washed Fritillary of the year but none were forthcoming.Species to see today in Bouldnor Forest included Meadow Brown,Large Skipper, a Painted Lady,and a seemingly recently emerged Comma.
Up to ten White Admirals were present today in Bouldnor Forest mainly seen feeding on bramble flowers.Meadow Brown were also out in good numbers but unlike a few days ago Painted Lady numbers amounted to only three.Other butterfly species recorded today, 3 Large Skipper,a handsome male Common Blue together with this female.
Another sunny and warm day at Bouldnor Forest,Yarmouth and a visit around midday produced a high count of at least 12 Painted Lady.Most were seen feeding on low stands of bramble flowers.An earliest ever sighting for me was a White Admiral in flight.It seems that the first individuals are elusive and this one soon disappeared into the woodland.I was very pleased to have another early record,in fact the earliest ever for this species,a Marbled White.After a short pursuit I was able to take this photograph pictured below.Other butterflies observed were good numbers of Meadow Brown,a Glanville Fritillary,feeding on Birdsfoot trefoil,and a Large Skipper.
The heatwave continues and at Bouldnor Forest today I recorded four Painted Lady butterflies all seen feeding on bramble flowers.Also the first Meadow Brown of the year together with a Large Skipper.
The well established and substantial Lavender Bush in my front garden is a magnet for bees and also several species of butterfly at this time of the year. Today a Painted Lady spent several hours it seems on the flowers in the company of a variety of insects.
Now that the Buddleia Bush in my garden is in full flower there is always a good chance that one of the first to feed on the nectar will be a Painted Lady. Sure enough the first individual appeared today along with Peacock,Red Admiral,Comma,Brimstone,and Whites.
There was a bevy of butterflies today at the National Trust Viewpoint carpark overlooking Freshwater Bay. A first of the year sighting of a male Common Blue was immediately followed by a Glanville Fritillary. Also in evidence were three Dingy Skipper, a Brown Argus.Green Hairstreak,a Small Copper.together with Small Blue and a male Orange Tip.
Walking along the clifftop and then descending the steps onto the landslip produced a few Small Heath,two Small Copper, three Common Blue,a Painted Lady, and at least twelve more Glanville Fritillary.
For the third day in a row I have been fortunate enough to encounter a Painted Lady. Today this individual pictured below visited the flowering pyracantha in my front garden. This species is particularly fond of the pyracantha flowers as it is not the first Painted Lady I have observed on these flowers over the years.
Very pleased to see a Painted Lady this afternoon in my garden at Freshwater. It was feverishly nectaring on some Camassia flowers and then on a Cosmos flower.Both plants were still in their pots awaiting planting out. The date is one of the earliest that I have recorded this species and perhaps it will be one of those bumper years for the Painted Lady here in the UK.
Update on this post.Today the 15th May I observed a Painted Lady at the Afton Down carpark near to Freshwater Bay at 10am. The individual was energetically feeding on the flowers before flying on.
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The first Painted Lady to appear in my garden was two weeks ago, which coincided with the first flowers on the Buddleia bush.It is always a favourite with the butterflies and especially Painted Ladies. Today a total of three were enjoying the blooms along with several Red Admiral,and Peacock.
Although not as memorable as the species in my last post a good number of butterflies have visited my garden this summer, attracted mainly by our flowering Buddleia. Apart from the more common garden butterflies there have been visits on several occasions by the Dark Green Fritillary and more recently Wall Brown. In addition Painted Lady was first seen in the garden back in May and also today when this individual spent some time nectaring
Today in Bouldnor Forest the butterflies were numerous in the bright but sometimes cloudy weather. Now that the Yellow Fleabane is in flower it is a magnet for summer butterflies. Among the species enjoying the flowers were three Painted Lady, all in prime condition and therefore perhaps local emergents. In addition Silver-washed Fritillary now seem to be more evident although some showing signs of wear and tear. At least four males were recorded either nectaring on Thistle or Hemp-agrimony. In the more open forest areas I came across a couple of Wall Brown.
Perhaps the warmest day of the year so far and a Painted Lady was seen in my garden nectaring on our Wallflower 'Bowles Mauve'.Seems to be the first influx of this species this year with numerous sightings in the south of England in the last few days. The sighting in my garden was the same as 2021 when one was encountered on the same plant on the same day.
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