Butterfly Islands: Speckled Wood

Showing posts with label Speckled Wood. Show all posts

Tuesday 15 April 2014

More Spring Butterflies

A further visit to Whiteways Quarry this morning recorded four Green Hairstreaks.No other species seen at the moment.Then on to Walters Copse,Newtown,and a first sighting of a Green-veined White.Also several Speckled Wood,Peacock,Comma,and three Orange Tip,one of which was a female.

Thursday 10 April 2014

A First Orange Tip.

In the last several days Holly Blue,Speckled Wood ,and the Small White have visited my garden.However a sure sign of spring happened today when a first Orange Tip appeared.A male busily flew around the garden looking for something it may fancy but apart from the bluebells there did not seem to be any flowers that took its interest.Definitely something for me to take note of for next year.

Tuesday 1 April 2014

First Speckled Wood.

Today started very foggy and it was not until after noon that the sun managed to shine through.When it did however it turned into a warm sunny day with no breeze.

In Walters Copse I came across my first Speckled Wood of the year.Three in fact, together with the usual good number of Comma,Peacock,and Brimstone.The main quarry was not to be seen and one wonders if the Large Tortoiseshell will not make an appearance in the copse this year.

Tuesday 24 September 2013

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.

Thursday 9 May 2013

A Walk in Walters Copse.

The summer like weather of a few days ago has gone and today it was much cooler with a strong wind.Still the sun was shining,and with the bluebells and the early purple orchids now on show in Walters Copse it made a pleasant walk

It wasn't long before I came upon several white butterflies,two Large White nectaring on the bluebells and three Green-veined White.Two male Orange Tip busily flew up and down the rides and in the more sun dappled areas I counted at least six Speckled Wood.

Apart from witnessing a pair of mating Green-veined White the highlight was following a female Orange Tip as she fluttered along landing at regular intervals either to catch the sun or investigate potential egg-laying spots.

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Some First Time Sightings of the Year

The end of April has finished with some perfect spring weather.This week has continued sunny and mild and as a result new butterfly sightings are on the up.A visit to Walters Copse at Newtown started with no sightings until the afternoon when a male Orange Tip appeared, busily flitting around for flowering plants.Any flowers were then contested with a Green-veined White.

A wander around the copse also found a couple of Peacocks as well as my first sight of two Speckled Wood which were sparring for a sunny woodland spot.All the while the occassional male Brimstone would pass by hoping to come across the much paler looking female.

Friday 23 March 2012

Back to Woodhouse Copse

My latest visit to Woodhouse Copse was on another sunny ,warm day.In fact probably the hottest day of the year so far.Plenty of Commas were to be seen,as well as three Speckled Wood butterflies taking up their permanent positions along the woodland ride.

Hopefully,soon the first male Orange Tip will be fluttering along the ride and perhaps the rare Large Tortoiseshell will make an appearance.

Tuesday 20 March 2012

An Early Speckled Wood

At this time of year butterflies that have hibernated through the winter are on the wing.With the weather warming up even newly emerged butterflies may be seen that are way ahead of their normal flight periods.This Speckled Wood is a case in point.At Woodhouse Copse it seems that my sighting of the 19th of March beats a current early sighting record at the copse by a couple of days.

Although no sightings of the elusive Large Tottoiseshell butterfly have yet been recorded here so far this year many Commas,the beautuful Peacock and a Red Admiral have been seen.

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.