Butterfly Islands

Saturday, 22 June 2019

Still Waiting for the Summer Butterflies.

I was hopeful of seeing more summer butterflies at Bouldnor Forest yesterday,but as the weather has been so changeable throughout June I was to be disappointed.Still, a first of the year Ringlet was recorded together with many Meadow Brown.The same Dark Green Fritillary was noted in the flowery glade of a few days ago and it cannot be but a matter of days until the other summer butterflies are on the wing.

Monday, 17 June 2019

First of the Summer Butterflies?

What I consider to be a summer butterfly was on show today in Bouldnor Forest,Yarmouth.Although this species is commonly found on our Island downland it is also a butterfly of flowery woodland rides and this is where this individual was seen nectaring on clover.

Friday, 14 June 2019

Friends Together.

Most 'blue' butterflies have an association with ants when in their caterpillar stage.The Common Blue is no exception although other blue's may have a much closer arrangement with certain types of ants.The larvae of P. icarus are attended by the ants and sometimes taken into the anthill where they emit honeydew.This behaviour is called mutualistic as both species benefit from these actions.

Saturday, 1 June 2019

Very Small and Very Fast.

This diminutive skipper was seen in the garden of our holiday accommodation on Meganisi.Its flight was fast and sometimes difficult to track.The butterfly is the Lulworth Skipper Thymelicus acteon the smallest of our 'golden skippers'. The English name of course refers to the only location in the UK where this species is found.

Friday, 31 May 2019

The Foxy Emperor.

The title is of course the common name for the magnificent Two-tailed Pasha.I feel it is always a privilege to encounter this beautiful butterfly and to date I can still count on the fingers of one hand the number of times this has happened.

Last week in Greece another of those wonderful moments occurred when my wife shouted to me that she had a butterfly on her head.She had just walked out of the pool and had felt it land.The natural reaction was to waft it away and that she did,but it was determined to get its sustenance and returned to nectar on the skin and a wet swimsuit.We finally managed to get the butterfly to take an interest in the dampness by the side of the pool where it happily stayed until it had had its fill.The Pasha then flew away into the olive grove.

Thursday, 30 May 2019

A Spot of Luck.

The Greek Island of Meganisi is reached via the tourist port of Nydri on Lefkada.So a short ferry ride back to Nydri to spend a short time in and around the town is easy and provides an opportunity to see the local butterflies.

A common species here in Greece and in Europe is the Spotted Fritillary.This female was seen enjoying the clover which proved very lucky for me.

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.