Butterfly Islands

Monday 10 April 2017

First Green Hairstreak.

With the very warm temperatures of the last few days I would have expected the first new spring butterflies to appear sooner at Whiteways Quarry(Afton Down Chalkpit).However it was not until today that a Green Hairstreak was seen and I expect that it will now be closely followed by this unique sites other gems.

Sunday 9 April 2017

Getting Ready.

The Glanville Fritillary caterpillars will soon be ready to disperse and pupate.Their flying season could be just three weeks away.Many of the larva that I saw yesterday are in the sixth instar and these larger larvae can be seen merrily munching on plantain leaves.However some caterpillars have not reached that final stage and are still seeking the safety of their webs.Some webs also show signs of their development with discarded moult skins.

Web with discarded larval skins

Thursday 6 April 2017

Speckled Woods & Peacocks On Show.

It was a lovely sunny spring afternoon although the butterflies did not seem to be much in evidence during my walk in Walters Copse at Newtown.Still,at least six Speckled Wood had claimed several sun dappled spots in the wood and I had a glimpse of a Small/Green-veined White as it flew along a ride as I entered the Copse.
The Peacock seems to be very abundant this year and they are a regular sight here.Male Peacock butterflies set up their territories on the ground often in a sunny location at the end of a woodland ride and I came across one such spot in the copse today.The male(pictured below on the left of the photo) had attracted a female and he was gently opening and closing his wings in a courtship ritual while edging as close as possible to her.An example of this behaviour can been seen HERE The display abruptly ended when she flew off into the high branches of a nearby tree swiftly followed by the male.In contrast to the prevalence of the Peacock,the Red Admiral is a rare sight at the moment so I was glad to have a single sighting.Another all too brief sighting was a Holly Blue flying busily along a sunny track.

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.