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| Nature in the garden : Butterflies and Moths Bees | |
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| Butterflies and Moths:
We love to watch butterflies and day flying moths in the garden and we grow lots of high-nectar plants for them to feed on. Fortunately we are bordered by lots of stinging nettles which are food plants for the caterpillars of several species. Another food plant for Orange-Tip Butterflies. Cardamine pratensis ("Lady's Smock" here in Cheshire, "Milk Maids" in Essex where we come from) grows wild in the fields around us. We also leave windfall apples for late flying butterflies to feed on - watch them get tipsy on the fermenting juice. All the pictures below are from our garden. Click here for a list of butterflies and moths recorded in our garden. To help conserve Britain's butterflies you can join Butterfly Conservation. |
 Red
Admirals are one of my favourites but they are more shy than some other
types and are more likely to be disturbed when trying to get a close
up.
But here on Joe Pie Weed (Eupatorium maculatum Atropurpurem) this one was too happy feeding to be concerned with me. The name "Red Admiral" apparently has nothing to do with the sea or sailors (although these butterflies do cross the sea to migrate to the UK), but is a corruption of "Red Admirable". British populations are supplemented by influxes from the Continent each year. Individuals seen before July are almost certainly migrants. Caterpillars feed on nettles and are greenish brown. Eggs are laid individually and the caterpillars make a tent of silk on a nettle leaf.
|
 Here
is the same individual with wings closed showing the underwing pattern. I
love his or her stripy antennas.
Next to him or her is a busy honey bee. |
 Painted
Lady butterflies have become more common in our garden over the last 5
years or so and are flying from May in some years. All have migrated in from North Africa.
Later flying adults may have come from eggs laid here in late summer. Eggs
are laid on a wide of plants including thistles, nettles, mallows and
burdocks.
The caterpillars have a yellow stripe down each side. They are spiny with yellow or black bristles. They seem to be territorial and chase each other frequently. Heleniums are probably one of the best flowers for butterflies between July and October. |
 A
Painted Lady again, with wings closed. Eye patterns on the wings are
designed to scare or at least distract predators. |
 The
Small Tortoiseshell butterfly is one of the most common in our garden, but
is probably less so in recent years.
The eggs are laid on nettle leaves in large numbers and the caterpillars feed together in groups under a silk web. The caterpillars are black and yellow. |
 Scabious
are great butterfly plants and "Butterfly Blue" lives up to the
first part of its name (its not really very "blue" though). Two
Small Tortoiseshells feed on the nectar |
 In
close up the Small Tortoiseshell's wings are even more jewel-like. |
 The
Comma butterfly also likes Scabious - this time the Pale Yellow variety, Scabiosa
ochroleuca.
Eggs are laid singly on hops, nettles and currant bushes. The caterpillars look a bit like bird droppings. |
 Commas are thus called because of a tiny
silver "comma" on the underside of each wing.
This well punctuated fellow is enjoying Rudbeckia Deamii |
 Peacock
butterflies are quite hard to photograph with a handheld camera as they
really don't like being approached.
They love the nectar rich flowers of Echinacea. Their name of course comes from the large Peacock tail "eyes" on their wings. Eggs are laid groups on the underside of nettle leaves and the black, hairy caterpillars feed in groups. |
 White
butterflies are often overlooked or seen as a pest because they lay their
eggs on plants from the cabbage family and their caterpillars soon munch
their way through the leaves. However they are abundant and a joy to
watch, so encourage them with Verbena
bonariensis and cover your cabbages with a butterfly proof net.
(Watch out for caterpillars on your Nasturtiums). This is a Small White.
|
 Gatekeeper
butterflies are quite common in our garden, often present in large
numbers. They particularly like Heleniums, Oregano and Lavender.
Eggs are laid on meadow grasses. The caterpillar is brown with a a white stripe along its body. |
 The
Meadow Brown is quite similar to the Gatekeeper (above) but has only one
white spot on the eye (gatekeeper has two) and no series of white spots on
the undersides of the wing and is (I think) a bit bigger. Here enjoying Achillea
Moonshine in late June.
Eggs are laid on several types of meadow grass. Caterpillars are green. |
|
 The
Common Blue is anything but blue at rest with its wings closed like here
on the flower bud of Succisella
inflexa during August.
Females usually have brown upper wings (occasionally blue with brown edge). The green Caterpillars feed on plants from the pea family including clover and bird's foot trefoil. Single eggs are laid on the upper surface of the leaves |
 The
Holly Blue at rest is completely different to the Common Blue with
beautiful shimmering silver-blue under wings. It is feeding on Echinops
ritro, the Globe Thistle and don't the two blues complement each other
so well? A butterfly of great taste.
Single eggs are laid on holly and ivy and the caterpillars are small and mainly green. |
 When
the Holly Blue opens its wings the true-blue colour is revealed together
with the dark edge to the forewings. |
 The
Small Copper doesn't arrive in our garden until August and is a lovely
little thing. Here it is on Helenium
Patsy.
Eggs are laid on sorrel, dock and knotgrass. They are green or green-pink. |
 Speckled
Wood butterflies arrive in May and again in September.
Eggs are laid on several types of meadow grass. The caterpillars are green. |
 The
Green Veined White can be hard to spot when resting on greenery, but what
a delight it is.
|
 Hummingbird
Hawk Moths really do look like miniature Hummingbirds with their ultrafast
wing beats as they hover beside a flower to collect nectar with their long
tongue.
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List of recorded
species:
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