Butterflies
by Peter Gardner
BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION
Everyone
has heard of the National Trust, and the RSPB, both
with over a million members, whilst Butterfly Conservation
is almost as well known. It has to maintain 28 nature
reserves, members receive quarterly national and local
magazines, it organises a comprehensive series of
walks open to members and non-members throughout the
summer, including many for children who seem to love
identifying different species. It runs a team of volunteers,
many giving up their weekends to maintain habitats,
plus a few professionals. Its main task, as its name
suggests, is conservation. It achieves all of this,
with a mere 12,000 members. Without them, butterflies
would be fewer, some extinct.
Butterflies
are said to be a better indicator of climate and the
environment than birds, they react quicker to change.
Some butterflies are decreasing in numbers, whereas
others, such as the Comma, once so rare, is now common
in the south, and year by year is progressing northwards
until now they can be seen in Scotland.
The
sensational Clouded Yellow is managing to migrate
from Morocco in ever-increasing numbers, and recently
has started to breed in Dorset.
Birdwatchers
are privileged in that their hobby can be enjoyed
throughout the year, 8 months of which are migration
periods when anything can arrive. Yet, if there are
2 months that might heretically be called dull, these
would be July and August. The only bird that sings
all through the year is the Robin. Birds are exhausted
after the breeding and territorial period, and the
woodlands emit a deathly hush.
Fortuitously,
help is at hand. This is the time to ignore those
boring old birds, it’s the peak time for butterflies
and moths, there may be millions on the wing. So,
no excuses, buy an easy guide and get out there. There
is no acceptable reason why you should not put in
some native plants to attract these jewels of the
air to actually come to you and here are some suggestions
- www.hantsiow-butterflies.org.uk/gardening.html
Peter,
together with sharp-eyed wife Pat, is a leader of
walks for Butterfly Conservation and gives talks with
his own photographs and slide show. He was well known
for his 400 Fuchsia species that he grew each year,
until forgetting to check the heating in 2006, and
now has 400 less species. Fuschias by the way, being
non-native, are not beneficial to our biutterflies.
--------------------
Butterflies
and Conservation
Butterflies
? Oh you mean those pretty coloured things, flying
around Buddleias and the flowers, and the whites that
lay caterpillars on our cabbages! Believe it or not
that was the way I used to look at them and so many
people will always see them as nothing more than pests
or pretty coloured things.
The
very first picture that I ever took of a Butterfly
was entitled ‘Yellow Butterfly’, but of
course, it was the beautiful Brimstone. From that
shaky start, we joined ‘Butterfly Conservation’
when it started, and then entered into a completely
different world. The enjoyment to even recognise a
Butterfly and put a name to it is good. But when you
start to learn about its life, then that is great!
Brimstone
means butter, it is usually the first butterfly to
be seen as a harbinger of spring.
There
is no need to learn all these Latin names to get pleasure
from watching these beautiful insects, but if you
wish to become more involved, there are so many ways
to do just that. The Butterfly Conservation www.hantsiow-butterflies.org.uk
is definitely the best way to start. Every butterfly
season they have outings all over the county and country
with leaders that will tell you each species that
is seen, and show how to recognise them. You will
be taken to the best sites, at the best dates.
We
found that the best way to identify them is to put
them into groups i.e. BLUES/ BROWNS/ COLOUREDS/ WHITES/
SKIPPERS/ FRITILLARIES/ HAIRSTREAKS. There are technical,
posher names for these families, but these will do
for starters.
Coloureds
– these are the most likely seen on our flowers
in the Garden and laying eggs on nettles and you probably
know these - Peacocks/Red Admirals/Small Tortoiseshell/Comma/
and if it’s a good year Painted Lady. But those
that live in wooden areas have to be looked for, such
as White Admiral or Purple Emperor.
Blues
– can easily be sorted out because they are
blue. WRONG, you see nearly all the Females
are brown (the female Holly Blue & Large Blue
are blue, and the male and female of the Brown
Argus are brown). Confusing isn’t it, but the
food plant gives a good clue as to which blue we are
looking at, this applies to nearly all the other species
of butterfly as well. If flying high, the food is
high, (Holly) – Holly Blue. Kidney Vetch - Small
Blue, Birds foot Trefoil – Common Blue, Horseshoe
Vetch – Adonis or Chalkhill Blue, and so on.
This may be oversimplifying it a bit, but it’s
a good place to start.
Browns - The most numerous Butterflies on the
wing. The only confusing one is the Marbled White,
which should be called Marbled Brown! Ringlets lay
their eggs on the wing just like bombs.
Whites –
of course they go on cabbages don’t they! There
are more than the Large and Small Whites, the Green
Veined for a start, which is often mistaken for a
small White but can be told apart by the green lines
on the under side of its wings, also there is the
Brimstone /Orange Tip and if we are very lucky the
Clouded Yellow, if they manage to make the flight
from Africa to there shores.
OK
have we given you a little but of incentive to fine
out more of these wonderful creatures? If we have
why not contact us, or study them in books (not the
same is it).
Have
you noticed I haven’t even touched the Fritillary/
Small Copper/ Skippers/Hairstreaks/and of course the
fascinating Duke of Burgundy. It is a fascinating
subject. They are not just beautiful, their life stories
beguile us, such as the connections between the 'blues'
and ants, so start looking and learning.
You
will discover that apart from some of the exceptions
mentioned above, most British butterflies are easy
to distinguish. Appearances can be quite marked, they
are on the wing at specific times, they go for individual
plants. If you join Butterfly Conservation, they will
inform you of all the sites, and you will be making
a direct contribution to conservation.
Good hunting.
Peter
Gardner
0870
7744309
www.butterfly-conservation.org
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