Saturday 7 April 2012

Recent Butterfly Sightings.

Like many other wildlife watchers, here in the UK, the mild and dry late winter and early spring weather has prompted the early first flights of various butterfly species. Here are just a few that I have seen fluttering both through my garden and during various walks over the past few weeks. 

 The Brimstone (Gonepterys rhamni) resting just above the leaf litter.

 The Comma (Polygonia c-album) collecting some moisture from a muddy patch close to a stream.

I have been seeing lots of male Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) in the past few days but they were constantly patrolling their territories and rarely stopped to rest. The females are generally much more secretive but I located one hunting for some nectar from the few Violets blooming in a hedgerow and whilst it was difficult to get an uninterrupted view she did perch just long enough for a couple of quick snaps.

 The above image does at least show some of the beautiful green-marbled under wing pattern.

And last, but not least, the Peacock (Inachis io) who for some reason can often be found sunning itself on an old piece of a discarded plastic bag.

During a recent patch walk I spotted another small winged object fluttering around the vegetation surrounding a small stagnant pool. I gained the impression that it reminded me of a Skipper due to its orange-brown underwing but was obviously a day flying Moth ..... but which one?
It settled briefly on the leaves of reed mace just a few inches above the water but constantly moved its location and I had a devil of a job to relocate it but eventually managed a passable  shot. 
Thanks to Dean I now know this is a Light Orange Underwing (Archiearis notha) which flies from March to April and favours Aspen in open woodland, of which there is some nearby.     FAB.

19 comments:

  1. Such lovely shots!

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  2. Spring has found its way to you. So glad to see all these butterflies out and about. Happy Easter Frank. Carol

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  3. Wonderful images Frank.
    Brimstones here in good numbers but I haven't got close to one yet.

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  4. They are all different than what we get in Canada Im sure. Gorgeous images

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  5. Nice series, Frank. I have seen a few butterflies and moths out and about here in Minnesota, but no opportunity for photos just yet. Good to see yours. :-)

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  6. lovely. we have lots of white ones here this year - i've not seen them in this multitude before. will have to research more...

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  7. Lovely photos Frank. The only one I have seen out of all those so far this year is the Peacock. Last year I saw a Brimstone in February. I did photograph my first Small Tort of the year in early March this year though which was quite a surprise! I just hope this cold snap isn't detrimental, it was a bad Summer here for butterflies last year.

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  8. Nice captures! I have such a hard time getting pictures of butterflies.

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  9. The Brimstone is striking because of the vivid green color....just like a leaf.

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  10. Beautiful captures. I love butterflies and these are really quite something. Glad you got some help identifying your day-flying moth.

    Can't wait until we start seeing these too.

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  11. a nice collection of butterflies, and moth there Frank; I like that first one!

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  12. Very impressive captures there. I too have had a few firsts in the form of Butterfly sightings and UK wide Butterfly Conservation had reported 18 differing species in flight by the start of April.

    Kind Regards

    Tony Powell

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  13. Lovely series of shots, Frank. So good to see them back.

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  14. A pleasant Sunday morning read. We're just a few weeks behind you. No butterflies yet...but this gets me inspired.

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  15. Glad to be able to help with the LOU id, Frank.

    Cracking Brimstone shot.

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  16. You did a great job capturing all these beauties!

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  17. Haven't seen any flutters since those few really hot days.

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  18. Hi Everyone.

    Delighted you enjoyed the early flutter sightings. Regretfully the drop in temperatures over the past few days seems to have sent many of them around here back to sleep!

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I hope you enjoyed your visit and I always appreciate your comments and feedback.

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