Elephant Hawk-moth, Another 'Garden First'

 

© David Gill 2024

 

Some years ago we were delighted to find an Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar very close to our home. This afternoon we discovered an adult moth in our long grass, in close proximity to the anthill where we found the Slow worm only yesterday. Another entry for our home patch list of species.

 

My photo ... to give an impression of the long grass location

 

Larval stage, my photo taken close to home, 2021

 

Her Majesty, The Queen of Spain Fritillary

 

Well, what a surprise! 

I am delighted to say that I have added a new butterfly to my 'lifer list', this female Queen of Spain Fritillary. Our sighting has been confirmed by local Butterfly Conservation recorders at a time when one or two of these magnificent insects have reached our shores, almost certainly due to the strong winds. 

These butterflies have very distinctive pearl-like patches (specula and lunettes) on the underside of their wings, as you can make out in David's photographs below. 

This website gives a helpful indication of the butterfly's rare status here in England.

 

Photo credit: David Gill

Photo credit: David Gill

We stood transfixed and mesmerised as the butterfly rested, fluttered, moved from a Buddleia to (what I think is) a Brachyglottis, crossed paths with a Red Admiral and disappeared. 

This butterfly, named by Linnaeus in 1758, belongs to the family of Nymphalidae (which includes Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Purple Emperor and quite a number of other species), commonly referred to as brush-footed butterflies due to vestigial forelegs that cannot be used for walking, unlike the mid- and hind-legs.

The name 'fritillary' comes, it seems, from the Greek word φιμός, via a Latin word (fritillus). It seems to be associated with the familiar chequered design of a chess or draughts board. You will recall the square patterns on the purple petals of the spring flower, Snakeshead Fritillary. You can find more about the name here. 

 

showing the curled proboscis ...

At some point I should post photos of all the species I have seen in the UK, but here's a list for now ...

• Brimstone
• Brown Argus
• Clouded Yellow
• Comma
• Common Blue
• Essex Skipper
• Gatekeeper
• Grayling
• Green Hairstreak
• Green-veined White
• Holly Blue
• Large Skipper
• Large White
• Marbled White
• Meadow Brown
• Northern Brown Argus
• Orange-tip
• Painted Lady
• Peacock
• Pearl-bordered Fritillary
• Purple Emperor
• Purple Hairstreak
• Queen of Spain Fritillary (migrant)
  
• Red Admiral
• Ringlet
• Silver-studded Blue
• Silver-washed Fritillary
• Small Copper
• Small Heath
• Small Skipper
• Small Tortoiseshell
• Small White
• Speckled Wood
• Swallowtail
• Wall
• White Admiral
• White-letter Hairstreak

Cocoon and Casing

A few days ago David and I discovered a stretch of heathland on Hollesley Common in Suffolk that we had yet to explore. We came across this extraordinary 'sac' on a clump of gorse, and wondered what it might be. It seemed more 'animal' than 'vegetable', so to speak. Had it been made by a spider or a sand-wasp? 

I posted a couple of photos on the iSpot site, and it wasn't long before the mystery was solved ... it's the cocoon of a moth I have been longing to see, the Emperor (Saturnia pavonia). I imagine the second part of its name, pavonia, refers to the peacock-like eye markings on the adult's wing.   

We returned to the spot this afternoon in glorious sunshine. The cocooon was looking rather bleached, but we were able to put David's measuring card alongside it; each black or white square is 1cm, so you can see it is about 3cm in length. 

* * *

I have been fascinated for a couple of years now by the 'Bagworm' and particularly by the casings these Common Sweep  (Psyche casta) moths leave on our brickwork or on our flowers. Usually all I have seen are the casings, but this week I actually saw the larva for the first time, as shown in the two photos immediately below. 

Nature certainly comes in all shapes and sizes! 

 

A New Butterfly Season

 

I always look forward to the start of what I might call the 'UK butterfly season', and it was a joy to see this Peacock in one of our wild 'borders' last week. 

I like to take part in the Butterfly Conservation 'Garden Butterfly Survey', which has been re-vamped for the new season. 

David and I both decided to submit three photos for the Suffolk branch of Butterfly Conservation's photographic competition this year. Our photographs were not among the top three winning ones, but do take a look here at those that were. Don't forget to scroll down when you are on the page so that you can see the detail in the full-size entries.

A Garden Surprise of the Green-Winged Kind

 

I was thrilled to find what I think is a Fairy Longhorn Moth from the family Adelidae in our garden yesterday. We usually have a few each year; they are such fascinating insects. 

 

I was also keeping an eye out for butterflies yesterday afternoon when I thought I saw what at first seemed to be a 'metallic moth' with iridescent outer wings. I was a good few metres away and reliant on my camera's 30x zoom. It seemed worth a go, though by then I was shooting blind into the Euonymus leaves you see below. I blew the picture up today, and while the quality is poor, I think you will agree that there is a Green Hairstreak lurking in the photo. I am particularly delighted as this is a species I have only encountered about four times before, and now I have three garden records and another butterfly to add to my Garden Butterfly Survey list.  

 

 

 

Small Butterflies at Sutton Hoo (and a Holly Blue in the Garden)

There were a few butterflies fluttering about at Sutton Hoo, but not in the numbers we had hoped to see. We watched a couple of skittish Speckled Woods, but they didn't pause for the camera. However, Small Coppers always put on a good show despite their tiny size, and there were several about, some of them flying in pairs.  

There were no tours round the royal burial mounds, which surprised us on a sunny afternoon, but it was lovely to see the trees back in leaf and blossom. 

We had a good view of Woodbridge over the river Deben. You can see all the dandelion clocks in the foreground. 

The soil at Sutton Hoo is sandy, and this suits a butterfly that is even smaller, I believe, than the Small Copper, namely the Small Heath. We noticed a few of these exquisite creatures. In some ways the Small Heath resembles the Gatekeeper, but it is much smaller and has one white spot on each forewing instead of a pair. 

The Small Copper below looked rather ragged, but perhaps most of the 'marks' are grains of sand as I suspect the adult butterfly had only recently emerged. 

 It was a joy to hear and watch a couple of Skylarks.

*

21 May 2018

Having enjoyed sightings of the Small Copper and Small Heath at NT Sutton Hoo, it was lovely to find a Holly Blue in our own garden - and one that actually stopped to perch for a few seconds.  

If you are in the UK, you might like to vote for your iconic insect on the BugLife site here. I was torn between two in the England list!

NT Wicken Fen - Butterflies

Speckled Wood, Wicken Fen Butterfly Trail, 21 April 2018

Well, here at long last is a photo from me!

I have been away on my travels to the Isle of Wight (of which more in a future post), and have been catching up with deadlines since my return. But on Saturday the sun shone and we were lured over to a favourite haunt, NT Wicken Fen near Ely.

I only wish I had been able to take more butterfly photos as, to our delight, we saw the following species:

1] Peacock
2] Orange Tip
3] Brimstone
4] Comma
5] Small Tortoiseshell
6] (Almost certainly a) Holly Blue

The Comma rested with closed wings for a while, but nearly all the butterflies were on the move and very tricky to photograph. I shall post some old photos of these species at the end for those of you who live in places where the species are different.

But first, here is the Comma in a picture taken yesterday (and you can see the white comma):

The biggest surprise was the number of Brimstones on the wing, probably more at one time and in one place than I have seen in my whole life before. It was thrilling to rest on a bench in the Butterfly Trail and just enjoy the flutter of bright yellow and deep cream wings as the insects moved around the foliage.

Butterflies were the predominant creatures on our walk, but they were not the only kind of wildlife by any means. We saw a Muntjac deer, a couple of newts, a Seven-spot Ladybird and lots of water snails. There were two of these ?worms (or worm casts) in the water: I have not been able to ID them yet. And we heard our first 2018 Cuckoo.

I imagine this is a fungus, perhaps of the puffball variety.

I have posted pictures of this ruin before, assuming it was a pumping station or building linked to drainage and water levels: this time there was a sign, proving that my hunch had been entirely incorrect...

The photo below reminds me that after such a long harsh winter, it will soon be dragonfly season ...

The photo below shows a section of my favourite boardwalk, 

with the windpump to the left ...

... and the visitors' centre to the right.

The views of flat fenland seemed wider than ever 

because the reeds were still fairly short, 

so we could see for miles. 

Live and let live? Or is the spider sizing up the ladybird?

Burgeoning spring ... at long last.

It took us a bit of time to get our eye in, but we eventually noticed some movement and linked it to  what I take to be a Caddisfly larva. The peaty water was dark, and seemed especially so in the bright sunshine, so I have ringed the creature in yellow.

There was some movement and this photo was taken a minute or so later.

------------

The butterfly photos below

are OLD PHOTOS,

but they show the butterflies I failed to catch on camera on Saturday.

1] Peacock

2] Orange Tip

3] Brimstone

5] Small Tortoiseshell

6] (Almost certainly a) Holly Blue

And, as mentioned, we also saw the Speckled Wood (picture at top of this post) and the Comma (also pictured earlier in this post, with closed wings; and shown below with open wings in an old photo). 

How lovely to feel that we have well and truly entered the butterfly season. 

Can you help Butterfly Conservation with their first sightings list for 2018?

My Photos of (Largely UK) Butterfly Species

I have decided to post a number of my butterfly photographs, taken mainly during the last decade. My challenge to myself was to see how many I could find in my photo library, and in particular, how many species I could represent.

I shall begin with Swallowtails or Papilionidae.

Sadly I have not seen an adult Swallowtail in the UK. I have seen a few larvae at Hickling Broad in Norfolk (I hope I may do a post on caterpillars at a later stage). My Swallowtail photograph was taken in the western Peloponnese in Greece in 2010. I suspect the butterfly in the photo is not quite the same as our UK Swallowtails, so I will not count it as my first UK species. But here it is...

Papilio machaon (Peloponnese, Greece, 2010)

Moving on, we come to ...

Skippers or Hesperiidae

I find Skippers can be difficult to identify: please let me know in the comments if you notice an error!

[1] Small Skipper - Thymelicus sylvestris

Thymelicus sylvestris, Flatford RSPB Garden, 2016

As above...

[2] Large Skipper - Ochlodes sylvanus

Ochlodes sylvanus, NT Wicken Fen Butterfly Walk, 2016

Next on my list...

Whites and Yellows, known as Pieridae...

[3] Brimstone - Gonepteryx rhamni

 Gonepteryx rhamni, NT Wicken Fen, 2017

Gonepteryx rhamni, NT Wicken Fen, 2017

[4] Clouded Yellow - Colias croceus

 Colias croceus, Slebech, Pembrokeshire, 2008

[5] Green-veined White - Pieris napi

Pieris napi, Flatford, Suffolk, 2017

[6] Large White - Pieris brassicae

I'm sure I do have photos somewhere, but all I can found for now are the eggs on my nasturtiums...

Eggs, Pieris brassicae, 2015

[7 Small White - Pieris rapae

Pieris rapae, South Wales, 2008

[8] Orange Tip - Anthocharis cardamines

Anthocharis cardamines, Cley-next-the-Sea, 2017

Browns, Fritillaries, Aristocrats, known as Nymphalidae ...

[9] Comma - Polygonia c-album

Polygonia c-album. You can see the white 'comma' on the back underwing

Polygonia c-album in Essex, 2016

[10]  Gatekeeper, aka Hedge Brown - Pyronia tithonus

Pyronia tithonus - NT Sutton Hoo, 2017

[11] Grayling - Hipparchia semele

Hipparchia semele

Hipparchia semele

Hipparchia semele, NT Dunwich Heath, 2015

[12] Meadow Brown - Maniola jurtina

Maniola jurtina, NT Dunwich Heath, 2016

Maniola jurtina, NT Wicken Fen, 2015

[13] Painted Lady - Vanessa cardui

Vanessa cardui, showing underwing (to some extent)

Vanessa cardui- wings fully open

[14] Peacock - Aglais io

Aglais io, home patch, 2014

[15] Purple Emperor (female - I have yet to see a male) - Apatura iris

Apatura iris - Gloucestershire, 2014

Apatura iris

[16] Red Admiral - Vanessa atalanta

Vanessa atalanta - Essex, 2016

Underwing of Vanessa atalanta

[17] Ringlet - Aphantopus hyperantus

Aphantopus hyperantus at NT Wicken Fen, 2014

[18] Small Heath - Coenonympha pamphilus

Coenonympha pamphilus - NT Sutton Hoo, 2013

[19] Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (I think...)

I believe this is the only Fritillary I have seen to date.

Boloria selene - Inner Hebrides, 2013

Boloria selene

[20] Small Tortoiseshell - Aglais urticae

Aglais urticae, South Wales, 2009

[21] Speckled Wood - Pararge aegeria

Pararge aegeria, NT Wicken Fen, 2016

I have yet to see a Duke of Burgundy, so I have no photo for Metalmarks, known as Riodinidae

Moving on, we come to Lycaenidae, with Coppers, Hairstreaks and Blues.

[22] Common Blue - Polyommatus icarus

Polyommatus icarus, South Wales, 2009

Polyommatus icarus, South Wales, 2009

Polyommatus icarus, South Wales, 2009

[23] Holly Blue - Celastrina argiolus

Celastrina argiolus, on a type of (prickle-free) holly, home patch, 2016

 [24] Green Hairstreak - Callophrys rubi

The only one I have ever seen...

Callophrys rubi, Suffolk, 2012

 [25] White-letter Hairstreak

Again, only the one...

 Satyrium w-album, Suffolk, July 2017

 Satyrium w-album - as above

[26] Small Copper - Lycaena phlaeas

Lycaena phlaeas, RSPB Minsmere, 2017

Lycaena phlaeas

* * *

I suspect it is unlikely that I will add any more new species to this 2007 - 2017 list as autumn is approaching. However, I am pleasantly surprised at my count to date. All the photographs in this post were taken (by me) in the last ten years. We moved from Wales to Suffolk six years ago, and at that time I began to harbour a desire, as yet unfulfilled, to see a Swallowtail in the wild in the UK. Since our move, it would be true to say that I have kept an eye out for butterflies, though often on a casual basis. I feel sure I have a photograph of an adult Large White, but so far it eludes me. I will add it in if I find it or see one of these butterflies on the wing.

I am a butterfly-lover but very much a novice when it comes to identification and many other aspects of the butterfly world. If you see a mistake in this post, it would be much appreciated if you would drop a line in the Comments below. My next paragraph has been pasted from a previous post, but in case you missed it...

I have been paying particular attention to butterflies this year as a result of reading two fascinating books...

• In Pursuit of Butterflies: a Fifty Year Affair by Matthew Oates
• The Butterfly Isles: a Summer in Search of our Emperors and Admirals by Patrick Barkham

There is a good list of British butterflies here (which includes a few migrants). 

The only other butterflies in my personal photo library are the two you see below, photographed in the Peloponnese along with the Swallowtail at the top of my post. 

I *believe* this next butterfly is a Plain Tiger or African Monarch (Danaus chrysippus). There is a lovely one here in among the photos of lizards.

Danaus chrysippus, 2010 - Greece

Danaus chrysippus - 2010, Greece

The other butterfly seen in Greece in the Methoni area of the Peloponnese appears below. I believe it may be a Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus, but I'm not sure which one).

 

I hope at some point to post a list of the butterfly larvae (and moths, or perhaps initially the day-flying ones) I have photographed in the UK between 2007 and 2017. But to end with, here is a see-at-a-glance list of the butterflies mentioned in this post.

[1]   Small Skipper

[2]   Large Skipper

[3]   Brimstone

[4]   Clouded Yellow

[5]   Green-veined White

[6]   Large White

[7]   Small White

[8]   Orange Tip

[9]   Comma

[10] Gatekeeper

[11] Grayling

[12] Meadow (or Hedge) Brown

[13] Painted Lady

[14] Peacock

[15] Purple Emperor (delighted to see this news report...)

[16] Red Admiral

[17] Ringlet

[18] Small Heath

[19] Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

[20] Small Tortoiseshell

[21] Speckled Wood

[22] Common Blue

[23] Holly Blue

[24] Green Hairstreak

[25] White-letter Hairstreak

[26] Small Copper