Bumper Butterfly Haul

I did my 7th butterfly transect of the year last Monday, the 22nd of July. The recent hot weather has really brought the butterflies out and in comparison to last year it really is turning out to be a fantastic year. It seemed I was constantly adding more insects to my tally as I walked down the grove, with the majority being whites, which caused much ID confusion, but I tried my best to seperate the smalls from the green-veins.

I ended up with 208 butterflies of 12 species, which is more than double my best on last year. There must have been a mass emergence of whites, as there was always some flying down the path, and more feeding and mating in the hedges and on the woodland edge. The large whites were simple enough to ID, being easily compared to their smaller cousins, which while flying were a lot harder to seperate. On the most part I could ID them on the wing as they usually landed eventually but there were a lot I was unsure of.

It surprised me just how many green-veined whites there were, with 32 counted along the transect. I always thought these were a lot scarcer than the others but it seems they are doing quite well up here. I managed to get some good views of them, including a pair in copulation.

Green-veined Whites 

It was nice to get some good views of small whites too, which when at rest have a delicate beauty about them, with lemony yellow underwings. Such a common and familiar butterfly is often overlooked but I have really come to appreciate them.

Small White

Once again, ringlets were very common and must have been at their peak with 74 individuals noted, gently bobbing between the grass stems and quietly sitting amongst the brambles. Meadow browns were less abundant, and only a handful of Gatekeepers were seen, but i think their numbers should swell soon.

Skippers were present again in small numbers, with just Small and Large being seen, I've yet to record Essex skipper but I keep checking those antennae. Both species are great to observe, with the small skippers generally being seen greedily hopping between thistle flower heads, while the large skippers I've seen have been sitting on low grasses, defending their territory jealously.

Large Skipper

Red admirals also seem to have just emerged too as they have suddenly reappeared from nowhere, while small numbers of small tortoiseshell and commas were also observed. I've seen loads of peacock caterpillars in the last few weeks, and so I am expecting an emergence of these when I survey the area this week. Indeed, over the last few days there has been good numbers seen at other sites, especially on Buddleia, which is now in full bloom too. Good timing on the butterflies part, is it a coincidence???

Small tortoiseshell