The Big Butterfly Count is almost upon us, when we’re asked to note down the butterflies and day-flying moths we see over three weeks in summer.
Data should be sent to Butterfly Conservation (butterfly-conservation.org), the charity dedicated to saving these beautiful insects. Here is a rundown of some interesting butterflies and moths you may see this summer and where you are most likely to find them.
Ringlet
When it’s newly emerged, the ringlet has a velvety appearance and is almost black, with a white fringe to the wings.
The distinctive circles on the underwings, which give the butterfly its name, vary in number and size and may be enlarged and elongated or, rarely, reduced to small white spots.
This butterfly loves damp conditions with long grass and nectars on bramble and wild privet flowers. Caterpillars eat wild grasses, including cock’s-foot, false brome and tufted hair-grass, so by creating a mini-meadow or leaving some grass to grow long in your garden you may encourage the butterfly to breed. Keep an eye out at riverbanks, verges and any shady grassy habitats, particularly on clay soil.
While most other butterflies remain inactive on dull days, the ringlet doesn’t. You can spot it by its characteristic bobbing flight. It’s found across much of the UK and has become much more widespread in Scotland in recent decades.
Small Copper
They might be small but these butterflies have a big attitude. The males are territorial and will choose a patch of warm stone or bare ground on which to bask and wait for a female. They will chase away any passing insect which gets too close before returning to their chosen spot.
Though it remains a common and widespread species in most parts of the UK, the number of small coppers has declined by over a third in Scotland since the 1970s.
You can look for them in a variety of warm and dry places, from chalk grassland to woodland clearings and heathland. They also appear on road verges, field margins and brownfield sites and occasionally visit gardens.
Their caterpillars feed on wild sorrels, which are the smaller relatives of the docks that people use to relieve nettle stings.
The upper sides of the wings have distinctive bright orange and black markings.
And don’t forget moths...
Six-spot burnet
Did you know that there are many day-flying moths as well as nocturnal species?
This dazzling black and scarlet moth has a slow, buzzing flight and is active on warm, sunny days.
It’s attracted to a range of flowers, especially purple blooms including thistles, knapweeds and scabious. Its caterpillars feed on common bird’s-foot trefoil, from which they obtain cyanide to protect themselves from predators – the striking colours of the adult moths also serve as a warning to anything that might eat them.
The best places to spot these are flowery grasslands including those near sea cliffs in the Outer Hebrides and woodland rides, roadside verges and sand dunes. This is the only UK species with six red spots on each forewing.
Marbled white
Easy to identify because of its monochrome black and white markings, these butterflies appear in areas of rough grassland and southern downland. To tempt them into your garden, plant some purple flowers such as wild marjoram, field scabious, thistles and knapweeds. The marbled white had an amazing year in 2019, with the highest numbers on record in England, and its range is extending towards the Border.
The Big Butterfly Count runs from July 17 to August 9, visit bigbutterflycount.org.
Hannah Stephenson
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