I read the news today - over ten million Painted Lady butterflies
are winging their way to the UK. Until the Buddleia starts flowering in my
garden I’m happy watching the Speckled Wood as they dart and dance together
over the garden before separating and settling momentarily. My first butterfly
sighting in January was a Tortoiseshell which I disturbed when cleaning the downstairs
loo. It settled on the window sill and remained dormant until late April, which
I am sad to say was when it died. To date in my garden or on my walks I have
seen ten Speckled Wood, ten White, three Orange Tip, four Common Blue, one Peacock,
five Brimstone and a Small Heath plus a Silver Line Moth, Speckled Yellow Moth
and finally a huge Drinker Moth caterpillar. When my Buddleia and Hydrangea are
in full bloom in July, they are normally covered in Red Admiral, Peacock and
Tortoiseshell but I will be watching out for those Painted Ladies and hope for
the return of a seldom seen Clouded Yellow or Fritillary. Spotting them is easy,
photographing them, however, is quite different. Get too close and your shadow
and the lens scares them away, annoyingly not too far away, normally on the
next flower. I now use a long lens with an extension tube so they don’t know
I’m there. Here is a photo of a Speckled Wood taken a couple of days ago. It
rested for quite a time on the fresh new leaves of the Rhododendron,
conveniently opening and closing its wings as if posing for the shot. I wish
they were all so accommodating. “Fleeting encounters, lasting memories” was just one of the aptly descriptive
quotes on a wonderful Radio 4 programme presented by Brett Westwood, who you may have
just seen on BBC Springwatch Extra. The programme, Natural Histories, Butterflies, depicts how butterflies have
enthralled and influenced people throughout history.
Speckled Wood Photo Pat Adams (All rights reserved)
Drinker Moth Caterpillar Photo copyright Pat Adams (All rights reserved)
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- Brett Westwood is a radio presenter and author, specialising in natural history.
- Wikipedia Stub https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_WestwoodI
- Butterflies Natural Histories http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05w99rp
- Butterfly enthusiasts should also visit The ButterflyConservation UK website for information or help with identifying species.
- Read all about it http://www.northdevonjournal.co.uk/11-million-painted-lady-butterflies-set-UK/story-26705200-detail/story.html
- North Devon AONB News
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