Thanks to volunteer Phil for his wonderful report and photos featuring just some of our lovely butterflies.
This is the first of a series of articles to highlight the butterflies currently being seen on the reserve and to help less experienced readers to identify the various species.
The timing coincides with Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count, now started and running through to 9th August. This period is well chosen because butterflies are currently at their most numerous on the reserve and bring the whole place to life at a time when our birdlife can seem rather quiet, being largely hidden in the trees and bushes.
At this time of year we have many flowers on the reserve which are a great nectar resource for many insects. As you walk down the Zigzag path from the Visitor Centre yellow flowered ragwort plants are very evident – especially some very tall ones at the bottom of the path – and the round fleabane flowers are starting to come through. Thistles and the similar flowered knapweeds are everywhere, as are brambles.
Butterflies can be seen in most areas of the reserve, particularly around the main trail. Down the Zigzag path try looking for meadow browns, gatekeepers, ringlets and skippers. The west end of Adder Alley where the path narrows between bushes could be good for all these as well as commas. The long grasses between Winpenny and Redstart Corner and then on through the deer gates towards West Mead may be good for marbled white, skippers and common blues. The bushes around the path going down to Nettleys hide have meadow brown, gatekeeper and possibly holly blue while the open grassy bank to the right may also have common blue. Any of paths under trees may have speckled woods, and either Black Wood or the woodland towards the bottom of the path towards Nettley’s may have silver washed fritillary. Various types of white butterfly can be seen almost anywhere as can other common butterflies which can be seen all through the spring and summer months such as red admiral, peacock and small tortoiseshell.
This article concentrates on the typical orange and brown species commonly seen in the hedgerows and path margins around the reserve. It also features a special white species that may be disappearing for the year soon so the chances of seeing one are diminishing fast.
The smallest of our current butterflies are the skippers, and include large, small and Essex skipper. They are typically orange with a little brown and can be seen fluttering in grassland areas, and sometimes taking nectar on thistles, knapweed, ragwort and fleabane. When perched the forewings are held backwards covering the hindwings giving the butterfly a characteristic triangular shape as seen here in these photos of a male and female large skipper, but don’t be fooled by the name as these are small butterflies.
Notice the very dark line across the wings of the male which is absent in the female. These lines are called sex brands.
The small and Essex skippers use the same habitat and at the same time and are extremely difficult to tell apart. You need to look at the butterfly from the front and at the underside of the tips of the antennae and it helps to be able to take a close-up photograph or view through close focusing binoculars. The small skippers show up as brown/orange whereas in the Essex they are jet black. This photo shows an Essex skipper’s antennae.
Here is a similar pose for a small skipper.
This photo is of an Essex skipper seen from above showing the classic triangular shape. The absence of a sex brand across the wings shows this to be a female.
Another class of grassland and hedgerow butterflies might loosely be called “browns”. They include the gatekeeper, sometimes known as a hedge brown, the meadow brown, and the ringlet. These butterflies can often be seen in the open on brambles or other flowers around the main trails. The ringlets have a relatively short flight period and are becoming less numerous now. Gatekeepers are currently out in force. Meadow browns have a long flight period from late May through to early October
The gatekeeper is easiest to identify being an attractive orange with brown edging on the wings.
Note the broad brown patch in the middle of the forewing which is a sex brand denoting this as a male. Apart from the lack of this patch the female looks very similar.
Sometimes the butterflies perch with folded wings when they look rather similar to meadow browns. In this photo however notice that they eye spot in the top corner of the forewing has 2 tiny white dots.
The meadow brown, perhaps the most numerous of our currently flying butterflies, has a similar eye spot with only 1 white dot.
Meadow browns occasionally perch with wings outstretched when it becomes clear that the females have more orange on the forewings.
It is easy when flying to mix up meadow browns and ringlets but the latter are generally a darker brown and have no orange markings. They do have small ring markings on both the under and upper wings.
A very attractive white and black butterfly can be seen in relatively small numbers just now on some parts of the reserve. The marbled white is a beautifully patterned butterfly of grassland. It has a relatively short flight period from late June through into early August. This photo was taken in the long grasses between Winpenny and Redstart Corner and shows a specimen where the black is fading to brown.
These butterflies do very well on chalk grassland sites, including one near my home on the North Downs where the next photo was taken of the attractive underwing pattern.
The peak flight period for these butterflies may have passed, so for the best chance to see one this year it is worth keeping a careful eye out in grassy path margins between Winpenny and West Mead.
In Part 2 I will feature more common white butterflies, some blues and some colourful day flying moths.