Butterfly Islands: August

Showing posts with label August. Show all posts

Saturday 12 August 2023

A Day Moth & a Night Moth.

I am not into moths but today this Garden Tiger Moth was seen resting at the base of my garage wall. It is such a handsome creature that it deserves a post on this blog. It is of course a night flying moth unlike the other photo which shows a Jersey Tiger Moth feeding on Hemp-agrimony. This species of Day flying moth is quite common here in July and August.

Tuesday 27 June 2023

Early Return for the Long-tailed Blue.

I have never seen the Long-tailed Blue in the UK earlier than late August,so it was a surprise to have this female in my garden this morning. She took some time investigating the Everlasting pea plants which have a prolific number of flower buds, and now and again would egg lay on the new buds.

Monday 4 November 2019

Top Highlight of 2019.

Without doubt the highlight of the 2019 season was the sight of the Brown Hairstreak at Shipton Bellinger in August,although the all but brief encounter with a female Long-tailed Blue in my garden on the 23rd August was a treat.
Several visits to Shipton over the last three years have proved fruitless in my attempt to see the rare and elusive Brown Hairstreak.However this year I was rewarded with multiple sightings as described in my post of the 21st August 2019.
Shipton Bellinger is regarded as the best location to see 'Brownies' in Hampshire.The village stands in the middle of a large area where this hairstreak can be seen, as round about there is suitable habitat of Blackthorn and Ash.My sightings in the summer were along a hedgerow renowned for producing views of the Brown Hairstreak.It is a hedgerow of Blackthorn with plenty of brambles and backed by trees(seen in the photo below).Here behind the hedgerow runs the county boundary with Wiltshire.
Depending on conditions,August is probably the best time to see this butterfly with males normally the first to appear early in the month and followed soon after by the females.Egg-laying then commences in the second half of August and continues until at least mid-September.

Male

Friday 4 September 2015

Sky Blue Adonis Blue.

A long overdue visit to Wheelers Bay at Bonchurch yesterday discovered some late summer colour behind the revetment at the base of the cliffs.Several species of butterfly were feeding on the ample drifts of Red Valerian and other flowering plants. Among them, a single male Adonis Blue splendid in striking sky blue. August and September is the time of the Adonis Blue second emergence of the season on our downland,so this individual is some distance away from his usual habitat on Bonchurch Down.

Thursday 30 July 2015

Something New,Something Blue.

With a report of a probable second brood of Small Blue at a nearby established colony a few days ago,I was at last able to take a look for our smallest butterfly.The weather has been very changeable over recent days but thankfully today the strong wind had abated and we enjoyed some warm sunny periods.It was not long before I came across two mating pairs and although Small Blue colonies tend to be fairly small ,such as this particular one,hopefully a few more butterflies will emerge.

The flight period is from May to late June with an occasional second brood in late July and August.At this location however it is normal for this species to appear in April.

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Hummers.

The Hummingbird Hawkmoth is a summer visitor to the Isle of Wight.Most sightings are made during August and September although it is possible to see this spectacular moth from as early as April to the end of the year.Yesterday at Wheelers Bay,Bonchurch,I had the treat of seeing at least four individuals nectaring on the ample drifts of Red Valerian along the revetment.

Thursday 28 August 2014

A BIG Diversion.

The Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar is probably best seen in the month of August.The adult moth is an elegant pink and olive in colour and is a strong and fast flyer.Strictly speaking the caterpillar should be called a larva as it is the offspring of a moth rather than a butterfly.It is a big larva too and the one I spotted today was at least 4cms in length.

If you have fuchsia plants these will be where they are most likely seen as it munches its way through the foliage.However my Hawk moth larva was found on a pond plant right in the middle of my garden pond.The larva gives its name to the species due to the long trunk like nose,although when the larva senses danger it withdraws the 'trunk' creating a more bulbous head shape.

The Adonis Blue

The Large Tortoiseshell

It seems the general view on the status of the Large Tortoiseshell in Britain is that it is now extinct as a breeding butterfly.
It is a butterfly of woodland edges and hedgerows that abound in willows,elms,and poplars.These trees are used by the adult to lay its eggs and this single brood appears in July and August.The emerging butterfly then hibernates over the winter in log piles and hollow trees until the next spring.
On the Isle of Wight sightings are more often than not made from early March to April.Have these butterflies overwintered on the Island or have they come from the continent where it is common?
Any sightings made in July/August pose the same question.Another explanation could be that captive-bred releases are responsible.Only the discovery of eggs and caterpillars will probably answer these questions.

I can now report that evidence has been found of breeding just along the coast at Portland in Dorset (June 2020) and again at the same location in the summer of 2021.

The Glanville Fritillary

This elegant butterfly is mainly confined to the crumbling undercliffs and chalk downs of the Isle of Wight.It is also found on the Channel Islands and at one or two isolated colonies on the British mainland.In Britain the Glanville Fritillary is at the extreme north-western edge of its range.On the continent it is readily found in flowery habitats.
Around the southern shores of the Isle of Wight the cliffs constantly erode causing them to slip away and provide perfect conditions for new growths of the butterflies laval host plant,Ribwort Plantain.
The eggs are laid to the underside of the leaves of this plant and normally hatch after about three weeks.The resulting caterpillars live together in communal webs spun over the plantain.In the autumn they hibernate and recommence feeding in the spring,eventually dispersing to prepare for pupation.
The adult butterfly is on the wing from May to the end of June with the female being larger than the male.They will feed on,amongst other things, Birds-foot Trefoil and Thrift.

The Wall Brown

On the Isle of Wight in particular,the Wall Brown is a butterfly of field edges,coastal cliffs and dunes,and rabbit-grazed downland.
The male is territorial and spends much of the time patrolling and basking on the ground.
The female,which lacks the males conspicuous dark sex brand across the forewings,is larger.The undersides of both sexes are beautifully cryptic when at rest.
The Wall Brown generally produces two broods a year,the first from late April until late June and the second from mid-July to mid-September.