The early April sun and rising temps of last week brought out loads of butterflies. We spent a good couple of hours just in the garden seeing what arrived – and we had two nice little surprises!
The first butterfly we saw was the ‘Peacock’ probably the most common of the ‘early risers’ that are out and about on the wing at the very first sign of spring.
The Peacock (Inachis io) is easily recognised with the striking ‘peacock feather’ eyespot markings on its wings, these are designed to frighten predators. Males and females are similar in markings, but the female is slightly larger with a wingspan between 65 and 75mm. The underside of the wing is dull brown with a feint pattern.
There is usually one generation of Peacocks in a year. The males are very territorial, setting up their ‘home patch’ on the edge of wooded areas when they emerge from hibernation in the spring. They will chase off rival males quite aggressively and pursue and ambush passing females. After the butterflies mate the eggs are laid on stinging nettles. They soon hatch into little black, spiny caterpillars up to 40mm long. By May last years adults will have ‘popped their clogs’ but before doing so have given rise to a new generation. These caterpillars will pupate in July and the new adults emerge shortly after. They can be seen drinking the nectar of many plants, especially Buddleja, Hebe and Sedum. In September when the weather starts to cool they get ready go into hibernation to avoid the winter weather.
Next was a Brimstone - According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘butterfly’ has been in common usage since well before William the Conqueror turned up on our shores. It possibly originated from the brimstone, which with its bright yellow colouring does look like ‘flying butter’ or even a ‘buttered fly’ or probably a ‘buttered coloured fly’!!! The bright, rich ‘butter’ yellow of the male Brimstone cannot be confused with any other UK butterfly. The female on the other hand, is a very pale yellow, nearly white in colour and can easily be confused at a distance for a large white. The very distinctive shape of the Brimstone and the intricate veining of the wings make it a remarkably beautiful and graceful butterfly. The caterpillars are dependent on leaves of buckthorn and alder buckthorn so these are good trees to plant in your garden or hedge if you want to attract them.
Butterflies are probably our most popular insects and usually welcome visitors to our gardens with their brightly coloured wings. They are also excellent environmental indicators as their presence or absence provides useful information about the state of the local environment. Butterflies are also important pollinators of many plants, and their caterpillars also provide food for birds and other animals.
The application of fertilisers on grasslands strongly affects the species that are able to grow; this often excludes our native wild flowers, which are unable to compete. As a result, food and nectar plants are lost. Unfortunately pesticides and insecticides that are used to remove undesirable insects often also have an impact on caterpillars or butterflies. In total, 51 of the UK's 59 species declined in 2024 compared to 2023, with just six species showing any increase.