Welcome to Dave McCormick's Moth and Butterfly World. Here is our weekly reports on what I have seen every week when I have been out and about. This report is for August 2009.

August 2009

Report

2nd: Weather did not look good at first, but it got warmer and brighter by mid afternoon and then the butterflies came out, and I have never seen so many in the wild. I left the garden and as soon as I did, my dad saw a Holly Blue land on the buddleia in the garden (Map Reference: J559699). Then I went to Mountstewart Gardens and could not believe the amount of butterflies that were around the buddleia bushes there. Here is a list of what I saw:

50+ Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) There was so many, I gave up counting.
50+ Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) There was so many, I gave up counting.
30+ Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) Glad to see numbers up again.
1 Peacock (Inachis io)
1 Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) Subspecies iernes Male.
4+ Small Whites (Pieris rapae)
3 Large White (Pieris brassicae)
2 Green Veined Whites (Pieris napi)

Here is some of the photos I got today, first the buddleia bushes that the butterflies were swarming around, along with honey/bumble bees and hoverflies:

3 Sweetly smelling buddleia. Click to see larger image.

Buddleia up close. Click to see larger image

There were numerous butterflies around the leaf litter of the buddleia, here is two images, one of a Peacock (Inachis io) and Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) and second is of two Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui).

1 Peacock (Inachis io) and 1 Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
Click to see larger image.

2 Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui). Click to see larger image

I am wondering about this one, could there be another brood coming or is this one not swollen with eggs like I think?

1 Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui). Possibly abdomen swollen with eggs?
Click to see larger image

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) Subspecies iernes Male and a hoverfly.
Click to see larger image

Green Veined Whites (Pieris napi) Male, feeding on thistle. Click to see larger image

Green Veined Whites (Pieris napi) Male, feeding on Common Self-heal.
Click to see larger image

Finally when I got home, I found a Marbled Beauty Moth (Cryphia domestica) on window. Pretty productive day. The best sight was the Small Tortoiseshell numbers. Even though there are  Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui) in their hundreds in the UK, remember, these are not native, they are migrants. Its the native species that are more important and glad to see they are doing better than last month.

3rd: Rain came so there was not much about. Only 1 Green Veined Whites (Pieris napi), 1 Small Whites (Pieris rapae) and 1 Large White (Pieris brassicae) in my garden (Map Reference: J559699)

4th: I went to Mountstewart Gardens and saw a few butterflies that were around the buddleia bushes there.

Peacock (Inachis io) Underside. Click to see larger image

Here is a list of what I saw:

5 Peacock (Inachis io)
2 Male Green Veined Whites (Pieris napi)
4 Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
40+ Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta)
1 Female Large White (Pieris brassicae)

5th: I went to a abandoned house beside a pine forest in Mountstewart. There was a few things flying as the weather was warm and sunny at times. The Green-Veined Whites were all feeding on bramble blossom at the back of the abandoned house, beside the pine forest.

Green Veined Whites (Pieris napi) Male, feeding on Bramble Blossom. Click to see larger image

Peacock (Inachis io) feeding on thistle flower. Click to see larger image

Here is a list of what I saw:

20+ Large White (Pieris brassicae) (one mating pair)
15 Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui)
6 Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
1 worn looking Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
3 Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta)
Several Green Veined Whites (Pieris napi) (One Male)
2 Peacock (Inachis io) (May have been more around though)

11th: Pretty poor day overall, lots of rain. But I did go to Mountstewart gardens in morning and the weather was hot and humid, but cloudy. Saw about 20 Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui), 2 Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) and 1 Peacock (Inachis io). The Painted Ladies were very easy to get close to, so I was able to get these two shots of them:

Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui) Antennae. Click to see larger image

Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui) Wing scales of upperwing upperside. Click to see larger image

12th: Went on a bicycle ride and found 2 Holly Blue. Been looking for them for a while now and glad to find them. Here is what I saw:

2 Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (Each one at different locations in Mountstewart, one was high up in bramble bush and other was closer to the ground)

1 Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) - Resting near the Holly Blue that was high up in bramble.

Several Large White (Pieris brassicae) (Two female)

4 Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) (Surprised there was not more, usually see more in this area)

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) Female - Found coming home (Map Reference: J559699) Here is the same female below, feeding on Bramble Blossom. Click each image to see larger images.

Page last edited: 13/08/2009 14:42