Butterflies of the World - Lifecycle, Ecology, Taxonomy, Conservation, Photography, Butterfly Holidays, Photo Galleries, Book Reviews and more.........
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterflies of the British Isles PAGE 3
A gallery of photographs taken by Adrian Hoskins
 
Click here for British butterfly species index
 
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Click on thumbnails to see more photos, and detailed descriptions of the distribution, habitats, lifecycle and behaviour of each illustrated species......
 
Large White
Pieris brassicae
 
There are usually 2 broods of this species in Britain, emerging in May and August. The resident population is supplemented by migrants from Europe, which often arrive in large numbers during the spring and summer. The adult butterflies are highly mobile, covering vast distances and exploring all available habitats in search of their larval foodplants and nectar sources. In spring they will nectar at dandelion, bugle and wood spurge. In summer they strongly favour thistles, knapweeds, marjoram and Buddleia.
Ringlet
Aphantopus hyperantus
 
The Ringlet occurs throughout England, Wales, southern Scotland and Ireland. It breeds mainly in woodlands, where it inhabits rides and glades where the grasses grow tall and lush. It also occurs in small numbers on scrubby grassland, where it occupies damp hollows which have escaped grazing. Ringlets are noted for their characteristic flip-flop flight over short distances, and rarely cover more than a few metres at a time. They are active in warm, but overcast conditions, and will fly even during light rain.
Small Copper
Lycaena phlaeas
 
The Small Copper is found in many habitats including calcareous grassland, heaths, sand dunes, cliff tops, railway embankments, old quarries, sunny woodland rides, meadows and almost anywhere else where the larval foodplants grow. The butterflies tend to be localised within each habitat, breeding in sheltered hollows, or at the bottom of sunny slopes. There are normally 2 or 3 broods per year, depending on locality and weather conditions.
Brown Argus
Aricia agestis
 
In England this species breeds mainly on calcareous grasslands, where the larval foodplant common rockrose grows amongst fine grasses. Many sites are on south facing slopes, and characterised by an abundance of ant-hills on which the foodplant grows. Both sexes nectar at a wide variety of low growing flowers, including daisy, bird's foot trefoil, dandelion, rockrose and marjoram. In late afternoon they roost communally on grass-heads.
Adonis Blue
Lysandra bellargus
 
The Adonis Blue, like most other "blues" is sexually dimorphic - only the males have the beautiful electric blue colouration. Females by comparison are dull chocolate brown, with a dusting of deep blue scales across the basal and median areas of the wings. The extent of the blue dusting varies considerably between individuals of the same population. All females also have a dark discal spot on the forewings, and a row of orange sub-marginal lunules on the hindwings.
Small Skipper
Thymelicus sylvestris
 

Small Skippers are active in sunshine, and have a rapid buzzing flight, "skipping" from flower to flower. Favoured nectar sources include clovers, bird's foot trefoil, vetches, thistles, and ox-eye daisies. In weak or hazy sunshine they often sit on grass blades or stems, basking with their wings held in the typical Hesperiine position. The adults emerge in July, and lay their eggs in groups of 4 or 5, placed in a row within the sheath of stems of grass, nearly always Yorkshire fog.
Essex Skipper
Thymelicus lineola
 
In Britain this species was formerly restricted to Essex and Suffolk, but in the latter part of the 20th century spread rapidly across most of the southern counties of England, via motorway verges. Dispersal was further aided when eggs were inadvertently transported in hay bales. It is very easy to confuse this species with the Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris, with which it often shares it's habitats. The easiest way to tell the species apart is to examine the underside tips of the antennae, which are orange or reddish in sylvestris, but jet black in lineola.
Green-veined White
Pieris napi
 
When seen in flight this species can be confused with the Small White, but while the Green-veined White has a lazy flight, usually fairly close to the ground, the Small White has a stronger and more directional flight pattern, and looks brighter. The Green-veined White is found throughout Britain, except on the Shetland Isles. It occurs in damp sunny situations - woodland rides, riverbanks, ditches bordering hedgerows, and wet meadows.
Small Blue
Cupido minimus
 
The Small Blue is the smallest butterfly found in the UK, and one of the smallest in Europe. The butterflies are usually found in small groups of a dozen or so. Males spend most of their time basking with wings half-open, on grass blades or other low foliage, where they await passing females. The adults emerge in late May and there is usually a partial second brood in August. They lay their pale greyish-blue eggs singly on the flowers of kidney vetch.
Meadow Brown
Maniola jurtina
 
The Meadow Brown is one of the commonest and most widespread species in Britain. It is adapted to a wide range of grassy habitats, being found in the greatest numbers on ungrazed calcareous grasslands, woodland glades and rides, damp heathlands, hay meadows and along hedgerows. In these habitats populations often run into several hundreds or even thousands. This is a single brooded species with a protracted emergence beginning in early June and extending into early September.
Swallowtail
Papilio machaon
 
In Britain the Swallowtail is found only on the fens and broads of north-east Norfolk, where the butterflies emerge in late May and early June. They lay their large brown globular eggs, singly, on the fine leaves of milk parsley. On warm sunny days Swallowtails patrol back and forth along a regular route, fluttering their wings constantly as they nectar at the pink flowers of angelica, knapweeds, marsh thistles, red campion, ragged robin and valerian. This fluttering behaviour is typical of all Papilioninae, wherever they occur in the world.
Glanville Fritillary
Melitaea cinxia
 
Glanville Fritillaries fly rapidly just above the ground, settling to bask periodically on low foliage or bare ground. Males patrol the breeding sites, intercepting all other Glanville Fritillaries of either sex. If a male meets a female that has already mated, she settles amongst low grasses, flutters her wings rapidly, and slightly raises her abdomen as a rejection signal. When a male encounters a virgin female copulation takes place almost immediately without any preliminary courtship, and the pair remain copulated overnight.
Heath Fritillary
Mellicta athalia
 
This species is at the edge of it's range in Britain, and is restricted to a very limited range of habitats. In Kent and Essex the butterflies are confined to a complex of small to medium sized woodlands which are managed as sweet chestnut coppice, with a fairly open canopy of oaks. Here the butterflies breed in small temporary clearings, where the parasitic herb cow wheat ( larval foodplant ) grows in profusion. The sites on Exmoor are entirely different in nature - sheltered hillsides and lightly wooded valley bottoms where cow wheat grows amidst bracken or heather.
Chequered Skipper
Carterocephalus palaemon
 
By the mid-1970's this species had become extinct in England, but it is still a fairly common butterfly in the western Highlands of Scotland, where it was first discovered in 1942. It breeds at warm, sheltered and damp sites where the larval foodplant, purple moor grass, grows in lightly wooded areas. These include sunny glades in oak or birch woodland, lightly wooded gullies on hillsides and mountains, young conifer plantations and scrubby areas on the northern and eastern shores of Lochs. The butterflies emerge in May, and nectar at bugle, dandelion and bluebells.
 
 
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Almost every British and European species of butterfly is declining rapidly in numbers, due in most cases to loss or degradation of habitats.
 
You can help to reverse the decline by supporting conservation organisations which purchase and manage habitats as nature reserves, and which lobby government at local, national and international levels, often very successfully, to bring about changes in farming, forestry and urban development policies.
 
Please contact the conservation organisations for advice on how you can help protect British and European butterflies and their habitats. You may be able to offer practical help e.g. by monitoring butterfly populations or helping to manage nature reserves. Donations to these organisations enable them to employ ecologists and biologists. Even if you are unable to provide such help, merely having your name on the membership list can be a powerful tool for conservation organisations wishing to demonstrate the levels of support they have for their policies.

 
 
Related subjects :
 
History of the common names of British butterflies.
Habitats in Britain - conservation and management of butterfly habitats.
Species Index - quickly locate articles and photos of British butterflies.
Conservation organisations in Britain.
 
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
 
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