Garden Butterflies and Moths

I've had a lot of fun in the last week or so doing Big Butterfly Counts in the garden. You can do as many counts as you like and what can be lovelier than wandering round the garden counting butterflies.

Monday 21st July

Peacock x 1

Small Tortoiseshell x 1
Comma x 1
Green-veined White x 1
Gatekeeper x 2 (the first I've seen in the garden this year)
Speckled Wood x 1
Large White x 1


Thursday 24th July

Large White x 2
Peacock x 1
Gatekeeper x 4

Saturday 26th July

Peacock x 3
Large White x 2
Small White x 3
Holly Blue x 1

Speckled Wood x 2

Tuesday 29th July

Speckled Wood x 2
Peacock x 3
Gatekeeper x 1
Holly Blue x 2
Large White x 1
Small White x 1



The moth trap has been out several times since I last wrote a post on moths.


Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua fimbriata)

and its very pretty "underskirt".

Willow Beauty - there are quite a few similar species - I am sure half the time I miss new garden "ticks" as I don't always look as closely as I should at more common species.

Scarce Footman (Eilema complana) (with furled edges of wings) - hope I am right on this one - I do struggle with the Footman species. (new for year) Dean will never forgive me if I get this wrong as he's always correcting my Footman id's :)

The very similar Common Footman (Eilema lurideola) - New for Year

Most of the moths I tend to trap tend to be noctuids so its always pleasing to get something a bit out of the ordinary - here the lovely Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula) again New for Year)

Bordered Pug - this is one of the larger pugs - many are very small (Eupithecia succentariata) - New for Year

Square-spot Rustic ((Xestia xanthographa) - New For Year

Crambus pascuella

Bird-cherry Ermine ((Yponomeuta evonymella) - New for Year

Marbled Minor Aggregate - Marbled Minor, Rufous Minor and Tawny Marbled Minor are all very similar and can only be separated by genitalia dissection - a route I am not prepared to take!!

Dagger Agg - again Grey and Dark Dagger are that similar that they can only be 100% identified by the dreaded genitalia dissection

Common Rustic Agg - again Common Rustic, Lesser Common Rustic and Remm's Rustic can only be separated by, yes you guessed it, genitalia dissection!!

I had a lovely walk this afternoon round Marsh Lane NR - lots of butterflies, hoverflies, bees, dragon and damselflies about. I have a few insects to identify so I'll do a separate post in a few days.

A Fifteen Minute Butterfly Survey

Each Summer Butterfly Conservation, in association with Marks and Spencer, organises "The Big Butterfly Count" - a nationwide butterfly survey. This year its being held between 20th July and 11th August and all you have to do is spend 15 minutes in your garden, or park, or woodland etc., and count the butterflies or certain species of day flying moths that you see in a fifteen minute period.

The survey was launched in 2010 and last year 27,000 people participated spotting 223,000 butterflies. Butterflies react quickly to environmental changes and are, therefore, excellent biodiversity indicators and can provide a warning also of other possible wildlife losses. The survey will also help the charity to spot butterfly trends and identify any declining species.

For more information please visit the website www.bigbutterflycount.org which gives details on how to take part and you can also download an id chart. You can repeat the survey as many times as you like and submitting results is really easy and only takes minutes.

I spent 15 minutes looking for butterflies in my garden on Tuesday, 23rd, seeing one Large White and one Small White.

Unfortunately its a bit like the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch when half the species you normally see refuse to visit the garden during the hour you are doing the survey - only to appear a minute after the hour has finished!!! So the Holly Blues and Comma seen the same day remained absent during the 15 minutes!!! This doesn't matter though and nil results are also important.

I tried again today and managed 2 Gatekeepers, 2 Large White and 1 Small White.

If you get the time give it a go because its good fun and you are helping science at the same time and it would be a great activity for young children in the school holidays.



I haven't had much luck so far this year in taking photos of garden butterflies so have to admit that the Gatekeeper below was taken in 2010.

I've managed some butterfly photos at Brandon Marsh in the past but most of the better ones seem to have been taken at National Trust gardens where there are that many flowers the butterflies just seem to get "drunk" on the nectar and are quite happy to pose!

We are starting to see more hoverflies in the garden and lots of Red-tailed, White-Tailed and Buff-tailed bumble bees plus the Common Carder Bee as in the photo below nectaring on bramble flowers.

We finally have a decent clock in the garden so it was easy to keep track of the 15 minutes - a birthday present for Brian from David.

And a reminder that there is a BBC Springwatch Special on Butterflies tonight at 9.00.

Big Butterfly Count

Butterfly Conservation, in association with Marks and Spencer, are again running their annual Big Butterfly Count. This is a UK nationwide butterfly (and daytime moth) survey aimed at assessing the state of the environment. Butterflies react rapidly to environmental change and thus are excellent biodiversity indicators. Declines in butterflies can give early warning of other potential wildlife losses.

Anyone can take part you just need to watch your garden, park, woodland or anywhere suitable for 15 minutes making a note of any butterflies or day flying moths seen and enter your results at www.bigbutterflycount.org.

This year the survey runs from 14th July to 5th August so you've still got time to take part! The Count was launched in 2010 when 10,000 participants saw 210,000 flutters and day flying moths and in 2011 34,300 participated seeing 322,330 butterflies and moths. Its great fun especially if you have children.

I did my first count last Thursday and saw absolutely no butterflies at all the only insects around were two white-tailed bumble bees and one common carder bee. I repeated the count on Friday and this time managed to see just one butterfly - a Small White. This year is the poorest year I can remember for garden butterflies. I have only seen 5 species all year - Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Orange Tip, Holly Blue and Small White. No Peacocks, Large or Green Veined Whites, Red Admirals, Small Tortoiseshells,Commas, Gatekeepers or Meadow Browns have yet to put in an appearance.

Changing the subject entirely, I drove past the Fairy Door on Friday and it looks as though the gnomes are celebrating the Olympics too!

"Gnomelympics"

Big Butterfly Count

Butterfly Conservation, in association with Marks and Spencer, has launched a nationwide butterfly survey where members of the public are invited to count the number of butterflies they see in a 15 minute period in a suitable location, such as a garden, park, woodland or field, between 24th July and 1st August and submit their findings online. (See link to Big Butterfly Count website at end of blog posting). The survey has been launched in 2010 to mark the International Year of Biodiversity. Butterflies are very good biodiversity indicators because they are affected quickly by environmental changes. Signs of declines in butterfly species can, therefore, give early warning of possible future losses in other wildlife species. The count will also show how different butterfly species are doing so that action can be taken if necessary to avoid further losses or extinctions and will additionally help scientists to understand how climate change is affecting wildlife.

Desperate to get a break from domestic chores this afternoon and as it was warm and sunny I decided to count the number of butterflies in the garden for the specified 15 minutes, seeing the following butterflies:

1 Holly Blue
1 Large White
1 Small White
1 Speckled Wood
2 Gatekeepers

I may count again tomorrow as you can submit as many 15 minute counts as you like.

Here are a few photos of the two gatekeepers I saw.








The Big Butterfly Count website can be found at www.bigbutterflycount.org. Sorry I have tried to insert a link but for some reason it doesn't seem to work.