How well do you know your butterflies - THE ANSWERS

David Fieldhouse, Seasonal Education Officer

1: Gatekeeper

The gatekeeper is also known as the hedge brown due to its penchant for frequenting country hedgerows edged with brambles and long grasses. The gatekeeper employs an unhurried dancing flight as it hunts for ragwort, brambles and other food sources. This species can easily be mistaken for the meadow brown; the two can be distinguished due to the duller appearance of the meadow brown and the single white pupil in the eye spots of its forewing.

2: Speckled Wood

In the 18^th Century this butterfly became known as the Enfield eye when it was identified in rural Middlesex. Today it can usually be found patrolling dappled woodland glades. The speckled wood has a greater tolerance for shade than almost any other butterfly except perhaps the white admiral. Its preferred food source is aphid honeydew located high in the woodland canopy. However, it often descends to jostle with meadow browns, ringlets and skippers amongst the bramble blossoms in sunny woodland rides. 

 

3: Swallowtail

I already waxed lyrical about this wonderful creature in my previous blog post so I’ll keep it short. Go see this superb specimen if you get the chance. The early summer will hopefully lead to a good sized second brood between mid-August and mid-September.

4: Silver studded blue

Unfortunately, this beautiful blue has become a great rarity in most parts of the UK. Countless colonies have been destroyed or shaded out. Furthermore, a reduction in rabbit populations due to myxomatosis has reduced the availability of food plants. One of the few places populations still persist is amongst the heaths of Norfolk. This is an extremely sedentary butterfly that lives in discrete colonies. The male can be distinguished from the similar common blue thanks to the thicker black margins to the wings. 

5: Brimstone

The word butterfly was probably first used to describe this butter-coloured insect. The brimstone is a widespread countryside wanderer; it can regularly be seen in urban habitats too. This species never sits with its wings open; instead it presents a wonderful leaf mimic in its underside patterning. These butterflies are powerful flyers and can often be found miles away from their food source, perhaps migrating to fresh territories.

6: Peacock

The peacock is a favourite of both butterfly lovers and gardeners alike. Leave a patch of nettles to grow wild in your garden and there is a good possibility of seeing the black hairy caterpillars frequenting the leaves in June. In late summer and autumn buddleia plants can become swamped by this attractive specimen. This species has one of the largest ranges of any UK butterfly. It can be found throughout most of the UK. The peacock is one of our most easily recognized species thanks to its bright colouring and distinctive eye-spots.

7: Comma

The unique ragged outline of the comma distinguishes it from all other butterflies. This butterfly is an expert in disguise. Not only does its caterpillar look like a birds dropping but the butterfly hides so successfully during winter that few naturalists have seen its resting place. This butterfly delights in sunshine and will bask for hours with wings spread. The comma occupies a small territory, often consisting of just a few metres. It will patrol this territory, inspecting all intruders in the search for a female whilst sparring with rival males.

8: Small Copper

The small copper is the sole remaining member of the British coppers, as its relative the large copper became extinct in 1865. The small copper is relatively numerous in the UK thanks to the abundance of the caterpillars’ preferred food plants of sorrel and common dock. In good years, with lots of sunshine, three or even four broods can be produced. Despite its size the male small copper is a quarrelsome and restless little butterfly. 

Photographs courtesy of; Richard Porter, Bob Carpenter, Davis Rose, Annabelle Tipper, Paul Treloar & Elizabeth Dack.

How well do you know your butterflies?

David Fieldhouse, Seasonal Education Officer

Butterflies are some of the most beautiful and well-loved invertebrates in the UK. Many can reminisce fondly of the sight of peacock butterflies flocking to a lilac or buddleia on a hot day, the vibrant flash of blue as a male blue flies by in search of a female to woo, or the lazy flapping of a dark green fritillary’s wings. Butterflies seem to embody the best of the British summer, as many species will only take wing on hot, windless days with full sun where they will be free to flit from flower to flower in search of nectar.

July is by far the best month of the year to see butterflies. The wonderful thing about these beguiling creatures is that you’re never far away from them. Visit your local woodland and you’ll have a good chance of seeing the ragged outline of a comma or the distinctive spots of a speckled wood. NWT Foxley Wood is a particularly good site to see the white admiral whose elegance of flight is equalled only by the purple emperor. 

If you’re closer to the coast then keep an eye out for the small heath weakly fluttering close to the ground or the large skipper. NWT Holme Dunes is a great site for these butterflies. Why not stop for a cup of tea at our newly refurbished café and visitor centre while you’re there?

Brown argus, photo by Bob Carpenter

We are lucky enough to have a truly diverse network of habitats in Norfolk including chalky heathlands such as those found at NWT Roydon Common. More than thirty different species of butterfly have been seen at this site including the green hairstreak, which is the only UK butterfly with truly green colouration and the neat and smartly coloured brown argus.

No blog about butterflies would be complete without a mention of the jewel in the crown for butterfly enthusiasts and the public alike; the swallowtail butterfly. With a wingspan of 9cm the swallowtail is the largest UK butterfly. To see one flying powerfully over Broadland vegetation is a truly magnificent sight. They seem to be one of the few butterflies which fly with true purpose. If you go down to NWT Hickling Broad there is a high chance of seeing swallowtail caterpillars on milk parsley plants at this time of the year, their bright green colour and rubbery skin lend them an almost alien appearance. Whilst you’re at Hickling it’s also worth taking a trip on one of our boats to climb the tree tower to get a glimpse of the elusive purple hairstreak amongst the tops of the oak trees. 

How good do you think you are at identifying these delicate creatures?

Below are eight pictures, each portraying a small part of the wing of a particular species of butterfly found in the UK, how many can you identify?

Good luck! Here are the answers

Photographs courtesy of; Richard Porter, Bob Carpenter, Davis Rose, Annabelle Tipper, Paul Treloar & Elizabeth Dack.

Damsel delights

Chris Durdin, NWT Thorpe Marshes

I’ve come to dragonflies and damselflies rather late. Many birdwatchers know them well: after all, they fly, there’s a limited range of species, and their best time, in high summer, coincides with when it can be quiet in the bird world. But Odonata – that’s dragonflies and damselflies lumped together – are rather special on Norfolk’s marshes, so on my regular visits to NWT Thorpe Marshes I’ve been catching up.

Thorpe Marshes is rightly getting well-known as an easy place to see Norfolk Hawkers close to the city. But the commonest of the 17 dragons and damsel species we’ve found since the reserve was established in 2011 is easily the Common Blue Damselfly. It’s so common that it rather swamps the others and it’s all too easy to overlook similar species. 

Azure Damselfly close-up, showing Coenagrion spur

When Norfolk expert Pam Taylor told me she found Azure Damselflies here in 2013 that prompted me to search for them myself. They’ve been there in May, June and July this year and the photo is of one I crept up on. The close-up shows the ‘Coenagrion spur’ – the black line that abruptly stops part-way across the broad blue stripe on the thorax of this genus. They also strike me as slightly more delicate than Common Blue Damselflies and just a little less blue, for bright males, at least.

Another trick is to search lily pads on the tidal River Yare. Here there are often Red-eyed Damselflies alongside elegant, dancing Banded Agrions and the ubiquitous Common Blues.

Another recent find was Common Emerald Damselfly, rather green as the name suggests.

Common Emerald Damselfly, female

More wildlife news and details of monthly walks on http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/thorpemarshes.htm

Species of the month July: the Norfolk plover

Ed Parnell, Norfolk Wildlife Trust

The Breckland Living Landscape is home to the stone curlew, one of the county’s most distinctive birds, fittingly also known as the Norfolk plover.

Stone curlew, Jessica Riederer

Stone curlews are a type of wading bird, but they are not (as their name might suggest) related to the Eurasian curlew, which is a familiar bird found mainly around our coasts. In fact, the stone curlew is the only European representative of the Thick-knee family and, yes, it does have rather knobbly knees – though you’ll need a very good view to actually notice this!

Stone curlews are very much an inland bird, finding one of their national strongholds among the grassy heathlands and neighbouring arable fields of the Brecks. They are a migratory species, arriving back in Norfolk in March and April each year, having spent their winter around the Mediterranean and even south of the Sahara. A few birds now do seem to be staying put in Norfolk over the winter, perhaps a trend that will increase with climate change? 

Plumage-wise Norfolk plovers are brown and streaked above, with a pale belly and a noticeable white wing-bar. They have a stubby, strong-looking bill and long yellowish-green legs. However, their most distinctive features are their large yellow eyes, which led to another of their historical Norfolk names – the goggle-eyed plover!

Arguably the best site to see stone curlews in the UK is NWTWeeting Heath, near Brandon. Two special viewing hides have been constructed here which give excellent views over the grassy heath where the birds feed and nest. The turf is kept short by large numbers of rabbits, something which is actively encouraged by Norfolk Wildlife Trust, as they keep the grass at just the right height for these rare birds, as well as numerous scarce Breckland plants and invertebrates.

Despite the shortness of the grass, the stone curlews are not always easy to spot as their brown-streaked plumage can look remarkably like a rabbit from a distance. Often, too, the birds sit motionless for long periods (particularly when they are on the nest) and it is not until they move across the ground in short, running bursts that they become obvious. Towards dusk though their activity levels rise and they start making their rather eerie, wailing calls.

NWT Weeting Heath is located just west of Brandon on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. Leave Brandon on the A1065 towards Mundford. Cross the railway line on the outskirts of the town, then turn left to Weeting village. In the village itself take the left turn to Hockwold cum Wilton. The reserve car park and visitor centre are 2.5km west of Weeting village and well-signed from the road. 

Visitor Centre: 29 March to 31 August, every day, 10am-5pm
Reserve: 29 March to September (Aug on demand due to nesting) every day 7am till dusk
Call the centre: 01842 827615  

A small entrance charge applies for adult non-NWT members.