Summer on the wing
August 20, 2009 by Bird
Filed under Blog, Fauna, On My Travels, Summer
At the risk of being corny, I’m amazed at how time flies. Two weekends ago (it seems a lot longer somehow) I spent a perfect summer afternoon investigating a small bramble hedge in the middle of Hampshire. Who knows how long I spent there; I was utterly absorbed, but I do know that I could barely see past the butterflies. There were clouds of them! I was astonished at how intently they foraged, as many fiercely territorial species sat calmly together and drank deeply from the bramble flowers. Perhaps it was the heat, perhaps it was the end of the breeding season; maybe it was just that they were getting drunk on good nectar, but I’ve never had so many butterflies sit so patiently for me.
First up was Polygonia c-album, or the Comma, a lovely amber coloured creature with attractively raggedy wings. Wondering how it got that name? Look at the bright marking on the underwing in the picture below – you should be able to tell!
At first I thought this Argynnis paphia, or Silver Washed Fritillary was a Comma too, but its larger size and calligraphic markings gave it away. Although this particular individual is very much past its best you can still see what an impressive and beautiful creature it is.
Let’s take a closer look at its wonderful green and orange furred body and spotted eyes
A little further along I found a Pyronia tithonus, or Gatekeeper – these sprightly butterflies were very active and though I saw many in the hedgerow this was the only one that would sit for me. I think it’s a female.
Time passed, and I realised that most butterflies had drunk their fill and moved on. I stalked the perimeter of the field and found nothing else that would sit still for me. Time to try the garden (we were staying at R’s parents house) which has many plants beloved of butterflies. Sure enough, there was an Aglais urticae, or Small Tortoiseshell on the lavender.
And the Gonepteryx rhamni, or Brimstone butterfly looked well on this striking blue flowered shrub. They particularly liked this plant, which seemed quite poetic given how the fizzy yellow of the butterfly looked against the improbably blue flower.
I had been anxiously hoping to find some Inachis io, or Peacock butterflies, having seen a colony of their caterpillars on nettles much earlier in the summer. They couldn’t all have been killed, surely? It seemed wrong that I hadn’t found an adult yet. Then, on a trespassing bramble I saw this…
What a showstopper! It was worth a bit of mild anxiety just to see this glorious insect – a male, fresh and glossy and presumably just emerged from its pupa. I intend to write a little more about peacock butterflies, but I’ll leave that till another time.
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What a lovely butterfly collection. I think Michelle blogged about the comma, so that sounded familiar. I am also enjoying all the flowers and shrubbery underneath your butterflies.
Oh yes that’s right! I think Michelle’s might be an American Comma but I remember seeing it on her blog and thinking how it looked exactly like the European one. I love all the similarities – and differences that I get to see in our different parts of the world.
I think all these butterfly photos are showstoppers! Each time, I gazed in awe till I saw the next one! No idea idea which butterfly is my favourite but I do really love those with raggedy wings.
Thank you Gemma – and I have to agree I enjoyed seeing the raggedy winged ones a lot, whether they were like that through hard living or because it’s just the shape they are.
Haha, you got some lovely shots. I have never seen a fritillary of any kind. Incredible colouring to his face as you say.
I saw the first brimstone this week and it was on MY buddleia, I was really pleased about that, it was the one I planted earlier this year
And I didn’t know that the underwing was how the Comma got it’s name! It does seem as though sometimes it is easier to capture them than others
Oh I wish we got Brimstones here – there were lots that day in Hampshire but they don’t seem to make it over to Tottenham
I’m glad your butterfly bush is living up to it’s name, once word gets round I bet all the butterflies in the neighbourhood will be queuing up for the flowers. And they smell really nice on a sunny day too
Those are fanstastic shots of the butterflies. You did such a great job capturing them with your camera and also an interesting post.
The older I get the faster time flies.
Thank you Carver! And I know what you mean about time…
Yes, time does seem to speed up the older one gets! I loved seeing your beautiful butterflies. I particularly like the comma – such a strange name for a lovely butterfly. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Hi Wendy, and thanks for visiting! There never seems to be enough time, does there? The comma is a lovely butterfly – I’ve seen a few this year but this was one of the only times I had a camera to record it properly
Absolutely beautiful!
Thank you Dawn, and thanks so much for tweeting them!
These are just outrageously beautiful photos! I can never get them to sit still for me! Just lovely!
Hi RJ Flamingo, and welcome! Normally I cant get them to sit still either, but they all seemed really thirsty that day so I could snap them as they were drinking nectar. It’s the best luck I’ve ever had photographing butterflies
You had a great butterfly day! I especially loved the spotted eyes. I don’t think we have that species in the U.S. It’s amazing to me how many sat with their wings wide spread. Many times they close them up when they perch.
It seemed really unusual to me too Jackie, I guess they were enjoying the sunshine and the nectar too much to be bothered by me or each other. I think they opened their wings because they haven’t had much chance to enjoy the sunshine this year and take the opportunity when they can
Wow, what a great photo outing you had! There ares so many great shots here it’s hard to pick a favorite. I love the commas with their raggedy wings, and the peacock one is stunningly beautiful. I love your description of the “fizzy yellow” butterfly on the “improbably blue” flower. Lovely post.
Thank you Vicki, that’s really kind! The peacock was just incredible, the texture of their wings is so velvety. I have a real soft spot for the commas too, they are very cheerful.
I jump up and down if I find one butterfly to photograph and you had so many. Wonderful macros and I love getting a good look at the butterfly. Interesting that your Comma is so similar to our eastern comma and your comma’s marking showed up so clearly..wonderful post for Nature Notes.. Thank you Bird.. Michelle
Michelle, I couldn’t believe how many butterflies there were! Let me tell you now I don’t always see so many, and even when I do they never seem to sit still. I just got very lucky that day!
I was fascinated when I saw your Eastern Comma pictures because the butterfly looked almost identical to the one we get here. I almost felt like this butterfly was posing for me because of how well it showed its comma marking. I sometimes use photoshop to compensate for a badly exposed shot, but I did nothing to this one and that’s exactly how the comma marking looked in real life – improbably bright and as if it had been drawn on.
Beautiful butterfly shots – wish we had fritillaries here!
Thank you bramblejungle, it was a real treat to see that fritillary. I’d never seen one before myself so it made me very happy indeed
Thanks for sharing…they’re all so lovely! I can’t get any butterflies to sit still for me long enough to get pictures even half as great as these. Kudos!
Oh my, these are such gorgeous shots, Bird! I swear, from now on I’ll need to come here for reference when I’m wondering what butterfly I’ve found. Your shots are so much nicer than many of those on the butterfly identification websites!
The Peacock is so striking, the Comma reminds me of an autumn leaf and the Brimstone’s wings look like green leaves…awesome!