To the south of
Halling Wood there is a
track where, in most years, butterflies seem inordinately abundant in June and July. These are some photographs of just some of the butterflies I saw on this particular day...
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| Ringlet |
Ringlets were in abundance in the brighter rides and pathways, though few were inclined to stay still long enough for a photo opportunity...
The distinctive white mark that gives the
Comma butterfly its name can be seen on the underside shot below...
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| Comma underside... |
At the foot of the hill, there is an outcrop of
Common Ragwort, to which
Brimstones seem particularly attracted to...
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| Brimstone... |
Ragwort itself acts as a food plant for larvae of the
Cinnabar moth, a distinctive orange and black hooped caterpillar which can often be found on it...
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| Cinnabar moth caterpillars... |
The
Speckled Wood butterfly is commonly found throughout these woods. The males seem territorial and pairs can often be seen barrelling around each other, trying to keep sole rights to their patch...
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| Speckled Wood... |
A
Red Admiral was also seen, basking on the dry soil. Note the small white spot within the red band of each forewing: this is a common
aberration,
bialbata...
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| Red Admiral... |
There is one short stretch of farm track where the
Silver-Washed Fritillaries are often particular numerous. On this day, I counted nine of these fast-flying orange beauties, many of whom were feeding on or flying around one particular Buddleia bush...
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| Silver-Washed Frittilary, male... |
The males (distinguishable by the four black lines of pheromone-soaked scales on their fore-wings), live a high-octane lifestyle, flying powerfully up and down the sunny woodland tracks and seldom coming to rest. This one was refuelling before zipping off to fight his rivals or hunt down the less-active females...
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| Silver-Washed Fritillaries on the wing... |
In the shot above, three males can just be made out, each a blur as they chased each other up and down the woodland track. The darker-coloured females lead a quieter life, and can often be glimpsed flying in a more stately fashion around undergrowth at the bases of trees, looking for a suitable spot to lay their eggs...
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| Female Silver-Washed Frittilary... |
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| White Admiral... |
A couple of
White Admirals were also seen, with their distinctive gliding flight interspersed with powerful wing-beats bringing them down from the trees to patrol the woodland tracks or to occasionally rest on the forest floor, where I snapped this one...
Also seen were two
Peacocks, a few
Meadow Browns, many
Large Whites, a few
Small Whites and
Green-Veined Whites and quite a few
Gatekeepers...and, (just briefly, as he settled on the ground just in front of me) a single male
Purple Emperor!
This was the first one I have ever seen around here, and I would dearly love to get a photo of this rarity, a species that usually lives up in the tree tops and only rarely comes down to sip from mud puddles or animal droppings.
14 butterfly species in 500 yards of woodland track isn't bad going by any means....
