Two less common species were present in good numbers this year in Halling Wood, particularly the Silver-Washed Fritillaries. Given that these woods are a pheasant factory for the local shoot, how any caterpillars survived to make it to the adult stage is amazing. The Silver Washed Fritillary caterpillar feeds on violets on the forest floor, and pheasants (not a natural UK bird) go mad for them. I believe these feathered rats are the reason for decline of the fritillaries in general, particularly the High Brown, which tends to frequent more open habitat.
The more pheasants get blasted, the better, as far as I am concerned.
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| Female Silver-Washed Fritillary |
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| Underside, showing the silver bands that give the butterfly its name |
The male butterflies are not as easy to photograph. They are a brighter orange and the forewings have four or five broad dark veins. There were plenty of them but they are very wary, restless and active, constantly gliding up and down the woodland paths, chasing and fighting with each other and checking out anything that might be a female. They are a spectacular sight. I saw this female crawling around some violets by a beech tree. They lay their eggs on tree trunks near patches of violets, so I watched this one for a while but she got spooked and flew off.
White Admirals are my favourite butterfly, although they are quite scarce. This one came down to drink from a mud puddle, though they are partial to bramble blossom.
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| Female White Admiral |
The females tend to be slightly browner than the males and the hind-wing orange markings are more obvious. They lay their eggs on honeysuckle, which is not too common in these woods. They obviously manage though.
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| White Admiral, underside |
White Admirals are sometimes called "gliders", as they beat their wings and then glide for long distances. They are fast and powerful flyers, and love flying up and down sunlit woodland paths. They are a joy to watch.
