Species to spot in July and the Big Butterfly Count
July is probably the best month of the year to see butterflies in the UK. More than 50 different species are on the wing now – more than at any other time of the year and you can see some of them even if the sun is being shy. We don’t get all the species that exist in the UK, but East Anglia is home to one, the magnificent Swallowtail, which no other region in the country enjoys.
The Silver-washed Fritillary is a graceful fast flyer of woods and glades and has increased its range considerably in East Anglia in the past few years. Though we are unlikely to see them in our meadows, they are abundant in some woods that are accessible to the public, such as Bonny wood and Bradfield Woods. It is often associated with a much rarer but equally large and beautiful butterfly, the White Admiral, which feeds on honeysuckle.
It’s definitely good to know which plants are the larval (caterpillars) food plant of each species. That can help you hunt out certain species if you know the food plant is growing in a certain place. For example, the Peacock butterfly lays its eggs on nettles.
Meadow browns and the delightful Ringlet are meadow dwellers. They lay their eggs in certain grasses which are found in many meadows. These are the habitats to go and look for them and the tiny orange skippers which look more like moths than butterflies. Certain plants attract a large number of species as they are good nectar sources, such as bramble flowers, common hogweed (not to be confused with giant hogweed), oregano which you probably find in your herb garden and field scabious, the pretty lilac pincushion flowers often seen in meadows. The Marbled White shows a marked preference for purple flowers such as Wild Marjoram, Field Scabious, thistles, and knapweeds.
Butterfly Conservation carries out the Big Butterfly Count, this year running from Friday 12th July to Sunday 4th August. You can join in this nationwide citizen science survey by counting butterflies on your patch, in the water meadows or in a wood nearby. This helps build up a picture of the health of nature as a whole as they are vital parts of the ecosystem as pollinators and components of the food chain. Butterfly numbers have declined significantly in just 30 years and this is a warning of other wildlife losses. The scientists need an accurate picture of changes in the environment so that they can advise Government on policy needs. All they need is 15 minutes of your time counting butterflies, what better way to spend a sunny afternoon?
Jillian Macready, Bury Water Meadows Group
photo credits
peacock by Jillian Macready