Butterfly Conservation Ireland

Walkers along tracks in sand dunes will often flush bright red moths which flutter prettily in the sunlight before collapsing into the vegetation, often failing to settle long enough to allow a close inspection. Sometimes masses of red and black moths are seen feeding, on other times just the odd one is seen feeding on clover tor thyme.

These moths can look quite similar especially when seen briefly so identification can be tricky. Here we provide photographs and identification pointers of these moths.

Perhaps the most abundant of this group of moths is the Six-spot Burnet moth. The moth is very abundant on some coastal sites; great sites for it include dunes at The Raven, County Wexford, Fanore, County Clare, Stradbally, County Kerry and Portrane, County Dublin.  On these sites, it can be seen in hundreds, even thousands. The moth is day-flying, has six red spots on the upper surfaces of the mainly iridescent black forewings and back-bordered red hindwings. The antennae are strongly hooked.  The larvae feed on Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil and the yellow cocoons are found on plant stems from May to August.

The species it most closely resembles is the Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet moth. This moth is much rarer than the Six-spot Burnet and is usually found on flower-rich damp sites where its main larval foodplant, Meadow Vetchling, occurs in ungrazed or lightly grazed grasslands. This moth is rated vulnerable on the Ireland Red List No. 9 Macro-moths (Lepidoptera) published in 2016. Both the adult moth and larva looks very similar to the Six-spot Burnet but it has five, not six spots on the foregoing. Its antennae are not as prominently hooked as the Six-spot Burnet’s. It is rarely as numerous on its sites as its common relative and appears to have a shorter flight time, appearing mainly during June. Good sites include Balydoyle Race Course near Portmarnock, County Dublin and Pollardstown Fen, County Kildare. It is more common in northern areas of Ireland.

Another burnet, the Transparent Burnet, is smaller than the spotted burnets. The Transparent Burnet has two connected red bars on the forewings which are a charcoal colour but are somewhat see-through. This moth occurs mainly in the Burren where it is often very abundant. It is a day-flyer and feeds avidly on thyme flowers. The larva looks quite different from the larvae of the spotted burnets-mainly dark olive in colour. It eats thyme and can be seen in April and May. Good sites include Clooncoose, County Clare and the Black Head walk, County Clare.

The Cinnabar moth has red hindwings like all the burnets but it has both spots and a bar on its forewing upper surface. The Cinnabar moth is a more widespread species occurs on brownfield sites, coastal sites, farmland,  gardens and grassland heavily grazed by rabbits. It has a very distinctive larva-hopped in black and yellow. Despite its black and red colouring, it is not in the same family to the burnets, being related to the tiger moths. The Cinnabar is skittish, flying uneasily in sunshine but it is really a nocturnal species. However, it is commonly seen during the day and has a long flight season, flying from May to August. The moth is toxic because the larva feeds mainly on Common Ragwort, a plant containing a cyanide compound. Birds quickly learn to avoid the adult moth and larva! Good sites include Mornington, County Meath and disused sand pits throughout west Wicklow, such as near Blessington.

We would encourage you to let us know where you have seen these moths. If you see any of these species, contact us by email at conservation.butterfly@gmail.com.

Tell us  your name, date of observation, the species you saw, the numbers of the species, habitat and placename of the site and a grid reference for the site which you can find here: https://irish.gridreferencefinder.com/

Your record can be stated like this:

John Smith  (16/06/2020)

Cinnabar moth 10 at  O159757, sand dunes at Mornington, Co. Meath.

We will publish your record on our Records page. The records will be sent to the National Biodiversity Data Centre at the end of the year so that the records will be saved by two organisations that track biodiversity.

 

The recently reported increase in the population of the Purple Emperor in England offers a wonderful uplift and an antidote to the gloom and sometimes paranoia pervading our outlook on the seemingly unending downward plunge of biodiversity across the globe.

And we all need a boost, especially in the current social, political and economic uncertainties bombarding us each way we look. And butterflies, the most beautiful animals in the world can provide this much-needed balm.

While our suite of butterfly species on this side on the Irish Sea does not include the Purple Emperor, we do have some good news to share about the progress of Ireland’s butterflies. This good news is backed by science. We have been counting butterflies here systematically for the past 13 years so we have a good idea about how populations stand.

What do we know? We have 35 butterfly species that we encounter every year-three are regular migrants, the others are year-round residents. We have recorded data on all of these species. The findings from the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme published by the National Biodiversity Data Centre tells us that seven have increased in population size since 2008, five species are stable, there is uncertainty about five species while the status of 11 is unknown due to the small number of sites being monitored.

Some increases are spectacular. Based on the 2019 figures, the Peacock, surely our most beautiful butterfly, is up 250% since 2008. The Brimstone,  golden yellow in the male and greenish-white in the female has jumped 191%. The deep black patterned orange Silver-washed Fritillary, our largest native butterfly showed a rise of 57%. The latter two butterflies are benefitting from a warming climate and an increase in the woodland habitat that is developing throughout the Irish midlands as native woods develop on cutaway bogs. The Holly Blue is up 34% on 2008 figures-this looks like a beneficiary of warming too, for it loves to lay its eggs in hot shrubbery, particularly in urban settings. It can even be seen fluttering its azure blue wings in Dublin city centre.

The situation may be a little different from that reported by the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. It appears that at least nine species have increased in abundance. This includes two species not included in the scheme’s increase data. These two are the orange-red Comma, first confirmed breeding in Ireland in May 2014 by Jesmond Harding and Brian Power, now spreading throughout the south and east of Ireland and the Cryptic Wood White, a delicate, slow-motion flyer that loves bushy, grassy areas that must be benefitting from a more relaxed style of land management.

One butterfly that many have seen in abundance this spring is the charming and exquisite Orange-tip. The male sports gleaming orange wing-tips on his upper surfaces which blaze hotly against the otherwise starched white wings. Reports to Butterfly Conservation Ireland’s recording scheme (see https://butterflyconservation.ie/wp/records/ ) show many accounts of our prettiest spring butterfly. While it appeared to be so numerous this year, a note of caution must be struck.

This year’s Orange-tip populations were laid down last year when the eggs were laid. Therefore, the 2020 population size largely reflects 2019’s conditions. Although 2019 was not a stellar year, it was a good year. But the boom in Orange-tips this April and May reflects the weather this year. Typically, Orange-tips emerge from their pupae from early April to early July according to the on-off weather in the more usual Irish spring/early summer. But because the weather this spring was consistently sunny, dry and warm the Orange-tips burst upon our countryside in numbers over just a few weeks in April and the first half of May. Their flight period is already over, excepting a few stragglers.

While it is heartening to see such beauty in abundance, we must be mindful of declines. The Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme shows that five species have declined, two of these sharply (Small Copper and Small Heath by more than 5% per year). While it cannot be confirmed due to lack of data, Butterfly Conservation Ireland takes the view that the Large Heath and Green Hairstreak butterflies, both bog specialists, are in decline, especially the Large Heath which is fully dependent on wet bogs which are being destroyed at an alarming rate.

Interestingly, all three parties involved in negotiations on a programme for government, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party, made manifesto commitments to conserve and restore the bogs. We shall see…

But we should not wait for politicians to improve the environment. All gardeners can help to protect the commoner species. Avoid using peat. Your garden does not need it.  Don’t use any herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilisers. Grow native flowers and shrubs to provide nectar and breeding sites for butterflies and moths. Build habitats that reflect those found in the countryside around your home. Around 20 of our species have been recorded in gardens so there is much you can do to help.

More information can be found on our website at https://butterflyconservation.ie/wp/ and our Facebook page.  If you would like to record butterflies take a look at the Records page on our website. Butterfly Conservation Ireland is a charity that was established to conserve butterfly and moth populations. Butterfly Conservation Ireland is keen to receive new members to boost the drive to save our loveliest creatures.

Today, on June 4th 2020, we are 117 days out from the date of the General Election 2020. With the public health emergency and upset caused by COVID 19 such a lapse of time has not had the focus one would expect. At the time of writing, negotiations between representatives of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party continue. There are so many biodiversity challenges that face our nation but the most pressing is the terrible destruction of our bogs.

It is a deeply lovely sunny day in early June. The sun shines warmly from a powder blue sky, a south-easterly breeze brings a counterpoint to the heat while the fragrances of spring and early summer provide a giddy optimism to any lover of the outdoors. A Cuckoo call echoes from a distant leafy place, skylark music celebrates the season, Meadow Pipits pipe their limited but evocatively wild note.

The bog is soft but dry because it hasn’t rained for a while. It isn’t in bloom yet but this does not worry the numerous Green Hairstreaks, their emerald tinsel gleam shimmering kaleidoscopic greens as the perched butterfly adjusts its position in the sunlight. A battle of the bog erupts between two males-a ferocious punch-up where neither quits. While the boys kick the guts out of each other for the right to perch on a slightly taller sprig of heather, a mated female quietly seeks a tender shoot of Cross-leaved Heath where she will lay a single egg. Single living is important because the caterpillar is reputed to eat its siblings.

Fluttering low over the frazzled ground a Large Heath pauses at a pink flower to sip nectar. He can’t stay long. Sharp-eyed Meadow Pipits and Stonechats are keen to feed their hungry broods. He bobs along, his flight powered by sharp flicks of his tawny wings, moving over flat ground that can look remarkably uniform to a human eye. Except it isn’t. The Common Heather is the forest canopy, the Cross-leaved heath the understorey, the Bog Rosemary with its pendulous delicate pink blooms and the golden Bog Asphodel the ground flora. Sphagnum moss forms raised hummocks and sunken lawns. Pools are patrolled by sinister-looking dragonflies skirmishing, their metallic hues gleaming like newly commissioned fighter aircraft.

You are in another world when standing on a bog. The air feels different. Your views of the limitless horizon impart a sense of vastness,  freedom and understanding. The delicate, emotive and eternally hopeful theme of Craig Armstrong’s Green Light, with the hankering over lost beauty, plays in my head.

But there are other sounds here. A bulldozer’s bucket slices through the soft butter-like turf, the lifeblood water spilling from the bog which soon dries and cracks, its softness evaporating to craggy aridity. Monster machines spew clouds of peat dust rising from a brown desert, a ruined paradise, a paradise lost. Peat bricks lie scattered across this bare ruined ground, a scene from a bombed city. Soon there will be nothing left. No bog, no Large Heath, no Green Hairstreak, no Curlew, no Red Grouse. Thousands of years of habitat lost.

How are we as a society responding? The following promises are taken verbatim from the manifestos of the three parties negotiating a programme for government.

Fine Gael A Future to Look Forward to
We will prioritise the following actions in the Midlands, to ensure that we deliver a Just Transition for workers and the region:
• An €80 million Enhanced Peatland Restoration and Rehabilitation scheme to run over four years, which will restore thousands of hectares of Bord na Móna bogs to a high standard, so that they can store carbon, foster biodiversity and provide 200 jobs. This will be funded through the existing but repurposed electricity PSO levy, which will be subject to approval from the European Commission.
• An €11 million Just Transition Fund in 2020 targeted at the Midlands to fund retraining and reskilling workers and to assist local communities and businesses in the midlands in adjusting to the low carbon-transition
• A €5 million fund in 2020 for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to restore 1,800 hectares of non-Bord na Móna bogs in seven counties, creating 70 jobs in year one, rising to 100 as the programme develops
Our vision is that the Midlands should become a leader in other areas of the green economy, such as retro-fitting. Also, bog rehabilitation and tourism will ensure that our bogs continue to be a source of employment. To this end, we will progress the idea of a new national peatlands park and centre in the Midlands, in order to exhibit the environmental and social impact of bogs on Ireland’s natural and built heritage and to showcase the story of our bogs to the world.
Restoration of our bogs A major restoration effort has been underway on our raised bogs since 2011. We will continue to invest in peatlands restoration, rewetting and restoring native peatlands. This will include funding to community groups to develop projects that promote our peatlands. For further details, please see the ‘Protecting our environment’ chapter.

Fianna Fáil An Ireland for All
A single reference to “peatland restoration” on page 105 of the manifesto.

Green Party Towards 2020 A Decade of Change
There is no single answer to preventing flooding. Rather we propose a combination of solutions: using local knowledge of past flooding and water movements, restoring floodplains, using existing bogs as soakage areas as well as replanting some of them, planting native woodland in appropriate areas, and water management.
End denudation of our upland and blanket bogs and introduce a nationwide scheme to rewet and restore all of our raised and blanket bogs. This will help in flood prevention and biodiversity restoration and is also one of our most effective climate mitigation measures.

Butterfly Conservation Ireland has written to the negotiating teams of the three parties calling on them to conserve our bogs. The three manifestos differ in detail but all agree on peatland restoration.

Butterfly Conservation Ireland wants all peatlands to be protected from all damage. We want all peatlands that have been damaged to be restored. The government can find money when it wants to. It can find the money for our bogs. The benefits of bog restoration for biodiversity, education, recreation, tourism, air quality, carbon emission reduction, flood control, insurance costs and pollution reduction are enormous. Peat cutting is anti-social. It is time to stop.

A wonderful spell of warm, settled weather is upon us again and moths have responded by emerging in good numbers. Not only are the moths numerous, many nocturnal moths are appearing during daylight, probably roused by the heat during the warmest parts of the day and also flying in the evening, usually within the shaded areas.  Below is a small selection of moths that are out now.

Look at how each differs in size, shape as well as in colour.  The variety is amazing. We have cream, yellow, grey, white, mustard, canary yellow, peach, pink and browns in a range of patterns and wing shapes. Every species has its habitat niche, its preferred flight time, its story. All of these are attracted to light, all are found in ‘good’ gardens, gardens that cater to their needs by growing plenty of native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

The Blue tit nesting in the eaves above front bedroom window, the Starlings in my chimney and attic, the Blackbird in my bramble and wherever my Blackcaps have made their nest are shovelling up beakfuls of caterpillars and adult moths. Look after moths and you look after the birds. The birds sing to me all day long so I am looked after too!  We are all in it together!

One tip: water your flowering plants in dry weather.  Do this in the evening when the heat of the day has passed. This allows for nectar release for thirsty moths and butterflies.

The restrictions on travel and the social distancing requirements established by the government to control Covid-19 means that the events we planned to hold from May 30th onwards are cancelled or postponed.  When the advice provided by the government permits us to hold events safely we will resume the balance of our events programme. Butterfly Conservation Ireland regrets any disappointment caused.

We urge all of our members and friends to continue to enjoy the butterflies in our home ranges, including the butterflies that visit our gardens. The year 2020 is developing into a special year for butterflies. We hope you make the most of this wonderful weather to enjoy our butterflies and nature generally

Butterfly Conservation Ireland

May is the final month of spring and perhaps the fulfilment of the season. May has 22 butterflies in flight so there is so much to see. Admittedly, some, such as the Brimstone, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell are on the wane but others, such as the Common Blue, Dingy Skipper, Marsh Fritillary, Small Copper and Green Hairstreak are in their palmy days. These are shown below. Which do you think is the most beautiful?

Few would opt for the Dingy Skipper but I like it! While very muted, the pattern is subtle and intricate, like embroidery. The butterfly also has a teddy bear appearance, a cuddly, friendly-looking butterfly.  It is not at all common in Ireland, found mainly in scattered locations in a band across central Ireland stretching mainly in a line from north Clare to south Mayo and across the country towards but not including Dublin (it was found in Dublin in the past).  It favours limestone areas with plenty of bare soil, rocky areas and cutaway bogs with dry areas with bare, sparsely vegetated peat. It is a low-flying and fast-flying butterfly. The males react to the appearance of any small butterfly by darting out to investigate it. Males fight each other and other butterflies, such as Common Blues and Small Coppers while mated females keep a low profile, dropping into vegetation when pursued by a male. After he gives up she flutters low over the sparse turf seeking out Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil to lay her eggs.

The Common Blue is an obviously attractive and very active conspicuous inhabitant of unfertilised grassland, with males dashing across the turf, chasing other males and females. A point of interest is the sexual dimorphism in the butterfly with the females very variable in the amount of blue scaling on its upper surfaces. Some females are almost fully brown on the upper surfaces of their wings while at the other extreme some females are fully blue aside with the outer edges which contain orange chevron markings which vary in how well defined these are.

Now we move on to the Marsh Fritillary. This species is widely distributed but endangered. Its colonies are usually small, with sites quite small in area but there are usually a group of colonies in a landscape that is connected by individuals flying between the breeding sites in some years, especially in 2018 when prolonged good weather encouraged dispersal.  The Marsh Fritillary has a large European range and is very variable in appearance. I know of no more attractive form than the one we have in Ireland where many individuals have a stronger contrast between the dark and bright colours on the wings than the butterflies found in Europe where a more uniform orange ground colour dominates the upper surfaces.  Appreciate this lovely butterfly if you are in a position to see it-it is highly localised and badly neglected by the state which is supposed to protect it. For example, Ireland has designated 16 Natura 2000 sites (a network of nature protection areas in the European Union) for the Marsh Fritillary. Of these areas,  it is absent or only sporadic in its occurrence in at least five of the sites. In two of these sites, Ballynafagh Lake and Killarney National Park the butterfly has been extinct for over 20 and 30 years respectively. In addition, some large sites with large populations of the butterfly have no legal protection, such as Yellow Bog, west of Loughrea.

The Small Copper is, happily, a common and widespread but rarely abundant butterfly. Although much of the literature states that it is usually found in small numbers, it can be abundant with some good sorrel-rich sites showing 50 or more butterflies in a single count-always exciting to see this shining copper in numbers. It is very vulnerable to fertiliser application-even if sorrels survive the butterfly disappears. In unfertilised fields, even on grasslands that are heavily grazed, it appears year after year while it disappears even from adjoining fertilised areas containing the same habitat.

A very elusive spring butterfly which is rarely seen by most is the Green Hairstreak. This butterfly always settles with closed wings but its upper surfaces are chocolate brown. When in flight it looks brown so observers should look for a brown butterfly tumbling and spinning at a great pace in the sunshine. Tap gorse or willow at the drier areas of a bog and step back-it usually flies out immediately but often returns to its original perch point. It is a dynamic, aggressive butterfly and is often abundant in discrete areas of its boggy habitats. It can also be found on open bog but usually occurs on bogs containing scrub. The worry for this still widespread butterfly is drainage and destruction of peat bogs-these must be protected to preserve this gorgeous species.

The twentieth century saw warfare produce industrial-scale slaughter that was unimaginable in previous times. These dark times saw combat involving all continents, a truly global scale. Even in the throes of trauma, people took the time to notice nature, especially butterflies.

Erich Remarque was a German soldier who served in the German Army in World War I.  His book describing the experiences of German front line troops appeared in 1929. Remarque’s brilliant exposé of the horror of modern war, All Quiet on the Western Front describes a brief moment of brightness following a ferocious battle the Germans fought against French troops in the summer of 1917:

“For the whole morning two butterflies have been playing around our trench. They are Brimstones, and their yellow wings have orange spots on them. I wonder what could have brought them here? There are no plants or flowers for miles. They settle on the teeth of a skull”. (Chapter 6, pages 88-89, Vintage Classics edition)

In fact, the wood where the German troops were sheltering had just been destroyed by shelling-presumably these newly emerged Brimstone butterflies came from that wood.

Near the conclusion of the brilliant 2018 documentary (which used original war film), They Shall Not Grow Old produced and directed by Peter Jackson, a British soldier who gave testimony after the war reported that he was delighted to get the chance to see Camberwell Beauties and Common Swallowtails flying along a riverbank in France or Belgium-these butterflies are very rare in Britain.

In fact, despite the horrendous suffering on the western front, the heavy shelling of the battle zones in France and Belgium had some benefits for butterflies and the troops who needed to see the beauty in their ugly, nasty world. Soil disturbance often allows wildflowers to flourish, producing great conditions for grassland butterflies.

The British Prime Minister and war leader, Winston Churchill, planned a butterfly house at his home at Chartwell, Kent in 1939 but the war meant that he had to wait until the war ended to build his butterfly house to breed butterflies. This has recently been restored. Churchill also got his gardener to plant thistles in his otherwise formal garden to attract butterflies.

In her 2019 book, Love, Life and Loss on the British Home Front Caroline Taggart show us how Britons succeeded in keeping spirits up with her entertaining collection of first-hand reminiscences from people who lived through those six long years. Many children from London, Liverpool, Sheffield and other large cities were evacuated to the countryside to avoid Goering’s Luftwaffe. In rural settings for the first time in their lives, children came into intimate contact with nature and revelled in it.  One boy, Brian, returned to Surrey after two years in Cornwall and was astonished by the changes he saw:

“It was the summer (of 1944) of the great invasion; not by Rommell’s Panzers but by swarms of butterflies. In the park, where trenches had been dug across open fields to prevent German warplanes landing, thousands of tortoiseshells now sunned themselves on the tall thistles that had sprung unbidden from the disturbed clay.

As the summer advanced, clouds of migrant butterflies- peacocks, painted ladies, red admirals and clouded yellows-poured across the channel on the bombsite buddleias, where they hung in clusters, drinking in the nectar with watch-spring tongues until they were too drunk to fly”.

However, this great Clouded Yellow migration from the continent caused great alarm among the Coastwatch personnel. They watched the clouds of yellow pouring over the sea in shock, believing that this was a poison gas attack. Happily, this turned out to be a great Clouded Yellow year. So was 1947, a year when post-war rationing was still very much in operation. At least nature was unrationed.

In his memoir concerning his experience of Operation Torch in North Africa, Spike Milligan writes in “Rommel?” “Gunner Who?”  of seeing Cabbage Whites “along with several orange tips” on February 20th 1943 at El Aroussa, Tunisia. The countryside was bursting into bloom, especially Borage and blue and red anemones, giving Milligan the urge to paint. Instead, he had to content himself with leaving messages on stones for those who would come after him, “This way for World War II”. The orange-tip Milligan saw was not the Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines we know, but Moroccan Orange-tip Anthocharis belia and or Desert Orange-tip Clotis evagore, both of which fly from February. The brightness and colour must have brought happiness-it reminded Milligan of the rather more peaceful South Downs in south-east England.

Perhaps this is what butterflies and their landscapes offer-a sense of happiness, normality, a groundedness in a turbulent, uncertain and unjust world. By continuing to fly, to feed, mate and lay down the next generation, we are reminded of the sheer goodness of life when we have most need to remember.

 

 

 

A Bird, came down the Walk – Emily Dickinson

A Bird, came down the Walk –
He did not know I saw –
He bit an Angle Worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw,

And then, he drank a Dew
From a convenient Grass –
And then hopped sidewise to the Wall
To let a Beetle pass –

He glanced with rapid eyes,
That hurried all abroad –
They looked like frightened Beads, I thought,
He stirred his Velvet Head. –

Like one in danger, Cautious,
I offered him a Crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers,
And rowed him softer Home –

Than Oars divide the Ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon,
Leap, plashless as they swim.

The American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) wrote here about her encounter with a bird that appeared in her garden. In this poem, she celebrates the natural world and a unique feature of style here is Dickinson’s superb recording of minute detail: “And then he drank a Dew/From a convenient Grass.” Her focus is almost microscopic; she does not say “the dew” but “a Dew” as she records a small bird take a single droplet from a solitary grass blade. I was struck by her way of taking a simple action and communicating it in a fresh, innovative way.

Dickinson self-isolated in her family home in Amherst, Massachusetts. This isolation was a decision she took-it was not enforced.  It probably contributed to her intense focus on minute detail, as you can see she did in this poem.

Most of us are currently in a similar situation today. Our restricted range has meant that we must stay close to home or even at home. We are able to look at those things we see close to us, often in our gardens or a local green space. More people are hearing birds and seeing butterflies-we have heard that “butterflies are everywhere” – it is not necessarily the case that populations are more abundant, it is more likely that butterflies are receiving more attention now.

Recently I observed behaviour in two species that I had not seen before, in two common butterflies that I probably take for granted.

The Speckled Wood, a fairly unspectacular abundant hedgerow and woodland butterfly is found throughout Ireland. This butterfly flies from April to October, in perhaps three generations, at least some of which overlap. Males are territorial and will expel another male from its home range. When a territory-holding male sees another male enter his patch, an aerial battle follows where each flies at the other in a tight spiralling orbital flight. After a while, the invader is repelled or he departs. Apparently, the holder of the territory always wins.

Recently while walking along a worn track bordered on both sides by lovely farm hedges near my home, I saw two males battling in a way I have not seen before or read about. Both were on a patch of dry, bare soil, facing each other head-on, like boxers engaged in close combat. Each was circling the other. Then the attack followed with head-butting and wing-flapping. One was clearly the more aggressive and the more defensive butterfly soon took flight, chased by his opponent. Luckily I caught the action on camera! See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JZQWEHpizg

Another drama I spotted was in the adjoining field where two male Small Coppers had emerged to find their preferred territory crowded. Two is not company as far as male Small Coppers are concerned. Watched over a two day period, frequent fairly aggressive altercations were ongoing, yet neither male was prepared to desist or depart. The ground fought for is a highly suitable site-a flowery area containing lots of the larval foodplant (Common Sorrel) in a warm area along a south-facing hedge. One of the males is larger and he appears to be the dominant force. Fights were aerial. When the smaller one managed to lose his pursuer, he landed and shook his wings violently, possibly to repel his rival.

The other male did not vibrate his wings-clearly not worried by his smaller opponent. I noticed that the smaller male shivered his wings even after the attack had come to an end-he looked, to me, as though he had been bullied. His behaviour was clearly influenced by the onslaught of the larger male. See this video of this smaller male feeding on Common Dandelion at https://youtu.be/knkqNFrO9xg

Even if we do not see anything unusual in our experience on our daily walk, we can enjoy the wonders of our world and its gems, our butterflies.

 

 

 

 

 

One of nature’s great wonders is the diversity of life on earth. Every conceivable habitat seems to have its own living things that can make a home there. But there is also diversity within a single species. This variety needs to be protected. Not only is this interesting and beautiful, but the existence of differences between individuals of the same species may also allow certain individuals to adapt to changes better than others, enabling the species to survive when conditions change.  Take a look at the following five photographs of the male Muslin moth, a moth that flies in Ireland in late spring and early summer. This year it has emerged earlier, no doubt the result of a warm, sunny April. The Irish form of the male is snowy white/cream. The male found in England, Wales and Scotland is grey-brown or sooty-grey.

All five were trapped in the same place last Friday (24th April). Each has a different number of spots/markings. Take a closer look at Green-veined White butterflies-these are highly variable too, on both the underside and upper-sides. Some authorities believe that there is a deeper significance in this variation, believing that the Green-veined White is in an active state of evolution. Others believe that the vast variety in this butterfly’s appearance across its vast range reflects its interaction with its habitats-in other words, the variety in wing colouration is a response to environmental factors, not genetic factors.

Butterflies and moths really are individuals, not products of mass production. Enjoy life’s variety!

Tagann an Barr Buí le lá gréine Aibreáin isteach sna coillte grianmhara, le taobh na bhfálta sceacha, bóithríní a ritheann trí thalamh feirme, gnáthóga foscúla fliucha agus fiú gairdíní fiáine móra.

Bíonn an Barr Buí fireannach gníomhach an chuid is mó den lá fad is a bhíonn an ghrian ag taitneamh. Eitlíonn sé go minic feadh imill na gnáthóige agus é ag cuardach baineannaigh. Is féileacán álainn so-aitheanta é, le sciatháin bhána a bhfuil barra oráiste orthu. Tá an baineannach bán le barra dubha ar a sciatháin agus is fusa í a mheascadh suas leis an mBánóg Bheag agus leis an mBanóg Uaine. Tá íochtair na ngnéasanna cosúil le chéile, agus patrún deas le dath an chaonaigh orthu a gcabhraíonn leis an bhféileacán meascadh leis an bpeirsil bhó nuair a théann sé ar an bhfara um thráthnóna nó le linn drochaimsire.

Eitlíonn an fireannach anonn agus anall os cionn cheantar ag seiceáil aon rud a bhfuil cuma bhaineannaigh air. Taitníonn le go leor breathnóirí bheith ag faire ar an bhféileacán, ach bíonn sé deacair grianghraf ó tharla go bhfuil an fireannach an-mhíshocair. Ní chothaíonn na fireannaigh go minic, ach nuair a stadann sé le haghaidh deoch ag peasair fhiáin nó biolar gréagáin, ní chaitheann sé ach tamall beag ann.

Ní bhíonn an baineannach a oiread céanna gníomhaí ar chor ar bith, agus chomh luath agus a chúplálann sí, caitheann sí cuid mhaith dá cuid ama i bhfolach ó fhireannaigh. Is crá croí iad fireannaigh do bhaineannaigh a chúpláil cheana féin mar téann siad sa tóir ar bhaineannaigh atá ag iarraidh cothú agus a gcuid uibheacha a bhreith ar a suaimhneas.

Tá bealach ann do bhaineannaigh na fireannaigh a sheachaint, áfach. Téann na fireannaigh ar an bhfara níos luaithe sa lá ná na baineannaigh, chomh luaithe lena ceathair a chlog.

Bíonn an baineannach níos gníomhaí um thráthnóna. Lorgann an baineannach biolar gréagáin chun a huibheacha a bhreith ann. Toisc gur máthair mhaith í, déanann sí cinnte gan ach ubh amháin a bhreith ar bhláth an phlanda ionas go mbeidh go leor bia ag a hóga.

Seachnaíonn sí ubh a bhreith ar bhia planda a bhfuil ubh air cheana féin. Déanann sí é seo toisc go n-íosfaidh an bolb óg ubh nó bolb níos lú má thagann sé air.

Déanaigí cinnte go gcuardaíonn sibh bóithríní grianmhara duilleacha cosúil leis an gceann sa ghrianghraf; is cinnte go bhfeicfidh sibh é!