Hedgerow

Comma Butterfly (Polygonia c-album)

The Comma Butterfly is quite distinctive in appearance, its bright orange and brown colouring and unusual jagged wing shape make it quite easy to identify even from some distance.

Widespread across England and Wales, Comma Butterflies can often be seen in woodland clearings, on open rides, hedgerows and maybe even in the garden. They can be seen on the wing from early March to September, often in a sheltered sunny spot basking in the warm sunshine.

The males are often quite territorial and may be seen patrolling a section of hedgerow or woodland path sometimes quite boldly making their appearance known to other male Commas.

The Comma may also make an appearance on quite cool days with intermittent sunshine, sometimes resting hardly noticeable wings closed in the subdued sunlight, taking flight at even the slightest disturbance heading upward to find a safer perch.

Comma Butterfly (Polygonia c-album)

Comma Butterfly (Polygonia c-album) in garden on leaf

Upper-wings: are orange with dark brown markings. Under-wings are mottled browns with a small white comma shape marking, from which it gets its name.

Comma Quick Info

Family Group: Nymphalidae – Browns
Wingspan: approx 45mm
Caterpillars feed on: Stinging Nettle (urtica-dioica), Hops and Elm.
Adults Nectar on: Bramble flowers, Ripe Blackberries, Ragwort
Adults Nectar in the garden on: Buddleia (mostly-yellow or White!), Rudbeckia
Photographs: Top right – Left – June 2011.
Location: My garden, and out on a local walk.

Brambles, Butterflies and Blackberries

Brambles is often a name referring to the native blackberry bush, a thorny perennial plant that can often be seen growing wild amongst hedgerows and in gardens and woodland. It is able to tolerate even poorest soil types, and if left unchecked, often spreads, covering large areas of ground.

Its distinctive growth of long ‘biennial stems’ also known as Canes, these are covered along their length in sharp spines or thorns. In late Spring/early Summer stems of white petalled flowers appear from the canes attracting many species of butterflies, and other insects like hoverflies and bees.

Comma Butterfly feeding on ripe Blackberries

Comma Butterfly on ripe Blackberries

The blackberry is one of a group of more than 350 different species found around the world, these include raspberries, cranberries and loganberries.

There are also many hybrid varieties available specifically for the garden, some of which like ‘Black Diamond’ and ‘Black Pearl’ even have thorn-less canes.

Bramble Blackberry (Rubus spp.) flowers on bush

As the flower petals fall away first signs of the green fruit begin to appear, growing in size during the summer and turning from red to black when fully ripened in the Autumn.

The blackberries when ripe attract butterflies, wild birds, small mammals and humans, although newly grown plants don’t produce flowers or fruit until their second year.

Ripe and ripening wild Blackberries

Red Admiral Butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)

Habitat

A regular visitor to the gardens, the Red Admiral may be seen throughout the British Isles, often attracted in numbers by nectar rich flowers such as Buddleia and Rudbekia around July to August.

Out of the Garden, a sunny sheltered spot with flowering Ivy or Hemp Agrimony, may also attract Red Admiral butterflies, although they are rarely seen in numbers before June.

They may even still be seen on the wing till late October – November on sunny days if a nectar source is still available.

Description

With a large 60mm wingspan the Red Admiral is a strong flying butterfly, able to glide and manoeuvre after a small number of quick wing beats. The mainly black or brown colouration, broad red bands and white spots on the fore-wings and broad red band on the hind-wings make it easy to identify. The under-wings are a mottled black-brown .

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) wings closed on Ivy flowers

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) on Ivy flower

Red Admiral Butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)

The Red Admiral is seen as a migrant butterfly from Europe, arriving in Britain and Ireland from May-June. It is believed that with the milder winters of recent years, some are managing to hibernate during short cold periods, creating a resident population mainly across the south of England.

Quick Information

Family Group: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Status: Migrant
Caterpillar food plant: Common Nettles.
Adults nectar plants: Buddleia (davidii), Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum), Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Wingspan: around 60mm

Speckled Wood Butterfly (Pararge aegeria)

about

The Speckled Wood is a dark brown butterfly with light yellow/cream markings and white dotted black eye-spots, often seen in woodland, along hedgerows and in urban parks and gardens, they are widespread and most commonly seen across Southern England, although they can be found in more northern areas.

The Speckled Wood is double brooded, with the first emerging around April – June and the second from July – September. The adult butterflies can often be seen around trees such as Ash, Oak and Hazel where they feed on honeydew from aphids.

Speckled Wood Butterfly - Urban Butterfly Garden

Speckled Wood side profile © Urban Butterfly Garden 2010-2012

Information

Name: Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
Wingspan approx– 45mm
Upper Wings – dark brown with light yellow/cream coloured markings and white dotted, black eye-spots.
Under Wings – dark brown with cream markings on wing tips.
Adult Nectar Plant: Ash, Oak, Hazel (aphid honeydew), Bramble, Fleabane, Ragwort, Trefoils, Coneflowers, Yellow Buddleia.
Habitat – Woodland, Hedgerows, urban Parks and Gardens.
Caterpillars feed on grasses:- Common Couch (Elytrigia repens), Cock’s-foot (Dactylis glomerata), False Brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum), Yorkshire-fog (Holcus lanatus).
Photographs taken 10th – 13th August

Speckled Wood Butterfly (Pararge aegeria) male resting on ground in sunshine

The male butterflies are very territorial, they will quickly chase off any rival males, the chase often involves both butterflies spiralling round and round way up into the tree tops.

On warm days the Speckled Wood Butterfly can often be seen sunbathing, sometimes choosing a open position, although as the day warms up it much prefers dappled sunlight. They will often sit low down on foliage in woodland, at the base of a hedgerow, or on a bare patch of ground, and will take flight at the slightest noise or disturbance.

During the latter part of summer Speckled Wood may be seen on Bramble, Ragwort or Fleabane, busily nectaring, building up reserves for winter Hibernation, it may also visit the gardens tempted by Sweet William, Yellow Buddleia and Coneflowers like Rudbeckia and Echinacea.

Speckled Wood Butterfly on Rudbeckia, Coneflower

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Possibly the most striking and well known of all British Butterflies, the Peacock with its red velvet colours and bright distinctive eye-spots, can often be seen in gardens, mid to late summer often attracted by plants and shrubs like Rudbekia and Buddleia.

As well as being a garden visitor, Peacock butterflies can be found in a broad range of habitats from woodland clearings to urban parks and waste ground, where they may be seen around plants and shrubs like, Blackthorn, Bramble Flowers and Hemp Agrimony or just bathing in warm sunshine.

Peacock Butterfly nectaring on Hemp Agrimony in woodland showing under-wings

Peacock Butterfly showing dark brown and black under-wings

Quick Info

Family Group: Nymphalidae – Browns
Subgroup: Nymphalinae.
Wingspan: Around 60mm.
Habitat: Gardens, Open woodland clearings, Urban parks, Waste ground, and others
Adult Nectar Plant: Blackthorn, Bramble, Buddleia, Common Ragwort, Hemp Agrimony, Rudbekia, Teasels, and others.
Caterpillars feed on: only Common Nettles (Urtica dioica).
Photographs: Top – Peacock butterfly 15/8/10, – Left – Peacock showing dark Under-Wings 24th July- bottom right – Peacock in Spring 9th April

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io) showing eye spots on wings

The Peacock Butterfly hibernates through the winter months, in places like old tree trunks out buildings and wood stacks, emerging around March – April although on occasions they may be seen earlier.

The Upper-Wings are red-brown velvet coloured with bold and distinctive eye-spots especially on the hind-wings, the eye-spots, on tips are less bold.

The Under-Wings are dark brown or black.

Peacock in Spring on Blackthorn Blossom

White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album)

Description

A small brown butterfly, with a thin black line followed by an orange band and white lines, that form the letter W on the hind under-wing.

White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album) on Marjoram

White-letter Hairstreak on Marjoram

Information

Family Group: Lycaenidae (Blues).
Where: Through-out Southern and Central England.
Habitat: Woodland rides and hedgerows with Elm trees.
Family Group: Lycaenidae (Blues).
When: Flying where found in largest numbers from July – August.
Size: 25-36mm.
Larval Food Plant: The blossom and early buds of Elm trees.
Adult nectar Plants: When not in tree tops adults may nectar on Bramble Flowers, Wild Marjoram (Origarnum vulgare), Thistles.
Population Status: Due to loss of habitat and falling numbers the White-letter Hairstreak is a priority species for conservation.
Photographed: 15th July (Macro).