A look back at 2022
August
I came back from a cooler than normal Spain to a raging hot Wales, where temperatures exceeded 30c even in Swansea!
A local excursion on 10th gave a foretaste of things to come, as butterfly activity was rather suppressed due to the heat. With that in mind, I arrived early on 11th at West Williamston in Pembrokeshire to find the horse in the top field wearing a fly mask and a large body cover, presumably to protect it from the abnormal temperatures.
There were quite a few butterflies active between 930 and 1030am, including several male Brown Hairstreaks jousting in an ash tree by the gate in the lower field:
A short while later I was delighted to find a pristine female investigating the blackthorn suckers along the foreshore:
Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Painted Lady were seen nectaring near the scrub line:
On 13th, the heat peaked (it was 32c when I drove home from Kenfig Dunes), but another early start rewarded me with hundreds of butterflies, mainly Meadow Browns and Common Blues, but also several Graylings at this coastal site:
A few second brood Wall Browns were about too:
I briefly got sight of a Clouded Yellow, but it flew some distance beyond an inaccessible area and I wasn’t able to re-find it despite 10 minutes’ searching.
With several Clouded Yellows having been reported from Cosmeston Lakes near Cardiff, I thought I pay a visit there myself on 19th to check things out.
The territory looked just like the place for them, with grassy meadows and lots of knapweed and thistles, but despite over two hours wandering around, I didn’t see any.
Meadow Browns were numerous again:
So were Common Blues:
The heatwave had taken its toll on the habitat though, with the grass scorched yellow and lots of stunted plants which had suffered from lack of rainfall.