Help needed with mystery butterfly

[General Lucifer]

Hello all. Yes, I'm a newbie, but I'm a keen amateur naturalist and an excellent observer.

Last Friday (30th Sept) I was mountain biking in woodland on the outskirts of Leeds. On a sandy climb fringed with stunted oak, silver birch, ferns and brambles I noticed a butterfly on the ground in front of me. I was riding very slowly (unfit/knackered!) and observed the butterfly in great detail at a distance of about a meter.
The butterfly was small, about an inch long from wingtip to wingtip, the primary colour was red, but the shape was very much like a blue, an adonis for example. It held it's wings flat and did not seem to be the type that would close them in an upright position.
On the top wing, dead centre, was a single very bold eyespot in black and white. It was definitely not a peacock - the eyespots were dead center of the wing.
As I drew alongside the butterfly took to the air and flitted away, but it was definitely the most beautiful butterfly I've ever seen in the wild.
I've consulted every website imaginable over the last few days and riffled through every book on my shelf - it doesn't exist!

I'm really hoping one of you good people can help.

Cheers!

[Mark Colvin]

Sounds like a male Vapourer to me.

They are flying at the moment and certainly look reddish in colour. They also have the eyespots you mention.

http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=5682

Kind regards. Mark

[MikeOxon]

the primary colour was red

This is almost certainly a day-flying moth - there are many brightly-coloured moths that are often thought of as butterflies.

Vapourer sounds possible, although its colour is a rather brownish red. You also mention a Peacock, which made me think of the Eyed Hawkmoth - see http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=1694 - the second brood may be flying now. It's bigger than you suggest, though.

At the other end of the size scale, the tiny Pyralid shown below is brilliantly coloured and very beautiful but, again, doesn't quite fit. It's really hard to work from even a good description!

Pyrausta purpuralis - Aston Upthorpe - May 2010

Mike

[General Lucifer]

thanks for the excellent suggestions, but i'm 90% certain what i saw was a butterfly. I was staggered by it. Honestly, i've not seen anything like it before. I even press ganged my family this sunday into haunting the spot where i saw it in the hope of a repeat appearance but there was no luck. I'm going to attempt to recreate it in photoshop today, to give a better idea as to what it was. Small bodied, a vivid tomato red and very large, distinct eyespots on the wings. I'm thinking it might be a foreign visitor, brought in on the warm weather!

[Lee Hurrell]

The closest UK butterfly species I can think of would be Small Copper or Wall, both flying now but both more coppery orange than red.

Small Copper is more Adonis size too although has black spots rather than eyespots...

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species. ... es=phlaeas

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species. ... ies=megera

Cheers

Lee

[General Lucifer]

Good suggestions lee - the small copper is closest in size and colourto what I saw but it is still very different. The eyespots were very similar to a peacock but rather more defined and the colour was definitely red, rather than the more orange/rusty hues of the copper.

In all my years of seeing butterflies and insects in the wild, this is the first time I've not been able to discover what it is I've seen!

I might have to get onto a cryptozoologist for this one!

[MikeOxon]

Do you have any butterfly farms or parks with tropical houses nearby? A visit there might identify an escapee.

Mike

[David M]

Must admit, my first thought was Small Copper, and failing that I'm afraid I can't come up with any alternatives.

[Reverdin]

I would go and ask at the nearest tropical butterfly house... I bet you will find others like it there.

[Padfield]

It held it's wings flat and did not seem to be the type that would close them in an upright position.

Do you have a reason for this observation? All butterflies can and do close their wings in an upright position so if you are right that this insect doesn't, then it's not a butterfly.

No European butterfly fits your insect, and in any case there are really rather few European species still on the wing. Nor does your description ring any bells with me for non-European butterflies. That doesn't mean there there isn't one like that, of course.

Can you describe the eye-spot more closely? Was it circular or kidney-shaped? Was it white, bounded with black, or were the rings white?

Some Saturnid moths have large eye spots, but they all have big bodies, not small bodies. Nevertheless, it might be useful for you to compare your insect with this, for example (a roseate emperor):


(Image from http://africanmoths.com/pages/SATURNIID ... imenii.htm)

How was yours different from that?

Guy

[General Lucifer]

Thanks for your observations, Guy. I didn't explain myself very well!
It's wings were fat down in a 'basking' position, and it didn't immediately fold it's wings in as many moths do during the day.

I've had a bit of a go in photoshop - it's more of a rough interpretation of what I saw than anything exact but it gives you an idea.
I must repeat that it WAS NOT a peacock - as I said it was only an inch from tip to tip and the eyespots were totally central on the top wing.
There may have been more detail on the other wings but in the time I had to observe it was difficult to be exact. One thing is for sure though - there was no eyespot on the lower wing.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47009813@N ... /lightbox/

[Matsukaze]

The eyespots would be a fair bit smaller, but that has the look of male Large Copper.

[Lee Hurrell]

How about a Grass Eggar moth?

http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=829

Cheers

Lee

[Philzoid]

The eyespots would be a fair bit smaller, but that has the look of male Large Copper.

I have to agree with Matzukaze although I'm completely baffeled on this one . Although a butterfly image is depicted the eyespots look typical saturnind moth to me. The insect was observed from close quarters to get the description, so perhaps it is an aberrant of some description (copper species or cinnabar moth?)
As for an escapee from a butterfly house, the only red butterfly I know from those situations are the heliconid "postman". ..... plus I'm sure there aren't any BH inmates that are as small as the butterfly described

Not so sure we are going to get a definite answer to this one

[General Lucifer]

After very careful study and consideration, I've come to the conclusion that it is one of two things

1. An undiscovered species (stop laughing!!!)

2. A mutation of a copper.

The reason I'm thinking it was a mutation is because of the freak weather at the time of the sighting. Very hot, mid October.

There is only one way to resolve this.
Come summer/autumn next year, I'll be out with a net and a good camera!

Thanks to everyone for helping though. I'll keep you posted.