By early September
They have chosen
A suitable patch of
Dense ivy or bramble
To while away the
Cold months from
Michaelmas to Lent
Dreaming of air
Tender leaves
Flowers and
Sunshine;
Harbingers of Spring
These are often the
First butterflies to be
Seen in our gardens
And country lanes;
Today one swooped
Past me flaunting his
Acid yellow wings
To land daintily on
A matching dandelion
For a quick shot of nectar;
The males always appear
A few weeks before the
Ladies and blat up and
Down the hedgerows
In puzzled frustration;
In May they perform
Dazzling aerial dances
As lurve is literally
In the air;
This fluttering zygosis
Produces the next
Generation of
Gonepteryx rhamni;
The next three
Allotropes of the
Sulphur require
Buckthorn; either
Purging or Alder
To host tic tac eggs
Bright green caterpillars
And the curious-corned
Chrysales
From which emerge
The new adults
To take their
Place in the
Summer sun;
The Brimstone
Is our longest-
Lived butterfly
But after a year
Its pointed wings
Are torn and scruffy
And it completes its
Life cycle as food for
Another creature
In accordance with
Nature's wise
Oeconomy
On seeing the first Brimstone of Spring
Discussion forum for books and any other media concerning butterflies.
- Charles Nicol
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