Daily Quiz

[Pete Eeles]

So what subspecies of Large White and Clouded Yellow visit us that aren't resident?

Swallowtail is correct since we have ssp. britannicus as resident, and ssp. gorganus as a migrant.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Piers]

Ooops! When I return and actually read the question it looks so different!

[Chris]

Oops, apologies for the delay... I've been a busy boy.

Ok then... Which species of butterfly has the longest lifespan (as an imago), IN THE WORLD!!?

[Trev Sawyer]

I think it's the Monarch butterfly?

Trev

[alex mclennan]

A variation on this theme .....
Here are 6 cryptic crossword style clues, the answer to each is a British butterfly. Who'll be first with six answers?

1. Risk a heart failure following Gordon. 2. Got pie, ran off. 3. Little Bill.
4. No comb. Mule is untidy. 5. Unclear what to do when hit hard. 6. Funky grub due. Do come around.
Alex

[Chris]

I think it's the Monarch butterfly?

Trev

Nice try, but apparently not.

Chris

[Chris]

1. Risk a heart failure following Gordon.
2. Got pie, ran off.
3. Little Bill.
4. No comb. Mule is untidy.
5. Unclear what to do when hit hard.
6. Funky grub due. Do come around.
Alex

Excellent Alex! I love cryptic clues...

Brown Hairstreak?
Orange-tip?
Small Copper?
Common Blue?
Clouded Yell-ow?!?
Duke of Burgundy?

Here are a few more...

1. A party turns evil act into sadness.
2. Leguminous Genital?
3. Home to a wee reptile?

Regards, Chris

[Pete Eeles]

To keep control of this thread - can I suggest we only have 1 per quiz per main thread? We now have 3 running concurrently:

1. Chris's question regarding the butterfly with the longest lifespan.

2. Alex's cryptic quiz (although Chris's response look good to me!).

3. Chris' cryptic quiz.

I'm all in favour of these - but please start a new thread if you want to run a new quiz while one is already running!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Chris]

It seems there is a common culprit in all this! Heed taken, Pete!

[Trev Sawyer]

OK another guess...

Some members of the Heliconid family of butterflies are very long lived as adults.
Dryas iulia don't hibernate, but can live 6 months or so in imago form, I believe.
So, are you including hibernating butterflies in this question Chris?

Trev

[Rogerdodge]

Chris-
1 Adonis Blue
2 Peacock
3 Small Tortoiseshell.

Try these-

1 Dot follower with degree
2 Goat returns fleeced
3 top shade

(sorry Pete - didin't see your post till after I posted this)

[alex mclennan]

Pete
Apologies! My fault entirely. Can I just day that Chris has of course got them all correct and suggest the answers to his clues are adonis blue, peacock and small tortoiseshell. Now I'll move to a new page ...!!
Alex

[Piers]

Oops, apologies for the delay... I've been a busy boy.

Ok then... Which species of butterfly has the longest lifespan (as an imago), IN THE WORLD!!?

Well I tentatively guess our very own Brimstone; with an imago stage lasting up to around ten months...

Felix.

[Martin]

And just in case Felix is wrong (probably not ) I'll go with Monarch.

Martin.

[Padfield]

Since there are quite a few crossword fans here - I certainly am - how about some complete cryptic crosswords on a butterfly theme for the site?

I started writing one a few months back but never finished filling the grid. There's plenty of good software out there to help but I haven't found any with all the butterfly names in, so I've been doing it manually and it's pretty tough.

Alex? Chris? Get working!

Guy

[Dave McCormick]

I'd say Giant African Birdwing (the big orangy looking birdwing with 12 inch wingspan)- can fly for 12 months a year. Was farmed for its survival because it was going extinct at one point. Not sure if this is true, but I think I read somewhere it can live for almost 2 years or something

[Piers]

I have cheated by google-ing it. There seem to be conflicting opinions out there... Can't wait to know the answer....

[Chris]

I have cheated by google-ing it. There seem to be conflicting opinions out there... Can't wait to know the answer....

Ah... well I set the question by Googling it and the answer I found was:

Our very own Brimstone! Which can live for over 12 months. For all those that said monarch, I could find only accounts of 8-10 months. I'll be intrigued to hear the alternatives Felix! You won anyway.... over to you

[Piers]

Here we go then:

Most lycaenid butterfly chrysalids have the ability to 'communicate' with ants using the specially developed edges of two of the abdominal segments, which are rubbed against each other to produce a 'song'. One British species however is notable for the loudness of these stridulations which are audible to the human ear.

But which species...?

Felix.

[Denise]

Large Blue?

Denise