PhilBWright

[PhilBJohnson]

Painted Lady Species, the late United Kingdom non migratory individuals.
8th October 2019

8th October, Butterfly Garden, Chambers Farm Wood. Late flowering Michaelmas Daisies.

My thought was that this fresh looking Painted Lady in the butterfly garden at Chambers Farm Wood, Lincolnshire, was not a migrant (now temperatures too cool for long distance flight), but a home grown "imergee" from a previous generation that either migrated here or was home grown (UK resident).

9th October 2019

9th October, Lincoln, Lincolnshire. 4th Instar Painted Lady larva on thistle

Using Pete Eeles' superb reference book, this looked to me like a fourth instar stage of the Painted Lady Larva.
It was not expected (by me) at this time of year, for it to make it to adulthood.
"No I was not taking it indoors!"
"In under a week, the larva moults for the last time into a fifth instar"
P245 Life Cycles of British and Irish Butterflies - Pete Eeles
I would like to see, more scientific studies as to how temperature cooling in autumn (what temperature?), slows down a butterflies life cycle (larva or caterpillar), in a similar way that fisherman's maggots are slowed down when refrigerated before a next fishing session. I thought that the "in under a week" related to a specific temperature (or normal summer temperatures), rather than just "day length"

[PhilBJohnson]

Cabbage White Diaries
October 13th 2019 A race to grow and pupate (to hibernate) in decreasing daytime temperatures

*I thought this was a young, 4th Instar Large White species on Nasturtium

*I thought these were 5th Instar Small White species. on Aubretia

*Small White species, 5th Instar, “Edwardo” that had enough warmth energy for it's "pupation walk to make it under a bay window"

.
An amazing thing about the Cabbage White species, is the habitat humans provide for them. Person-built structures often provide shelter for a caterpillar looking to pupate (a pupation walk, remote from larval plant food source).

*Local Village, General Temperatures as given by the updated BBC Weather App (not necessarily micro-climatic temperature).

[PhilBJohnson]

15th October 2019

A Large White species pupa in hibernation, that pupated on 26th September 2019, Lincolnshire

*

Large White larva from two different Instars on Nasturtium (not thought to be able to make it, to pupation hibernation).

Small White larva “Edwardo” under bay window, possibly with enough warmth energy to transition to hibernation pupa.

*Local Village, General Temperatures as given by the updated BBC Weather App (not necessarily micro-climatic temperature).

[PhilBJohnson]

17th October 2019

At least 5 Small White larvae on aubretia (not thought to get enough warmth energy for a significant pupation walk).

*I thought that this caterpillar might be waiting for enough warmth energy to finish pupation transition.

*Local Village, General Temperatures as given by the updated BBC Weather App (not necessarily micro-climatic temperature).

[PhilBJohnson]

19th October 2019

Caterpillar pupated after a day of autumn sunshine on 18th October (15°C high, local village temperature ). The Small White caterpillar had fixed it’s position since 13th October 2019 (see previous diary entries).

19th October (One that did not make it), I thought it might have been a wasp.

A Small White species caterpillar 19th October 2019

*

[David M]

Some excellent observations there, Phil. It'll be interesting to see how they get on.

[PhilBJohnson]

Happy Advent!
I have uploaded a Holly Blue video to help some people better understand it's connected Life Cycles:
https://youtu.be/AI6yoPG7XlY
I apologise for the oversight of not putting UK Butterflies in the credits (which I shall now do, if using this platform in a future).
This (I thought) was a last Small White larva on "evergreen" aubretia (with the caterpillar's life cycle significantly slowed) from females that were recorded laying eggs On september 8th 2019

28th November 2019 Aubretia, Lincolnshire.

[PhilBJohnson]

Small White Butterfly on Aubretia Video

Slowed down life cycles with cooler temperatures, generally decreasing as winter approaches.
Why no Large White Caterpillars on this plant?
Are more recent hybrids producing more flowers that are less nectar rich, than plants native to southern Europe and Central Asia?
Unnatural Human Selection (hybridisers plants that are nursery grown en masse) can be without something that might be passed on by natural selection (pollination by insects).
Evergreen, clump forming perenial, might mean aubretia can "house" caterpillars well into a "climate change UK winter".
Video Link:
https://youtu.be/DREenK817VA

Kind Regards

[PhilBJohnson]

December 21st 2019 "PEE-err-iss RAY-pee" (Pieris rapae)
“Small White Larva (cool temperature, slowed down Life Cycle) on evergreen Brassica (Aubretia). I thought that this was the last one left, on this patch (but found out later that it might not have been).
Noted
A caterpillar that pupated October 13th -19th 2019
Wednesday 8th April (warmest day of year so far). Weather App 20°C Lincolnshire.
This pupa was a darker than white colour, so might have been parasitised.

"Parasitised"? Small White Pupa, December - June

[PhilBJohnson]

Swedish Fritillaries for a better future
In 2017 I visited Sweden, just for 18 days (including flight days) and was surprised to be looking at Fritillary species in one location, that were then, less common in the United Kingdom.
2017 in Värmland, Sweden, snow melt was in May, followed by much warmer temperatures, speeded up butterfly life cycles, to a point where flight times of Fritillary species from the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary to the Silver-washed Fritillary, overlapped in July.
Shown in this video were four English species, found in Sweden. Silver-washed Fritillary, Dark Green Fritillary, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Small Pearl- bordered Fritillary. I was surprised to find all of these species plus another in just one location, outside the house where we stayed. I had not seen all of these species in the UK in my adulthood!
It was said to have profoundly touched and inspired me, as well as needing help with my species ID
A beautiful thing about where we stayed in Sweden in 2017, was the connected Fritillary habitats that were still intact.
Please have a look at this video, recently updated, where we expressed some thoughts:

https://youtu.be/253j3yvvntY

We are still looking forward to further Swedish butterfly study, with a knowledge and reference to UK species,

Kind regards

[PhilBJohnson]

A video I watched recently (Jan 2020).
My species Movie Critique I added to the species specific forum for Orange Tip

"The Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines L.)" by Filming Varwild 2019

https://youtu.be/601Z2Bgrq44

[David M]

..The Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines L.)" by Filming Varwild 2019..

This entire series is beyond cutting edge as far as butterflies are concerned. I would recommend to anybody to view the full range of these videos as they are the 'Blue Planet' equivalent in the butterfly world and the couple that produce these films are as devoted and knowledgeable as anybody in Europe.

[PhilBJohnson]

Thanks David,
I thought that the Green Hairstreak was an example of a species not fully understood (or widely understood). It apparently needed a species of ant for it's life cycle, making it not a common garden species but very much habitat specific.
As it was not endangered (or became extinct) like the Large Blue, it was apparently, not studied to such a degree.

We might have a situation (I don't know), where United Kingdom, European and United States Green Hairstreak, had evolved to interact with habitats and other species in their local habitats, differently.

For education and entertainments sake, this was my latest effort to collate some of my Green Hairstreak video clips and photos:
I hope you enjoy it.
https://youtu.be/qGuQu0vzJow

[PhilBJohnson]

Woodland Paths in Winter
As one knows, after much rain, woodland paths can become muddy. As people tend not to like walking through the middle of some mud, a mud path can become wider, as people walk on the less muddy edges, often trampling on celandine and violets that might be there, making a muddy part of a path, wider.
One management solution with funding and land owners permission, was to lay a slightly raised, narrow gravel path, for two people to walk side by side and for wheel chair access, a path of at least 1.2m wide, was thought appropriate. A path laid centrally, allowed flora on a path edge to recover, as people walked more, keeping to the purpose built, nice new path.

Celandine and Violets on muddy Woodland path edge suffered after rain and many walkers, runners and cyclists. 26th January 2020, a Lincolnshire Wood.

Kind Regards

[PhilBJohnson]

Space for another file.

[PhilBJohnson]

Companion Planting ideas to help butterflies

April -May Aubretia & Garlic Mustard. Planted Scheme with "water table" tray for GM tap roots

April Aubretia & Garlic Mustard. Planted Scheme with "water table" tray.
If uprooting native Garlic Mustard (Garlic M) in ones own garden, try and transplant it by keeping all of it’s long carrot like (in shape, do not eat) tap root. Get as much surrounding fine root in soil as one can, to help prevent, not enough water "leaf wilt" once transplanted.
Grown in general purpose (nitrogen rich) compost for larger green leaves. It took two years to flower from seed (biennial) with that half of pot well watered in shade to start with. A watering tray at the bottom of the large pot, helped the "water table" tap root and the aubretia to stay drier.
Aubretia liked well drained (small stones in soil), less watered compost. It was less deep rooted.
When Garlic mustard flowered, a pot was transferred from a shady location, to a sunny one, a female Orange Tip butterfly oviposited on, at an appropriate seasonal time (and time of day).


Kind Regards,

[PhilBJohnson]

The Orange Tip butterfly in the United Kingdom, had evolved a mottled green underwing to help it camouflage while resting on native, white Garlic mustard flowers (or similar species), in-between periods of direct sunlight needed for flight in a "cold" United Kingdom Springtime.
Companion Planting Garlic Mustard with Sweet Rocket might have been an answer to Sweet Rocket being an unhelpful "misleadance" for a female Orange Tip butterfly, looking to egg lay (a waste of her energy, if the plant wasn't used to complete a life cycle).
This "Species Video" was unfinished, I hoped to update this link later.
It was hoped that better content was to be added (and poorer content removed) at a future time:

https://youtu.be/ToWv3rnuO4c

[David M]

Some interesting stuff lately, Phil. Are you intending to let us know when 'Edwardo' becomes an adult?

[PhilBJohnson]

Devil’s-bit scabious (Marsh Fritillary Larval foodplant) (DBS)
This was a plant grown from seed, that germinated in the autumn, from a single species DBS seed packet and grown indoors on a window ledge through the winter, sown from shop bought seed and seedling compost (not contaminated by other seeds).
One thought was, first year root, might have significantly different leaves from a mature rooted DBS
At this stage, this plant did not have hairy, or very hairy leaves.
This turned out not to be Devil's-bit scabious but possibly sorrel!
UK butterflies that laid their eggs in a large batch, often chose big leaves for their oviposited position.
A significance of growing DBS with large leaves, might have been like telling a Marsh Fritillary female, where to go to lay her batch of eggs and the plant also might have produced many nectar rich flowers.
My DBS purchased as plug plants, were transferred into larger pots which stood on a water tray.

30th April 2020 Re-potted Sorrel? plant from DBS seed packet. (Bench gave an understanding of plant size).

Kind Regards,

[PhilBJohnson]

April 9th 2020
"Gardening for Native Butterfly Species in the United Kingdom.
The following comments of mine were about our native Speckled Wood butterfly on facebook. I apologised for not seeing one yet this year.
I had copied these comment with edits, for possible critique:
The Speckled Wood female butterfly laid it's eggs on grass and a green caterpillar, habitually, sat lengthways (vertically, if the grass was growing that way) along a broad leaf of grass, as it had evolved to camouflage that way (ones that did not do that got eaten, not surviving to pass on to another generation).
The wild, native grasses, caterpillars ate, were not present in everyones fine cut lawns. When one left a bit of "rough grass" around the edges of their garden, it was often helpful for this species and many other native UK butterfly species.
This was one of the larger native United Kingdom resident butterfly species, to complete it’s life cycle, in need of native grass. For a fat, 4th Instar caterpillar to camouflage successfully from predators, it needed to lie lengthways on a relatively broader grass leaf, compared with a fine leaf, lawn hybrid developed to be hard wearing, for sport on grass.

Someone's specialised book topic might have been:
UK Resident Butterfly Species and Native Grasses they depend on.
which might have led to:
A more thought out grass seed mix, specifically for native butterfly species.


Kind regards

PS (I have not seen a Speckled Wood caterpillar in the wild yet).