Thanks Pauline!
Tour of the North
With both Mark Colvin and I planning a “tour of the north” this year, we decided to coordinate diaries and, last week, made an excursion north of the Watford Gap. My 4am start was eclipsed by Mark’s 3:15am start, meeting up near Warwick at 5:30am before heading north in one car and into glorious sunshine. Like several other UKB members, our first stop was Irton Fell and, given the sightings that had been reported, were convinced we’d be too late to see any adults in good condition, but figured we’d just be happy with the experience of seeing Mountain Ringlet, as well as getting some decent exercise! The directions provided by other UKB members was spot on and we had no problem heading up past the base of Irton Pike and onto the fell.
- Irton Fell with Irton Pike in the distance
The Cumbria BC website gives very precise details of where to find Mountain Ringlet on the fell, but our experience was that they were almost everywhere, and we congratulated each other on finding a first for both of us –
Erebia epiphron ssp. mnemon – within 100 yards of passing through the gate onto the fell. The individuals we saw in this area were quite faded and it was easy to determine which specimens were likely to be in better condition since they were noticeably darker in flight. As we walked further up the fell toward Whin Rigg, the
Erebia seemed to be in better condition the higher we walked and we assumed that this species is not a great wanderer given that the difference in condition from the lowest to highest elevations was noticeable and consistent.
- Whin Rigg on the right, with Wast Water in the distance
All in all, we estimated that we saw at least 150 Mountain Ringlet (which Mark has reported on the Cumbria BC website) and I, for one, was surprised just how difficult it was to get a decent shot of the adult given the numbers we were seeing. Very few settled in a position for a decent photo, with most landing among the Mat-grass (
Nardus stricta), the larval foodplant, that carpets the fell. Still, it was such a wonderful experience simply seeing so many Mountain Ringlet flying that the photography was definitely a secondary concern.
- Mark in action!
As we sat eating lunch at Greathall Gill, a ravine at the base of Whin Rigg, we had at least a dozen Mountain Ringlet for company and decided that, with fantastic views over Wast Water, life doesn’t get much better than this! A short while later, we noticed a female fluttering slowly and deliberately over the Mat-grass and, after a couple of minutes, had the privilege of watching her deposit a single white egg on the foodplant which, I have to say, made my trip. The egg is actually quite large for the size of the butterfly and, as Jeremy Thomas and Richard Lewington tell us, is quite conspicuous at the base of the foodplant. Now that we knew what to look for, we managed to find another 2 eggs within 30 minutes and these seemed to show different stages of “colouring up”, with the second egg we found showing a wonderful pattern that is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on any other butterfly egg. Amazing!
- Newly-laid egg
- Egg colouring up
- Egg fully coloured-up
While we managed to get some shots of the few individuals that remained somewhat docile, the onset of late afternoon definitely gave us the best opportunity to photograph the adults as the temperature dropped slightly, and some shots are below.
- Mountain Ringlet ssp. mnemon - male
- Mountain Ringlet ssp. mnemon – male, with spots missing on forewings
- Mountain Ringlet ssp. mnemon – male
- Mountain Ringlet ssp. mnemon - female
Despite the folklore that Mountain Ringlet only fly in sunshine, we found that they would still fly in bright conditions, possibly because conditions were still sufficiently warm. With the day almost over, we then headed down to Morecambe Bay to find a suitable B&B where we could catch up on our sleep before trying for more local specialties.
Our first stop on day 2 was Meathop Moss, a well-known site for Large Heath
ssp. davus, the most colourful of the 3 subspecies we have. Again, we were both amazed at the number of adults that were flying, even at 7:40am! This species was also very difficult to photograph, but we did manage to find some adults nectaring on Cross-leaved Heath (
Erica tetralix). The boardwalk that leads onto the moss is in need of some repair, so anyone visiting the site should watch their step!
- The boardwalk leading onto the moss
- The white tufts of Hare’s-tail Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum), the larval foodplant
- Large Heath male on Cross-leaved Heath
Despite it being early in the season for this species, we did find a few females flying and we decided to track one to see if she would do what we were hoping – and she delivered to order (well, after 15 minutes or so!) – by depositing a single egg on a leaf at the base of the foodplant. This was yet another unexpected bonus for us, adding to this very memorable trip.
- Large Heath ovum
Since we were in the area, visiting Arnside Knott (on the other side of Morecambe Bay) was an obvious choice. We knew we were too early for High Brown Fritillary, but enjoyed views of a several fresh Dark Green Fritillary and, to top off an excellent 2 days, the sight of a slight-worn Northern Brown Argus (
ssp. salmacis).
- Dark Green Fritillary – male
- Northern Brown Argus - male
All in all, this is one of those memorable trips that will live with you forever. The sight of so many Mountain Ringlet will stay with me forever! And my thanks to Mark for doing all of the driving (all 700 miles of it!) and putting up with any lame jokes I may have cracked! And we’ve now started a trend of naming the scientific name of each of the British butterflies species while driving – beats 10 green bottles hands down!
Cheers,
- Pete
The last photo is of one of the larvae being returned to the wild.