Scilly Butterflies
Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2019 6:53 pm
I have recently returned from a family holiday on the Scilly Isles, where the weather was considerably better than the reports I was hearing from the mainland. We enjoyed a reasonable amount of very warm sunshine, interspersed with occasional, sometimes heavy, showers.
On a previous trip, I had failed to note the presence of a sub-species of the Speckled Wood, confined to these islands (Pararge aegeria ssp. insula (Howarth, 1971) In comparison with ssp. tircis (as found throughout most of UK), the ground colour of ssp. insula is said to be a deeper yellowish orange and more nearly resembles that of the nominate subspecies aegeria from southern Europe. Further information is given at: http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species. ... es=aegeria
My visit coincided with the ‘gap’ (or, rather, overlap) between the Spring and Summer broods, so I am not sure which brood is represented in each of my photographs. In fact, these butterflies were fairly abundant on all the islands that I visited. My photographs were taken on three different islands in the group: St.Mary’s, Bryher, and St.Agnes.
Other species seen included Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Common Blue, Small Copper, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, and Red Admiral, with a selection of photos below:
Of course, the Scillies are not particularly noted for their butterflies but it was interesting to see a good range of species on these rather isolated islands.
The islands are, of course, a major destination for birders and I joined a couple of boat trips specifically to see some of the sea-bird colonies on the uninhabited islands. Rats have been successfully eliminated from several islands, which has had a very beneficial effect on sea-bird breeding success. Whereas, on my previous visit, a couple of years ago, Puffins were fairly scarce, it was great to see that they are now present in good numbers. I was especially pleased to take a portrait of one of these very charismatic birds with a beakful of Sand Eels:
Mike
On a previous trip, I had failed to note the presence of a sub-species of the Speckled Wood, confined to these islands (Pararge aegeria ssp. insula (Howarth, 1971) In comparison with ssp. tircis (as found throughout most of UK), the ground colour of ssp. insula is said to be a deeper yellowish orange and more nearly resembles that of the nominate subspecies aegeria from southern Europe. Further information is given at: http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species. ... es=aegeria
My visit coincided with the ‘gap’ (or, rather, overlap) between the Spring and Summer broods, so I am not sure which brood is represented in each of my photographs. In fact, these butterflies were fairly abundant on all the islands that I visited. My photographs were taken on three different islands in the group: St.Mary’s, Bryher, and St.Agnes.
Other species seen included Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Common Blue, Small Copper, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, and Red Admiral, with a selection of photos below:
Of course, the Scillies are not particularly noted for their butterflies but it was interesting to see a good range of species on these rather isolated islands.
The islands are, of course, a major destination for birders and I joined a couple of boat trips specifically to see some of the sea-bird colonies on the uninhabited islands. Rats have been successfully eliminated from several islands, which has had a very beneficial effect on sea-bird breeding success. Whereas, on my previous visit, a couple of years ago, Puffins were fairly scarce, it was great to see that they are now present in good numbers. I was especially pleased to take a portrait of one of these very charismatic birds with a beakful of Sand Eels:
Mike