www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi, Haven't been on here for a while but I haven't forgotten the butterflies...

This spring as I already had a wildflower area, I wanted to do something different. We got rotavated and cleared a large area alongside our hedge, then seeded it with what is called a pictorial meadow. Not native but darn pretty..
And I can report it has been a hit with the butterflies and bees. I used the standard mix from here. http://www.pictorialmeadows.co.uk/annual_mixes.

The skippers and bees love the fairy toadflax as I do I - will be planting more of this elsewhere in the normal flowerbeds as it is so pretty. Presently I have large skippers chasing each other up and down over it. (while the next field is curiously devoid of them at the moment ) I've had common blues on it, and now the meadow browns seem to be arriving. The poppies seem to be fairly popular but only early in the morning when they have first opened. And the cornflowers are just opening and have already attracted interest.

But the big hit has been a flower called purple tansy, (Phacelia tanacetifolia ) which has been smothered in bees since it first came into bloom ( sadly no honey bees around this year only bumbles but lots of different types the area is constantly buzzing ) and also the skippers have been on it. I have found out it is planted as a bee crop in the USA and is cheap if you want to buy it as it is classed as a green manure in the UK.

Seems like you're doing great things for the insects. I too planted a patch of garden up with butterfly stuff. I have Birds-foot trefoil, Field scabious, two Knapweeds, lesser and greater. St John's wort, Marjoram, Origano, great clumps of Tufted vetch, Thyme, and Black meddick. With a lot of unwanted Orange hawkweed, and Dandelions. Some White clover, Ox-eye daisies, Chicory, Fleabane, and Hissop. Plus all the flower garden which is rich in hardy geraniums and perennial Cornflower. Around the pond which is full of frogs and newts, i have Purple loosestrife, some Yellow flags, and seeding Marsh marigolds. I'm also busy trying to establish Buddleai in the garden, which is not easy here and may have to be pots. So far this year i've had 5 or 6 small Torts, a Broad-bodied chaser male and fem, a few Azure damselflies, some Large white butterflies. No Common blue butterflies or Large red damselflies like last year so far. Aah well! the pond has been re-lined. There is a native yellow Tansy.

P.tanacetifolia is included in many of the pollen and nectar mixes sown by farmers along field edges; it's meant to encourage bumblebees, and has apparently been a hit with the very rare Great Yellow bumblebee. I have seeded a patch in our garde3n which has flourished nicely and attracted a number of bumblebee species (and a few honeybees as well). No Great Yellows though - the nearest colonies are north of Inverness.

No great yellow bumblies around here but quite a mix of others and I spotted some other kind of bee today, like a honey bee but a bit less hairy and smaller. We have loads of hoverflies, damsel flies and some broad bodied chaser dragonflies at the moment, I usually get a few emperor dragonflies a bit later on..The wildflower area is quite large,and usually does quite well for insect life. At present there are quite a lot of burnet moths.

I'm hoping I can encourage the small heaths and small coppers to come over from the field, Last year was the first one that I had found the Skippers in the garden, and they have done really well. I seem to have both large and small types.
No ringlets this year though..

I got my neighbouring gamekeeper to plant Phacelia tanacetifolia a couple of years ago as part of some game cover (he has sown more this year). We used to sit and watch the bees on it and try an count the number different coloured bums. It's brilliant for bees.