RFLIES TO SPOT IN YOUR GARDEN
Peacock butterfly’s eyespots startle predators medium-sized butterfly is found in gardens and hedgerows. The males are white butterflies with bright orange wingtips. Females are white with black wingtips. Both have green underwings.
6. Peacock
The spectacular pattern of eyespots evolved to startle predators, making it one of the most easily recognised species.
It is from these wing markings that the butterfly gained its common name. Undersides of the wings are very dark and look like dead leaves. Fairly large butterfly and a strong flyer.
A large and strong-flying butterfly and common in gardens. Starting each spring and continuing through the summer there are northward migrations, which are variable in extent and timing, from North Africa and continental Europe.
The immigrant females lay eggs and there is an emergence of fresh butterflies, from about July onwards. They 7
7. Red admiral
8 fly into October or November and are seen nectaring on garden buddleias or flowering ivy and on rotting fruit.
8. Small tortoiseshell
Commonly found in gardens, with striking patterning, this is one of the first butterflies to be seen in spring and in autumn it often visits garden flowers
in large numbers.
9. Speckled wood
Found in woodland, gardens and hedgerows and often perch in sunny spots,
SIGN OF SPRING Brimstone butterfly 9 spiralling into the air to chase each other. Both sexes feed on honeydew in the treetops and are rarely seen feeding on flowers, except early and late in the year when aphid activity is low.
10. Small white/large white
BUTTERFLIES are around at the moment because it is sunny and those are the ones that have become adults over winter.
Some of the species do hibernate as adults – peacock, brimstone, holy blue, tortoiseshell – all of these hang up in someone’s shed and when it warms up they go out.
They have done all their growth and the spring is about meeting others, mating, and laying their eggs to get the 2020 generation going.
But the brimstone butterfly is the real sign of spring. They emerge with this fantastic flash in a yellow colour. You see them when everything is all still brown.
When you see one of these bright yellow butterflies, that, for me, is always one of the most joyous signs of spring. People talk about cuckoos, frogs spawning, but for me, a brimstone means spring is on its way and it is very noticeable because they feed on blackthorn and are in an urban setting too. 10
It has brilliant white wings, with small black tips to the forewings and one or two wing spots. The undersides are a creamy white.
The large white is similar but larger, and has a larger spot in the tip of the forewing that extends down the wing’s edge.
The females have two spots on the forewings, which are not present in the males.
The undersides are creamy white in colour with two spots.