A golden moment with visit of butterfly

IT is said that the brimstone butterfly may have coined the original term ‘butterfly’, given it is one of the first on the wing in spring and is the colour of butter.

But there is another yellow butterfly which can be found in Britain – and is a much richer golden-yellow hue than the pale creamy-yellow of the brimstone.

This is the clouded yellow butterfly, and it visits during summer and autumn from the Continent.

I have seldom come across them, so was delighted when one appeared in my west Dartmoor garden the other day, landing on a flower just beside the back door.

It is quite distinctive and, as I had never spotted one in my garden before, I rushed inside for a camera to capture the moment.

Fortunately it spent a few minutes feeding on flower nectar and I was able to snap a photo (below) before it disappeared over the hedge and away.

They settle with their wings closed, but in flight you get to see the glorious splash of goldenyellow, bordered by black at the edges of the wings.

Some years are better than others for these migrant butterflies, which can occasionally invade in large numbers. Given they come here from Europe, they are most often seen in southern England, and especially in flower-rich areas along the coast, including chalk downland and places where clover thrives.

Unfortunately they don’t survive our cold winters, so the later generations of those that breed here don’t make it through to the following spring.

As such it means that they are a treat which can vary from one year to the next – in good years thousands turn up, in other years only small numbers are spotted.

Checking on social media, it appears that there are scattered reports at present of clouded yellows.

So keep an eye out in fine weather – you may be fortunate enough to come across one of these late summer splashes of golden-yellow.