Butterflies

p.e.s.

I was out for a walk with the Dog tonight and came across this Butterfly,has anyone ever seen one of these and any idea of species ?

I have never seen one with these markings , it is a little bigger than a 2 Euro coin ,Sorry about the photo quality , its off the Phone

Sitamoia

Orange Tip Butterfly I think

http://islaynaturalhistory.blogspot.ie/2011/05/orange-tip-butterflies.html

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Yes, an Orange Tip male. Lovely little things fluttering about at this time of year.

p.e.s.

Are they rare , I havent seen them before , and yes it is, a nice little butterfly

mr.wiggle

Nice article in the examiner today on Butterflies here

IT’S quite unusual to see butterflies on the wing in April in this country but I’ve seen quite in recent weeks.

There was a small tortoiseshell, looking a bit dull and tattered. It was obviously an insect hatched last year that had been tempted out of hibernation by a spell of spring sunshine. But then I saw two red admirals and they were quite different — glowing with newly-minted colour.

I suspect some of the minor details of the life-cycle of the red admiral in Ireland remain to be discovered. They are usually described as migratory butterflies that arrive here from Morocco, with an intervening generation in Spain or France. But they certainly breed in Ireland and, according to JM Harding’s authoritative book Discovering Irish Butterflies: “it is possible that some over-winter here successfully”. So are red admirals in mid-April very early migrants or are they over-wintered specimens? The other butterfly in my garden the other day was an orange tip. This was less unusual because they are normally the first species on the wing every year. But this was a female and the males usually show up first. The female, of course, doesn’t have those bright orange tips to her fore-wings, she has black ones and she is slightly larger.

Some experts regard Irish orange tips as a separate sub-species. This is because on the upper surface of their wings the white parts have a faint dusting of yellow which is not found on orange tips in other countries.

Their preferred nectar plant is that pale mauve wild-flower that grows in damp places and is either called lady’s smock or cuckoo flower. It is also the preferred food plant of the caterpillar. It’s quite unusual for a butterfly to select the same plant species for nectaring and as larval food. However orange tips are not quite as strict as most butterflies when it comes to food for their caterpillars and females will lay eggs on garlic mustard and a few other related species if lady’s smock is in short supply.

Before depositing the egg the female inspects the plant very carefully to make sure there are no other eggs on it. This is important because caterpillars are cannibals. When they hatch out, provided there’s been no mistake and they don’t get eaten by another caterpillar, they start to feed on the seed pods of the plant. But after a week or two, even if there are plenty of seed pods left, they crawl down the plant and start eating its leaves. It then starts on the stalk.

Eventually the caterpillar suspends itself, with a silken thread at each end, from some piece of vegetation and pupates. The pupae over-winter and hatch into adults.

© Irish Examiner Ltd. All rights reserved

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

p.e.s. wrote: »

Are they rare , I havent seen them before , and yes it is, a nice little butterfly

No, not rare at allbut often overlooked. The female is often mistaken for a small cabbage white.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

mr.wiggle wrote: »

Nice article in the examiner today on Butterflies here

IT’S quite unusual to see butterflies on the wing in April in this country...

That is not correct. I keep records covering over 50 years and by April every year there have been Orange Tip and Small Tortoiseshell. Most years also show Speckled Woods, Whites, and Peacocks. Many years show others. April is not unusual for butterflies at all.

Woodville56

Jaxen Square Turtle wrote: »

That is not correct. I keep records covering over 50 years and by April every year there have been Orange Tip and Small Tortoiseshell. Most years also show Speckled Woods, Whites, and Peacocks. Many years show others. April is not unusual for butterflies at all.

Thanks for clarification Jaxen Square Turtle, have seen quite a few Orange Tip, Speckled Woods, Whites and Peacocks around these parts (north midlands) over past week or so !

Woodville56

Photographed this butterfly (or moth ? ) last weekend while walking in the Burren. It's much smaller than appears in the picture - possibly a Dingy Skipper or a moth of some type, but not sure what it is - any butterfly/ moth experts in the forum ? I know there was a moth ID thread some years ago but didn't want to resurrect it after years dormant - if Mod thinks this is the place for this query it's ok to move it as appropriate. Thanks !

Desmo

looks good for Dingy Skipper to me; V-moth will know for sure.

V_Moth

Woodville56 wrote: »

Photographed this butterfly (or moth ? ) last weekend while walking in the Burren. It's much smaller than appears in the picture - possibly a Dingy Skipper or a moth of some type, but not sure what it is - any butterfly/ moth experts in the forum ? I know there was a moth ID thread some years ago but didn't want to resurrect it after years dormant - if Mod thinks this is the place for this query it's ok to move it as appropriate. Thanks !

Dingy Skipper allright. The population found in the Burren (forma baynesi) has brighter markings than those found in the rest of its Irish range.