Blue butterflies

Two fairly 'common' blue butterflies in the Peterborough area are the Chalkhill Blue and the Common Blue. The top 3 photos show the Chalkhill (male, female, male) and the bottom 4 show the Common (female, female, male, male). These blues have a distinct difference in appearance between the sexes, with the male being the 'blue' one, while the female tends to be brown, although the Common Blue female can sometimes have more blue in the upper wing as is shown in photo 5.

This year seems to have been a good one for Chalkhill Blues with hundreds of thousands of these 'flutters' being present at individual sites. At Barnack Hills and Holes, where these photos were taken, I counted up to 450 before losing count (not thousands, but certainly good numbers). A good news story in a year when butterfly numbers have been low, to say the least.

Blue on pooh

The picture most people have of a butterfly is one perching daintily on a flower of a Buddleia or other sweet smelling plant, happily taking nectar. What you don't think of is one sitting on a pile of dog pooh, quite happily taking the salts from said excrement. It shatters the illusion somewhat, but many butterflies do it, the Purple Emperor, for example, is very fond of feeding on something extremely undesirable such as corpses of animals and also pooh of all sorts.

I visited Barnack Hills and Holes the other day and was greeted by clouds of Chalkhill Blues. There were hundreds of these lovely blue butterflies flying around in the sun and feeding on knapweeds and scaibiouses. Whilst revelling in this far too rare sight I trod in some dog pooh! Lovely, I thought, why can't dog owners clear up after their pets?! However, I was soon finding little blue butterflies coming down to feed on this 'delightful' deposit. Cleaning the foul smelling muck from my shoe, I proceeded to snap away.

I didn't see any females feeding this way, what does that say?! Shatters the picture somewhat, doesn't it?

Small Copper

All photo`s hand-held Canon Powershot A640

Another butterfly post, but one of a butterfly that up until recently I have been unable to photograph.

This little stunner is the Small Copper, a fairly common and widespread species. They are found in a wide range of habitats, from flowery hillsides to woodland rides and are sometimes seen in gardens. This butterfly thrives in hot, sunny conditions and in good years can have 3 or 4 broods, lasting from late April until November. In cool wet summers (this year being an example so far), the population of this lovely butterfly can crash and take several years to recover.

In East Anglia this butterfly has found it hard to survive, again due to agricultural intensification and there has been a slight decline in numbers. This butterfly has a brilliance that would be greatly missed were it to die out like the only other British butterfly with coppery wings, the Large Copper.

True blue

All taken using hand-held Canon Powershot A640

Another `Blue` butterfly, this time the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus). This butterfly is still a regular sight in our countryside, being our most common and widespread `Blue` species. It is found from sea level to mountains throughout Britain, although is absent in Shetland. Its` success could be due it being found in a variety of habitats, including damp meadows, heaths, woodland, roadside verges, waste ground and even suburban gardens.

It is double-brooded, with the first adults flying in May and June with the second brood flying in August and September, although sometimes this becomes blurred and the butterfly can be found in July (as in this case). The male has violet blue wings, finely edged with clear white wing margins, with the female being brown, but also has the white wing fringes, although in some areas there are blue varieties of the female with the subspecies mariscolre being particularly beautiful ( this is found in Ireland and north-west Scotland).

Blue is the colour

All photo`s were taken using hand-held Canon Powershot A640

The Chalkhill Blue butterfly is one that is characteristic of warm chalk and limestone hillsides, but has declined in numbers over the last century due to its downland habitat being ploughed up to `improve` the land. The species is, however still fairly widespread and stable in the south of England and in some areas the populations can number many hundreds. One such place is Barnack Hills and Holes NNR, close to Peterborough.

The above photo`s were taken at the weekend on a rare period of sunshine. The number of males in flight easily numbered 70+, but there were only a few females apparent. The male is a beautiful silvery-blue (as above), but the females are a brown colour with chequered wing fringes. It is a butterfly of high Summer, flying in a single brood from mid-July to September.

Marbled Whites

These are just some of the photo`s taken on the trip to Barnack Hills and Holes mentioned in my last post. The sheer numbers of Marbled White butterflies made counting them quite difficult, but there were easily 150+ individuals.

This butterfly thrives following hot, dry summers and despite the destruction of flower-rich meadows it has spread to different habitats, such as disused railway lines, waste ground and chalk downland. The butterfly can be seen on sunny days feeding and basking on knapweeds and scabiouses. They fly in a single brood from mid-June until mid-August.

All the photo`s above were taken with my Canon Powershot A640 camera.