My particular interest within nature has always been butterflies. This started when I was eight years old when Clive Stace, an older boy living close to me in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, got me interested in them. Clive had a good collection of butterflies that he had caught, mounted and displayed in a cabinet, which was the way things were done in the 1950s, but would be very much frowned upon today in view of the decline of many species of butterflies.
Clive was also interested in wild-flowers and went on to lecture on botany at Manchester University and become Professor of Plant Taxonomy at Leicester University, President of the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) and the author of several books, including New Flora of the British Isles that is regarded as the standard work on the identification of the wild vascular plants of the British Isles. Clive also retained his interest in butterflies and in June 2016 sighted the Chequered Skipper (in Scotland) to complete a personal sighting of every species of British Isles butterfly.
Wild Life - Butterflies
Clouded Yellow
Painted Lady
Common Blue
Here are some of the butterflies that frequent our garden and meadow in the summer months.
Some are pictured more than once to show the upper and underside wings and/or the difference between
the male and the female.
Click on any picture to enlarge it.
Red Admiral
Silver Washed Fritillary
Green Veined White
Small Tortoiseshell
Essex Skipper
Small Skipper
Gatekeeper
Large White
Large Skipper
Speckled Wood
Meadow Brown
Ringlet (left) mating with Gatekeeper
Brimstone
Male
Female
Female
Peacock
Species
Brimstone
Brown Argus
Brown Hairstreak
Clouded Yellow
Comma
Common Blue
Essex Skipper
Gatekeeper
Green Vein White
Holly Blue
Large Skipper
Large White
Marbled White
Meadow Brown
Orange Tip
Painted Lady
Peacock
Red Admiral
Ringlet
Silver Washed Fritillary
Small Copper
Small Heath
Small Skipper
Small Tortoiseshell
Small White
Speckled Wood
Wall Brown
Totals
Orange Tip
2012
9 August
26 March
29 May
8 August
17 July
9 August
26 March
20 July
15 June
26 March
19 August
21 March
9 June
9 August
30 April
6 August
17 July
26 March
25 July
13 May
20
2013
9 August
11 August
1 August
9 August
12 July
15 July
26 July
22 July
19 May
15 July
19 June
19 May
17 June
6 June
26 July
9 July
9 August
3 August
17 July
2 May
3 May
7 May
22
2014
9 March
18 August
28 July
14 July
27 July
12 July
12 July
3 May
13 April
17 July
6 June
10 April
6 June
9 March
25 May
12 Sept
16 July
9 March
15 April
21 May
20
2015
21 August
8 Sept
5 July
28 May
5 July
8 July
16 July
10 July
4 June
24 June
7 June
6 June
7 May
19 June
30 June
30 July
23 July
30 June
21 May
18 July
15 June
21
Male
Female
Gatekeepers mating
Gatekeeper and Common Blue sharing field scabious
Male
Female
Male
Male
Female
Eggs
Because the Large White lays her eggs in clusters, the caterpillars generally stay close to each other when they are young, only going their own way when they become larger, like the one at the bottom left of the page. The Small White caterpillars generally remain on their own throughout their life.
Brown Hairstreak
Chequered Skipper
Small Skipper*
Essex Skipper*
Lulworth Skipper
Silver-spotted Skipper*
Large Skipper*
Dingy Skipper*
Grizzled Skipper*
Swallowtail*
Wood White*
Real’s Wood White
Clouded Yellow*
Brimstone*
Monarch*
Large White*
Small White*
Green-veined White*
Orange Tip*
Green Hairstreak*
Brown Hairstreak*
Purple Hairstreak*
White-letter Hairstreak*
Black Hairstreak
Small Copper*
Long-tailed Blue*
Small Blue*
Silver-studded Blue*
Brown Argus*
Northern Brown Argus
Common Blue*
Chalkhill Blue*
Adonis Blue*
Holly Blue*
Large Blue
Duke of Burgundy*
White Admirtal*
Purple Emperor*
Red Admiral*
Painted Lady*
Small Tortoiseshell*
Large Tortoiseshell*
Camberwell Beauty*
Peacock*
Comma*
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Queen of Spain Fritillary*
Pearl-bordered Fritillary*
High Brown Fritillary
Dark Green Fritillary*
Silver-washed Fritillary*
Marsh Fritillary
Glanville Fritillary
Heath Fritillary
Speckled Wood*
Wall*
Mountain Ringlet
Scoth Argus
Marbled White*
Grayling*
Gatekeeper*
Meadow Brown*
Ringlet*
Small Heath*
Large Heath
2016
5 May
5 August
29 August
6 July
8 May
19 July
7 July
19 July
27 April
5 July
8 June
7 May
4 June
5 April
22 May
5 July
24 May
5 July
11 June
24 May
6 August
21
2017
26 March
30 July
15 August
27 October
30 June
25 May
29 June
29 June
10 August
6 April
21 June
10 May
17 June
2 June
5 April
4 June
9 March
26 April
7 July
2 July
15 June
17 June*
6 April
9 April
19 August
25
*not first
2018
18 April
4 August
2 Sept
5 August
27 June
30 May
6 July
7 July
30 April
18 April
5 May
25 June
6 June
19 April
9 June
12 July
26 June
1 July
21 Sept
25 July
25 July
19 June
25 June
14 May
24
Wall Brown
Holly Blue
The Small White and Large White lay their eggs on radish leaves as well as the more well known cabbage and other brassica plants. The Large White lay their eggs in groups on either side of the leaf whilst the Small White lay their eggs singly on the underside of the leaves.
Small White
Caterpillars
Fully grown Small White
Fully grown Large White
Large White
Brown Argus
Comma
Marbled White
Common Blues Mating
Large White
Large Whites Mating
Female
Marbled White
Female
Male
Ringlet
Small Copper
Small Tortoiseshells Courting
Small White
Small White
Small Whites Mating
Male
Female
Large White caterpillars in a group, young on the left and older on the right
2019
27 March
8 August
7 August
23 July
31 May
21 July
9 July
28 July
20 April
22 June
21 April
28 June
1 June
1 April
1 June
23 Feb
24 March
1 July
28 May
4 May
1 July
18 August
21 April
17 April
24