Tuesday, August 30

Small Tortoiseshell butterflies were in my garden both today and yesterday: still only 3-4 Small Tortoiseshells at any one time. In the past, I have counted 23 on one plant at this time of year, so where are the rest?

Sunday, August 28

I saw a Red Admiral butterfly on Verbena bonariensis today. There were also a few Small and Large White butterflies around. At the end of the afternoon, there were two Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on Sedum spectabile. The number of butterflies in my garden at the moment is disappointing; there had been many more at this time in past years. There are plenty of bees.

Sunday, August 21

A clear blue sky this morning and hardly any wind. I just had to go out! We went to Bratton Camp and Whitesheet Hill, both in Wiltshire. I saw Wall butterflies at both sites.

Wall butterfly on Thistle

There were plenty of butterfly-attracting wildflowers at Whitesheet Hill and loads of Meadow Brown butterflies about. I also saw a Small Heath, Common Blue and Chalkhill Blue, Large White, Small Tortoiseshell and Speckled Wood butterflies.

I'd hoped to see a Clouded Yellow butterfly but no such luck. Still it was a great day to be out in the lovely sunshine and not too hot now.

Saturday, August 20

There's a shortage of butterflies in my garden but I did see a Comma butterfly, a Large White and a Small White butterfly here today.
I got this photo of a Pyrausta moth on my mint:

Pyrausta aurata moth on Mint

These are tiny day-flying moths.

Went down to the woods this afternoon. Spotted a Peacock butterfly feeding on the thistles beside the ride and went over to photograph it; discovered a number of other butterflies on these thistle plants: Common Blue, Small Copper, Large Skipper, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Common Blue butterflies on Thistle plant

Small Copper butterfly on Thistle plant

It was nice to get out in the sunshine at the end of the afternoon; these photos were taken just before 5 o'clock.

Thursday, August 18

It was hot (27 degrees) and sunny this afternoon, so I decided to make the most of the weather and look for a Chalkhill Blue butterfly.

Chalkhill Blue butterfly on Knapweed

Chalkhill Blue butterfly on Knapweed

I found several Chalkhill Blue butterflies on the Cotswold Way at Barrow Wake. I also saw Common Blue butterflies, Skippers, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, a Large White and one Marbled White butterfly. By the time that we had got there, it was hazy; the conditions were great for photographing butterflies as there was virtually no wind.

Was just going out to visit our local organic farm shop, when I spotted a Brown Argus butterfly feeding on Hebe Josephine. I went back to get my camera and took these photographs of it resting on my hyssop bush.

Brown Argus butterfly resting on Hyssop

Brown Argus butterfly resting on Hyssop

Brown Argus butterfly resting on Hyssop

The car park of the organic farm shop is bordered by a bed of nettles and Buddleia bushes currently in flower. There was a distinct lack of butterflies - only a Red Admiral and a white butterfly.

Liz has asked about Large Tortoiseshell. I have not given details on this site because, as Liz realised, it is supposedly extinct in this country. However, the odd one turns up and possibly Liz saw a migrant from Europe - one of the advantages of living in Kent.

Wednesday, August 17

Lovely sunny day today and not windy. Where were the butterflies? Not here. I saw a few Whites and one Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on a Buddleia. I've been busy dead-heading the Buddleia bushes today.

Tuesday, August 16

When I arrived home from my visit to the outpatients clinic at Cheltenham Hospital, I spotted a blue butterfly at the end of the front drive.

Holly Blue on Hebe flower

I found this Holly Blue butterfly on my Hebe. A number of Whites are about and I thought I glimpsed a Gatekeeper too.

Next week I will have another bone marrow sample taken and next month I may learn why my blood isn't normal: it may be leukaemia returning, it may be that chemotherapy has damaged my bone marrow permanently or it may be some other cause. At the moment, I am in good health so let's hope for a few more days of sunshine and some butterflies around.

Monday, August 15

Having been a bit lazy, I found that my pots needed watering during the day. I watered one of my Skimmia bushes and to my surprise, a Brimstone butterfly emerged from the foliage. Although I chased it around the front garden, I didn't get a photo. There were Whites around but I only saw one Peacock butterfly.

Sunday, August 14

At 9 o'clock in the morning, I took this photo:

Common Blue butterfly on Hyssop

The hindwings are covering the forewings so that the identification markings are hidden from view; I think that it's probably a Common Blue butterfly. It remained overnight on my hyssop bush as I hoped.

Saturday, August 13

I've just returned from a holiday in Yorkshire. It has rained all day. Out in the back garden, and to my great surprise, I spotted one of the blue family - probably a Common Blue butterfly - on the blue hyssop. The butterfly was very wet, the garden was very wet and you should have seen the size of the slug on the patio! I tried to take some photos of the butterfly but failed to get anything but blurred pictures. Hopefully I will find this blue butterfly still there in the morning. Aren't I lucky to come home and find a resident butterfly?

I didn't see many butterflies whilst on holiday; I saw a few Meadow Brown butterflies at one place and the odd "Cabbage" White flying along the roadside verge.

White butterflies
I liked this photo because it captures the male in flight above the stationary female butterfly. Technically, it's not a good photo though.

Green-veined White butterfly

I saw a Green-veined White butterfly (see photo above) whilst out walking yesterday. Green-veined White butterflies will be visiting gardens now (if it stops raining!) but unlike the Large White and Small White butterflies, do not lay eggs on our cultivated plants.

Friday, August 5

A Painted Lady butterfly was on a Hebe in the front garden; I spotted it from the kitchen sink preparing lunch.

Painted Lady butterfly on Hebe

I managed to get several photos when it decided that it would allow me to get near enough. I watched it chase away one of the blue butterflies (which are much smaller) and I found a scruffy Peacock on the same Hebe.

Peacock butterfly on Hebe

There were plenty of Peacock butterflies on the Buddleia bushes as well, plus 2 Red Admiral butterflies on Buddleia White Profusion. If this was one of the new brood of Peacock butterflies, it had had a hard life already.

Thursday, August 4

Liz asked "Do you think there is any point in planting a tub of nettles in a garden?" Some years ago I collected one self-seeded nettle and planted it in a hanging basket; later there was a caterpillar on that very plant.

The problem is that the butterflies (Red Admiral, Comma, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell) like nettles in a sunny, sheltered place. Most of us with small gardens, do not want to use such a prime spot to grow nettles when we could be growing something more attractive or edible there (but then beauty is in the eye of the beholder..) Personally, I don't intentionally grow nettles these days but I'm sad when they are destroyed along the edge of the footpath to town, which is an ideal spot for them.

I would say that now is your opportunity to photograph Peacock butterflies - again large numbers today with 5-6 on each of 3 Buddleias.

Peacock butterflies on Buddleia White Profusion

However, it is so windy at the moment that it's just frustrating trying to get photos - not impossible but very difficult.

There were a couple of Red Admiral butterflies and a Comma butterfly around on the Buddleias too. Two Gatekeeper butterflies were on the Marjoram.

Wednesday, August 3

I counted 8 Peacock butterflies on one Buddleia bush; another buddleia had 5 at the same time. These are the fresh new brood of Peacock butterflies. Those that survive hibernation over the winter, will emerge looking tired and scruffy next spring looking for a mate. The eggs are laid on nettle plants and the one brood per year emerge now. The Small Tortoiseshell butterfly also uses nettles as larval food plants but the big summer emergence is a few weeks after the Peacock - nature's way of utilising resources efficiently!

As well as Peacock butterflies, I also saw Red Admiral, Comma, a Brimstone butterfly, a Meadow Brown butterfly plus the white ones.

Tuesday, August 2

A Brimstone butterfly called in this afternoon.

Brimstone butterfly on Buddleia

It stopped to feed on the Buddleia by the wall of the back garden. This buddleia was a self-grown seedling found in the back garden a couple of years ago and transplanted to it's current location. It is popular with the butterflies this summer and had 4 Peacock butterflies feeding on the flowers this lunchtime.
A Comma butterfly and a Red Admiral butterfly were on other Buddleias today. There are lots of Gatekeepers on the Marjoram and Field Scabious, plus plenty of white butterflies too.

Just a few minutes later, I spotted a Brimstone butterfly on Buddleia Nanho Blue in the front garden.

Brimstone butterfly on Buddleia flower

Was it the same butterfly?

Monday, August 1

There have been butterflies coming and going all day today. This morning I spotted two Green-veined White butterflies in the front garden.

Just before 5 o'clock this afternoon, a Red Admiral butterfly came into the back garden to join a Gatekeeper, Large White and two Peacock butterflies. A few minutes later, I was lucky to get my first sighting of a Painted Lady butterfly but it wouldn't pose for a photograph.

I've also seen Small White, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma and what I'm fairly certain was a Common Blue butterfly in the garden today - a total of 10 species.