Viceroy butterfly

Viceroy butterflies are found in the United States, northern Mexico and southern Canada. They are easily confused with monarch butterflies, and there is a very good reason for that.

This is an example of “Batesian mimicry”, namely the evolution of a species in such a way that it ends up mimicking another species that is protected in some way that is not naturally available to the evolving species. In the case of viceroys, they would make a tasty snack for many predators although monarchs are bitter to the taste. The process of evolution has gone down the road of mimicry rather than making the viceroy equally distasteful.

Viceroys inhabit wet areas such as marshes, swamps and water meadows, with a preference for willow, aspen and poplar trees. They feed on decaying fungi and animal waste.

Mating takes place in the afternoon, after which the female will lay her eggs on the tips of willow and poplar leaves. The caterpillars, which are white and olive-brown in colour, eat large numbers of leaves before pupating. Two or three generations may be produced during each breeding season.

© John Welford

Mallow skipper butterfly

The mallow skipper butterfly (Carcharodus alceae) is fairly common in central and southern Europe where it is found on warm, dry, flowery hillsides. Adults fly almost continuously through the summer and may produce two or even three broods. 

The wingspan is up to three centimetres. The forewings have three small whitish bands that form a rough triangle. The underside is much paler than the mottled brown topsides. The sexes are similar in appearance. 

The food plant is mallow and related plants. The caterpillars feed mainly at night and pupate in leaf litter.

 © John Welford

Peacock butterfly

The peacock (bird) is unmistakable thanks to the “eyes” that are visible when the male bird displays its tail as part of its mating display. The peacock butterfly is similarly unmistakable, although the “eyes” have a different function, namely to frighten off predators when the butterfly opens its wings.

The peacock (Inachis io) is native to Europe and Asia, preferring the temperate regions that exclude both the far north and the hotter southern countries of Asia. It is non-migratory and many individuals are able to hibernate during the winter in lofts, cellars, caves and other sheltered places. It can be seen in flight in Great Britain between July and October (new brood) and in spring (over-winterers). 

The peacock is a medium to large butterfly, with a wingspan of 5.4 to 6.0 centimetres (2.1 to 2.4 inches). Females are slightly larger than males. 

The colouring of the upper wings is dark reddish-brown with yellow and black markings. There is an “eye” on the apex of each forewing and hindwing. The forewing eyes have brown centres with yellow and blue surrounds. Small white “tears” appear to be being shed from the outer corners of the eyes.  The eyes on the hindwings are blue with black surrounds. The undersides of the wings are almost black, which adds to the shock effect when the peacock suddenly opens its wings as danger approaches. Males and females have similar markings.

The food plant of the caterpillars is the stinging nettle, which is found in abundance in both rural and urban locations, and at altitudes from sea level to mountainsides. Butterflies take nectar from many varieties of flowering plant and are frequent visitors to buddleia plants (the “butterfly bush”) in parks and gardens. These facts mean that the peacock can be seen virtually anywhere within its geographical range, and is very common.

Eggs are laid in batches on the underside of nettle leaves. After about a week the caterpillars hatch and crawl to the top of the plant where they spin a communal nest and live as a group. The caterpillars, which are black and spiky, separate when approaching full growth, which takes about two or three weeks. They will often wander some distance from the food plant before pupating, and the pupa can be either grey or yellowish-green. The pupal stage takes about 10 to 14 days to complete before the adult butterfly emerges.

© John Welford

Bhutan Glory butterfly

The Bhutan Glory butterfly is found in the mountainous areas of central Asia, at altitudes of up to 3000 metres. Its preferred habitats are meadows and forests.

The wings of the Bhutan Glory measure 9-11 centimetres across. They have dark front wings but bright orange on their back wings, which are normally hidden by the front wings. If threatened they will rapidly open and close their wings to reveal the bright patches, in the hope of scaring any predator away.

Their other main defence mechanism is to feed on poisonous plants, such as the Indian birthwort plant, and absorb the poison into their bodies.

The Bhutan Glory is a protected species due to its great rarity.

© John Welford

Apollo butterfly

The apollo butterfly is one that not many people have seen, due to its remote habitat, and it is also an endangered species.

Apollos are found in mountainous and hilly regions in central Europe, Spain, Scandinavia and Asia. They have furry bodies as protection against the cold at high altitudes.

The food plant of the Apollo is stonecrop. The female butterfly lays hundreds of eggs in July and August and these hatch out in August and September. However, the hatching is only partial, because the caterpillars will stay inside the eggs until the spring. They will then moult up to five times before they are ready to pupate.

Efforts are being made in many places to protect these rare and very attractive butterflies, which have a wingspan of 5-10 centimetres. Habitats are being managed and the use of insecticides reduced in their breeding areas.

© John Welford

Scotch argus butterfly

The scotch argus butterfly (Erebia aethiops), despite its name, is not particularly common in Scotland, although it is found there. It occurs mainly in eastern Europe with scattered colonies in other places. It inhabits open grassland close to pine forests and hillsides up to 2000 metres. It flies only when the sun shines in late summer.

Its wingspan reaches a maximum of 5.2 centimetres. The scotch argus is very dark brown with an orange-brown band on each wing marked with black and white eye-spots. The underwings are similar but paler. Females are paler than males.

The caterpillar is pale brown with a darker line along the back and sides. It feeds at dawn and dusk on various grass food plants, later pupating in a flimsy cocoon in the leaf litter.

© John Welford

Dappled white butterfly

The dappled white butterfly (Euchloe ausonia) is only found in southern Europe where it inhabits flowery meadows up to around 2000 metres. There are three varieties of dappled white, the commonest being the one that is found at lower latitudes.

The wingspan is up to 4.8 centimetres. The wings are white with black tips and a black spot on each forewing. There are black and yellow scales on the underside. Females are darker than males.

The caterpillar is green with a white line down the sides, yellow stripes down the back and small black spots all over. The pupa is straw coloured and looks like a dead leaf.

The dappled white flies in early summer at higher latitudes and in early and late spring in the lowlands. The food plant is candytuft and related species.

© John  Welford

Cardinal butterfly

The cardinal butterfly (Argynnis Pandora) is the largest of the European fritillaries with a wingspan of up to 8 centimetres. It is fairly common in southern Europe, inhabiting woodland edges and flowery meadows up to 2000 metres above sea level. It flies in early summer.

The cardinal is bright orange-brown with black spots and lines. The underside forewings have a pinkish-red patch. The brown caterpillar has a wide black band with grey flecks down the back, plus rows of branched brown spines. It feeds at night and pupates under a leaf of the food plant, which is violet. Adult cardinals are particularly attracted to thistle flowers.

© John Welford

Large tortoiseshell butterfly

The large tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros) is fairly common throughout most of Europe, and is also found in north Africa, Asia Minor and as far east as the Himalayas. It is, however, extremely rare in the British Isles, being restricted to southern England and Wales, in very small numbers, and completely absent from Ireland. Indeed, the number of recorded sightings over the last 50 years in the UK has not exceeded 200, and many of those were probably accidental migrants blown in from continental Europe.

There may be several reasons for the decline of this species, which was regarded by the Victorians as being a common butterfly. One cause is doubtless the virtual extinction of the English elm, due to Dutch elm disease, as this is one of the standard food plants for the large tortoiseshell.

The large tortoiseshell lives in woods, parks and cemeteries, and can be seen sucking sap from damaged birch, oak and fruit trees. It is found at altitudes from sea level up to about 1500 metres.

The effects of high and low temperatures on the chrysalides have produced sub-species, notably Nymphalis polychloros erythromelas, found in mountainous areas of north Africa where it flies at altitudes up to 1800 metres. The sub-species may be difficult to identify because of its different wing markings.

The wingspan of the large tortoiseshell is 50-63mm. The forewings are orange-brown with black markings, rounded in the centre and more elongated at the leading edge. The hindwings are orange-brown with fewer markings, and paler nearer the body. The scalloped wing margins are well-defined, with a line of small blue crescents on the hindwings only. The underwings are darker towards the base with an irregular blue-grey marginal band.  The hair covering the legs is very dark brown or black. There are no noticeable differences in markings as between the sexes.

Eggs are laid after the female large tortoiseshells emerge from hibernation, the eggs being red-brown and barrel-shaped. When they first emerge, after about three weeks, the caterpillars stay together on their food plants, which are elm, willow, poplar and fruit trees. As they prepare to pupate, which they do beneath leaves of the food plant, the caterpillars move apart.

The pupal stage lasts for two to three weeks, with the imagos flying from June or July before hibernating over the winter. Large tortoiseshells are often seen together with Camberwell Beauties, as they have similar ways of life and seasonal habits.

© John Welford