2 minute read
Late Season Foray
Derek and Valerie Soper
We had just returned from a slowish drive around neighbouring lanes of High Suffolk on a hot, early September mid-morning hoping, in less visited tetrads, to record butterflies. It was desperately unrewarding: we saw none! The only creatures observed (no humans) were the occasional dragonfly, plus numerous pheasants along headlands and roach in a moat waiting supposedly for the shooting and angling fraternity.
In order to seek reassurance that butterflies were still around we returned to our own garden and were pleasantly surprised to observe two Red Admirals, a Small Copper, several ‘ whites’ and a Silver-Y moth busily nectaring on Verbena bonariensis. Moreover, there was also a Silver-Y on meadow clary and a Comma on a shallot flowering head. With the buddleias ‘going over’ , the Verbena and meadow clary are ideal late nectaring provision. Small Coppers enjoy Echinacea, and the other flower deserving particular mention is the lawn ‘ weed’ lesser hawkbit, visited by whites, wild bees and hoverflies. Hawkbit does however go-to-bed-at-noon, so care must be taken not to mow it off in the afternoon when the yellow inflorescences are not apparent. Fallen apples also provide a good feeding source for Commas and Red Admirals, which we witness daily.
In our tetrad only two species: Ringlet and Small Tortoiseshell, were recorded in the 1986 Suffolk survey and a further four: Gatekeeper, Green-veined White, Large Skipper and Meadow Brown, in the millennium survey of 2001. Here in our garden over the past eleven years we have recorded 18 regularly-visiting butterfly species, 24 in total.
The one-acre property we own is rather isolated, being surrounded by intensive arable farming. Although there are contiguous grass strips these have been mown and are only suitable for rodents and the foraging barn owl. No wild flower seed has been sown with the grass. Thistles and nettles are not allowed to grow and the roadside verges are cut early. Although some hedge planting has been done, this is alongside roads and never across the vast wide-open fields.
The reason for the dearth of butterflies in our surrounding countryside is clear. There are no late-nectaring opportunities.
At present we have Comma pupae on stinging nettles in an old greenhouse. As the adults emerge we must warn them to stick around.
References: Mendel and Pietrowski (1986) The Butterflies of Suffolk. Stewart (2001) The Millennium Atlas of Suffolk Butterflies
