(Monday 6th July – Friday 10th July)
The UK once again recorded very high temperatures during this latest heatwave although it’s been even warmer in the rest of Europe. With Chief Photographer Stu currently away on holiday, this week’s blog is just a record of the butterflies and one or two other insects that have visited the garden.
Above: Peacock butterflies
I’ve spent a lot of time venturing no further than the garden in this hot weather and this has turned out to be a good thing as I managed to photograph quite a variety of butterflies during the course of the week. In fact, there were a further two species of butterfly that appeared but which I was unable to get a decent photograph of – a Gatekeeper and several Green-veined Whites. But it certainly is encouraging to see such a diverse range.
Top and middle: Red admiral with wings open; bottom: Red admiral showing underwing
Undoubtedly the Buddleia bush (also known as the Butterfly bush for good reason) at the bottom of the garden has been helpful in attracting the various butterflies. The Red admirals and Peacocks appear to be the biggest fans of the flowers, although Small tortoiseshells, Small whites and Green-veined whites have also been drawn to the bush, though in lesser numbers. The flowers have a lovely scent which seems more pronounced as the evening draws in so presumably the plant attracts night-time pollinators too.
Top: Small white; middle: Large white (underwing); bottom: Small tortoiseshell
The other benefit of the Buddleia is that the butterflies tend to dawdle on the flowers and spread their wings, so can be motionless for at least a few moments which was ideal for getting the odd photograph!
Not all butterfly species are drawn to Buddleias though: when the Commas (there are two of them) are not whizzing maniacally up and down the garden, they usually prefer to rest on the Hazel leaves – as do the Large whites. But the butterflies that I see more than any others here are the Holly blues, although they rarely stay in one place for very long.
Top: Comma; bottom: Holly blue
Besides the butterflies, both Buff-tailed and White-tailed Bumblebees are regular visitors: I’d just been snapping away and still had the camera at hand when I caught sight of an insect that I don’t ever recall seeing before, though I believe they are increasingly common in the UK. This is the Hornet hoverfly, sometimes referred to as the Hornet mimic hoverfly. As its name might suggest, it is similar in size and appearance to the European hornet and imitates its buzzing flight, chiefly to deter predators from approaching it when it visits flowers. Unlike the four-winged European hornet, however, the hoverfly– like all true flies – only has two wings. It also lacks a sting.
Top: White-tailed Bumblebee; middle and bottom: (Mimic) Hornet hoverfly (apologies for the blurred picture)
The important stuff
From the garden I went all the way to Café Chez Col where I had a lovely cup of tea, which tasted almost as if I’d made it myself, and an Almond slice made by some bloke who makes “exceedingly good cakes”. Very nice!
