Painted Ladies

[Pete Collins]

Originally Posted by harasseddad

Global warming - the weather in the Atlas mountains was exceptionally wet, producing abundent flowers. This allowed populations to build up. Normally they migrate to southern europe, breed there and we get an influx of that european generation in July. This year we're getting to overflow because europe is full! If you think there's a lot now, imagine what July will bring if all those in europe now succeed in breeding!

Originally Posted by Susie

Apparently there are many millions of them heading northwards. The influx is due to good winter rains over the Atlas Mountains in North Africa which has resulted in a bumper brood of painted ladies this year heading northwards in a search for new breeding territories. Obviously these will produce young of their own and I understand that in good conditions a new brood of PLs can grow to adult-hood in a month so we should have many fresh, large, painted ladies of our own throughout the coming summer. Bliss!

Thanks for the info/explanation. I've only seen a couple of Painted Ladies so far this year, I'm looking forward to seeing many more.

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

Yesterday (26th May 09) I witnessed with a friend, something that I've never seen before. Literally 1000's (yes thousands) of Painted Ladies along the coastline between St Margarets and Kingsdown in Kent. As we walked, clouds of them rose up from the pathway and we had to be careful not to tread on them.
As I've mentioned earlier in this thread, the day before we saw hundreds, near Hastings, but this was a significantly larger, many times larger. It was an amazing experience.
Hopefully with all these butterflies arriving, all the country will get the pleasure of their company.

That must have been an amazing experience Jules!

[Susie]

James, I have no doubt that your buddleias will be in full flower by late summer. As long as they are davidii they will flower on new wood so you are in luck.

When you say you want flowers for the butterflies, do you mean those that you can grow from seed or that you can buy as plants?

[elleme]

I saw several at once in my South London garden pretty much all every day over the Bank Holiday - most of the time about 4, but 7 at once at one point. I was getting the occasional one on aquilegia but my big clump of red valerian in full sun was a real magnet for them. None today but the weather's been grey and a bit drizzly here.

[James M]

Originally Posted by Susie

James, I have no doubt that your buddleias will be in full flower by late summer. As long as they are davidii they will flower on new wood so you are in luck.

When you say you want flowers for the butterflies, do you mean those that you can grow from seed or that you can buy as plants?

Davidii yeah, I just worry that we won't get as many flowers as last year as we had grown them up to a cetain size, but then again I don't know alot about gardening so you're probably right . Either plants or seeds (though is it a little too late for most plants to be grown from seeds?) will do. I'm assuming depending on the plant the soil type would be important? is there a quick cheap way to tell the acidity? our soil can be quite clayie (I know that's not a word lol) and boggy in places.

[Susie]

Annuals grow very quickly from seed. Sown now you could have a garden of flowers in six weeks' time.

However, what I would recommend would be to nip out to the garden centre and buy red valerian, lavender and the perennial wallflower "bowles mauve" for an instant effect that will flower for a long period this year and for years to follow. Each can be propagated extremely easily from cuttings too so you can have a whole garden full of plants for very little outlay in the long run.

If your buddleia doesn't put on a bumper display (as long as it is on decent soil and watered when necessary) I will eat my keyboard!

[James M]

Originally Posted by Susie

Annuals grow very quickly from seed. Sown now you could have a garden of flowers in six weeks' time.

However, what I would recommend would be to nip out to the garden centre and buy red valerian, lavender and the perennial wallflower "bowles mauve" for an instant effect that will flower for a long period this year and for years to follow. Each can be propagated extremely easily from cuttings too so you can have a whole garden full of plants for very little outlay in the long run.

If your buddleia doesn't put on a bumper display (as long as it is on decent soil and watered when necessary) I will eat my keyboard!

Thanks Susie I hope you won't have to eat your keyboard.

[Gaina]

Originally Posted by Naturenutz

keep looking gaina ,this pics for you . Taken at chew valley saturday

Oh lovely, thank you! . I may have a mosey over to Chew at the weekend .

[APC]

Hi there, only saw the first page of this thread but can anyone confirm whether I have won the record of most painted ladies seen?

On 26th May, between noon and 1pm, I was in my yard at Staunton Country Park where I saw, at a conservative estimate, 200 painted ladies flying over our workshop, north, towards Rowland's Castle.

I did a transect after (was going to do one that afternoon anyway) and counted 58 painted ladies in the first section of the route, with appearances in every other section (although less than 10 in most other section).

Bear in mind that I did not count a single painted lady last year on the transect at all.

[Wild-Woman]

See my post (64) to this thread. I've entered my record on butterfly Conservations Kent website. I'm still reeling from seeing that amount.

[Pete Collins]

I went for a long walk today (just for a change! ) and there were loads of Painted Ladies about. In particular, all along a footpath from Markyate to Flamstead (in Herts, close to Harpenden where RobinP reported some the other day) I kept seeing three or four at a time. I almost trod on one a couple of times. They seemed particularly fond of the clover there. There were several here in Kensworth, as I came back through the village at the end of the walk.