Butterflies.

[paulinemiller10]

This picture was taken a few years ago, had loads of butterflies in the garden, but can count the ones that visited this year, and I have got all the right plants for them, just wondering where they have all gone. Pauline.

[paulinemiller10]

I have tried to add the picture, but nothing happens. Pauline.

[wildone]

Here you are Pauline.



You should have copied (CTRL+C)and pasted (CTRL+V) the BB code which is to be found under the original image.

[paulinemiller10]

Sorted it.

[paulinemiller10]

I used to feed the butterflies with a suger mix,they were easy to photograph as they got quite tame.

[Wild-Woman]

Your top picture is of small tortoiseshells, (great shot BTW). I think we've all noticed a drop in their numbers this year. On another thread, it was thought that this may have been attributed to a cold, wet spring.
Their foodplant is nettle (the egg is laid on the underside of the leaf), so whether there was a problem with it during the year, perhaps this would have added to it's scarcity.
As for myself, as I have already stated on a different thread, I've not seen one! A sorry state of affairs indeed. I usually see about a dozen or so in my garden.
Your last picture is of a painted lady, which I think a lot of us have been lucky enough to see this year. It's a migrant butterfly, so whether it just didn't get to your garden is a possibility.
I'm sure the middle picture is a red admiral and I must say I've seen loads of them this year, particularly of late when I'm certain the trek south was happening.
If your garden as is full of nectar rich flowers like it appears to be, then I'm sure they'll be back so long as we don't get another dodgy spring.
Feeding the sugar water is a lovely idea-one my mother-in-law has done for years so she can watch them.

Julie

[aeshna5]

I'll be surprised if you haven't had a Painted Lady or Red Admiral in your garden as it has been an excellent year for these 2 migrant species, though numbers of latter do manage to successfully overwinter, particularly in south. Last week or so has seen good numbers of Red Admirals heading south/SW.

Yes Small Tortoiseshells seem to have crashed in numbers + certainly around London this has been a feature of 4-5years now. I don't think anyone is totally sure why + maybe a combination of factors-climatic, parasitism + predation by Vespula wasps have been cited as potential factors; though this year there have been few social wasps- possibly the cold spring killing many of the emerging queens.

Sedum spectabile is certainly an excellent nectar plant for Small Torts, provided you don't use the popular cultivar Autumn Joy which is sterile, so doesn't produce the goodies for insects. It's sad to see so few of this pretty butterfly.

[glsammy]

Lat year was a good year for small tortoiseshells here in the East Midlands, at least so far as my sightings go..but this year it's been few and far between. Painted Ladies and Red Admirals have been here in large glorious numbers I'm pleased to say, still seeing the Red Admirals but not the Painted Lady. Others that have been in very short supply have been Orange Tip, Holly Blue. Peacocks haven't been up to their "normal" numbers, what ever they are! I also haven't seen that many Large Whites either.

[paulinemiller10]

I ve had quite a few of these white butterflies visit, and they are doing quite well, spend a lot of time high up in the tree s, apart from them, I ve seen one admiral which was a catterpiller I found in the kitchen, one comma which I ve never seen here before, one peacock, and one Tortoiseshell.
I think it was 2003 these pics were taken, when there were loads coming every day.

I did buy another sadium aeshna5, and I m wondering if it may be the Autmn Joy, will have to check, I hav nt seen any thing feeding on it, its quite a dark flower.
So except for the Great Whites, if thats what the white one is, I have hardly seen any, but strange how the white ones are doing quite well. Pauline.

[speckled wood]

I have seen two Red dmiral out flying in the rain this afternoon, could not tell if they were wearing boots and raincoats though