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Tag Archives: pyronia tythonus

Butterfly meadow

02 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, butterflies, Butterflies of Wales, Nature, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, nature photography, Wildflowers of Wales, woodland wildflowers

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

aphantopus hyperantus, argynnis aglaja, dark green fritillary, Gatekeeper, maniola jurtina, Meadow Brown, pyronia tythonus, Ringlet, small skipper, thymelicus sylvestris

In the meadow the grass is long and beginning to turn golden brown as it sets seed.

The meadow grass is long , brightened by patches of yellow Lady's Bedstraw

The meadow grass is long , brightened by patches of yellow Lady’s Bedstraw

Bright golden yellow patches of Lady’s Bedstraw, scented like new mown hay catch my eye.

Lady's Bedstraw-Galium verum

Lady’s Bedstraw-Galium verum

At this end of the field there are more brambles and I spot several dark brown butterflies flying low down along the length of them. It was a while before any settled for long enough to see properly what they were. As I hoped, some were dark, chocolatey brown Ringlets.

Ringlet butterfly on bramble leaf

Ringlet butterfly on bramble leaf – wings of butterflies that frequent brambles often get torn on prickles

One Ringlet male was clearly patrolling a territory. The brambles fill a corner of the field; he was flying to one ‘end’ of the patch, turning around, flying to the other end, then where the bramble curves around the corner he cut across to the other side of the track, flitted a short way through the long grass then back across the track to the brambles. Occasionally he paused for rest or to skirmish with intruders.

An undamaged Ringlet

As well as Ringlets there were Meadow Browns, some of which were also coloured dark brown, hence my initial hesitation identifying the Ringlets. It’s quite unusual to see Meadow Browns resting with their wings fully open and it is interesting to see how variable this species is in size and colouring.

A dark coloured Meadow Brown

The male  Meadow Brown is darker brown than the female and may not have orange patches

A lighter shaded Meadow Brown

A lighter shaded female Meadow Brown

Medow Brown underside

Meadow Brown (male) underside showing orange underwing and eyespots

More usual view of a Meadow Brown underside

Meadow Brown underside-female

I was pleased to see a lovely fresh Gatekeeper here too, my first one for this year. This one was a male;  he has dark scent scale patches in the centre of the forewings which females don’t have.

Gatekeeper

Gatekeeper-Pyronia tithonus

In the opposite corner of the field there are more brambles; there were more Meadow Browns here and little golden brown Skippers that happily are abundant here and that also occur in other nearby locations, particularly on the Little Orme.

Small Skipper has orange-brown tips to antennae

Small Skipper (male) has a line of  black scent scales on forewings

There were a good number of these lovely little butterflies flitting about, expertly manoeuvering at speed between the long grass stems.

Small,or possibly Essex Skipper

Small Skipper-Thymelicus sylvestris

Ringlets are not widespread throughout the site, but rather occur in colonies in a few different locations. I walked on up past the top end of the field where I have found them in previous years, again on brambles. I was pleased to see there were; maybe half a dozen individuals, mostly flying around in the long grass in front of the brambles. Finally one flew up to feed on one of the last remaining flowers.

Ringlet

Ringlet feeding on the last of the bramble flowers

I was wondering what there was for the butterflies to feed on here now the bramble flowers are over, then saw one fly up onto a nearby oak tree. A closer look revealed it appeared to be feeding on something on a leaf surface, or maybe there were a few drops of moisture there.

  Last year I didn’t see any Ringlets at all, perhaps I missed their rather short season, which is just July-August, or maybe there were only a few which I overlooked. As they are here now there must have been some to generate this year’s brood. Now I wanted to know if there were any to be found in yet another spot I found them in the year before last, which is at the bottom of the ‘downland’ slope that leads up to the summit of the hill. Happily, there were indeed some there too. So, a good year for Ringlets.

Emerging from the woodland onto the steep slope I had caught sight of a flash of orange flying over a stand of Rosebay Willow Herb, so headed off now to investigate that. It wasn’t long before I saw more orange flashes of speeding Dark Green Fritillaries, the most special butterfly treats of this reserve. This patch of the hillside and sometimes a spot on the other side of the hill are the only places I have seen them, Colonies are more plentifully populated some years than others.

Dark green Fritillary

Dark green Fritillary- Argynnis aglaja

The fritillaries were feeding mainly on thistles, for want of anthing much else. They would also feed on knapweed, but it’s not quite out yet and scabious, of which there is only a little flowering nearby.

150712TG-Bryn Euryn-bfly-Dk green fritillary 2

An older, more faded butterfly

There were perhaps 10-12 individuals, some faded, others much fresher.

150712TG-Bryn Euryn-bfly-Dk green fritillary 11

They are strong, fast flyers and glide on flat wings.

150712TG-Bryn Euryn-bfly-Dk green fritillary 13

On the hindwings there are silver spots on a dark green background

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The Gatekeeper

10 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, Butterflies of Wales, Nature of Wales, nature photography

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

gatekeeper butterfly, pyronia tythonus

Scientific name: Pyronia tithonus  (LINNAEUS, 1771) 

Family – NYMPHALIDAE; subfamily – SATYRINAE ;Wingspan range (male to female) – 40-47mm

Flight period: There is only one generation of this butterfly each year; adults begin to emerge in July, and populations peak in early August with only a few adults remaining by the end of the month.

21/7/12-Gatekeeper - Pyronia tithonus

21/7/12-Gatekeeper – Pyronia tithonus (male)

Habitat 

Found where tall grasses grow close to hedges, trees or scrub. Typical habitats are along hedgerows and in woodland rides but the butterfly also occurs in habitats such as undercliffs and on heathland and downland where there are patches of scrub.

The name

The Gatekeeper is also known by the name Hedge Brown, and at various stages in history has also been called the Small Meadow Brown and Hedge Eye.  As suggested by its alternate name, Hedge Brown, the Gatekeeper butterfly favours the habitat of meadow margins and hedges. The butterflies frequently occurred near the open spaces around gates placed in hedges to give access to fields, and as they have the habit of flying up when disturbed it would appear that they were ‘gate-keeping’, such as men were employed to do at toll gates and at the entrances to country estates in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Description

21/7/13-First sighting of a Gatekeeper this year-Little Orme

21/7/13-First sighting of a Gatekeeper this year-Little Orme

Orange  and brown, with black eyespot on forewing tip, eyespots have two white pupils. Males are noticeably smaller than females and have a dark brown patch of scent-producing (androconal) scales on the forewing, used to attract females during courtship. The colour and patterning of the wings are variable.

110722tgbfly-gatekeeper underside

22/7/11 – Gatekeeper underside (female)

Lifecycle

The first adults emerge in July and lay their eggs singly on grasses beneath bramble, hawthorn and blackthorn bushes where the grass stems grow tall and are not grazed by animals. They hatch after about 14 days and the larvae feed at night on various species of grass, with a preference for fine grasses such as bents, fescues, and meadow-grasses. Common Couch is also used. The full range of other species used is not known. They hibernate during September while they are quite small and re-awaken in March and April feeding slowly and reach maturity by late May – early June.

17/8/11 - Gatekeeper (female)- Rhos--on-Sea garden

17/8/11 – Gatekeeper (female)- Rhos–on-Sea garden

Adult behaviour

This butterfly spends much of its time basking with wings open, when the sexes are easy to tell apart – only the male has the distinctive sex brands on the forewings. Males set up small territories, often based on a particular shrub or bush, and readily fly up from their perch to investigate passing butterflies regardless of their species, in the hope of finding a mate.

17/8/11-Gatekeeper basking on ivy leaf-Rhos-on-Sea garden

17/8/11-Gatekeeper basking on ivy leaf-Rhos-on-Sea garden

Nectar sources

22/7/11 - Gatekeeper (m) nectaring on bramble flowers

22/7/11 – Gatekeeper (m) nectaring on bramble flowers

Adults favour Bramble, Ragwort, Scabious, Fleabane , Hemp Agrimony, Privet, Red Clover, Thistles and Thyme.

13/8/12 - Gatekeeper on Hemp Agrimony - Bryn Euryn

13/8/12 – Gatekeeper on Hemp Agrimony – Bryn Euryn

Distribution: The Gatekeeper is a common and widespread butterfly in England and Wales; found south of a line between Westmorland and South-east Yorkshire in the east. In Ireland it is confined to coastal areas of the south and south-east counties. The butterfly is also found in the Channel Islands, but is absent from Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Similar species

Meadow Brown on bramble flowers-Little Orme

Meadow Brown on bramble flowers-Little Orme

Meadow Brown; the two species may be difficult to distinguish with closed wings as the underwing markings are  similar. However, the Gatekeeper tends to rest with its wings open, whereas the Meadow Brown usually rests with its wings closed. The Gatekeeper is also smaller and more orange than the Meadow Brown and has double pupils on its eyespots.

 

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‘But it is the common species that keep the living world ticking over and provide most of our experiences of wildlife, and I would argue that maintaining the abundance of these is as important a conservation priority as maintaining the existence of rarities’. Richard Mabey

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