Bill Grange
Butterflies are the most popular of insects, though many other kinds of insects are equally beautiful but suffer from a ‘bad press’.
In Allestree Park you can find several butterfly species, some more abundant than others. All are dependent on suitable habitats being present, differing according to species and ranging from woodland and scrub to grassland. It is important that these are managed sensitively. Butterflies generally have suffered a noticeable loss in numbers over the last fifty years or so due to building development, intensive farming and pesticides. Climate change has caused a few species to increase several others to decline.
The Higher-Level Stewardship scheme for the Park (instigated in 2015) is designed to enhance some areas of the Park for wildlife, including butterflies. A ‘butterfly bank’, not far from the main car park, was installed in 2017. This will provide a south-facing slope where butterflies can bask during warm weather, together with various nectar-rich flowers for feeding.
Over the past four years during the spring and summer four people have been conducting a weekly survey of the butterflies to be seen in two areas of the Park, under the aegis of Ken Orpe, the Derbyshire Butterfly Recorder of Butterfly Conservation. This provides a continuous valuable record of how the butterflies are faring and how the various changes to the Park’s management are affecting them.
Most of the butterfly species which have been seen in Allestree Park are illustrated here. The photographs were taken either in the Park or near to it.
Small Skipper Habitat: Flowery grassland Caterpillar foodplant: Various grasses On the wing: July and August |
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Small Skipper ... showing the more clearly the tips of the antennae - only half black, contrasting with the very similar Essex Skipper, illustrated below. |
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Essex Skipper Habitat: Flowery grassland Caterpillar foodplant: Various grasses On the wing: July and August This species was first acknowledged as British, in Essex, in 1890. Since then it has been found in many parts of England. It is very likely that it has been with us long before and that it was being confused with the Small Skipper - very easy to do so! |
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Essex Skipper ...showing more clearly the tips of the antennae - here black on both upper and under-surfaces.
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Large Skipper Habitat: Flowery grassland, woodland edges, woodland rides Caterpillar foodplant: Cock'sfoot Grass On the wing: June and July |
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Brimstone (male) Habitat: Woodland edges and scrub Caterpillar foodplant: Common Buckthorn and Alder Buckthorn On the wing: March to June |
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Brimstone (female) | |
Large White (female) Habitat: Gardens, open grassland, hedgerows Caterpillar foodplant: Cabbages and related crops, garden nasturtiums, Wild Mignonette On the wing: May - June; August - September
Together with the Small White, this is the only British butterfly that is regarded as a pest. The caterpillars can cause great damage to cabbages and other brassicas. The male butterfly lacks the black spots on the fore-wings, but still has the black wing-tips. |
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Small White Habitat: Gardens, open grassland, hedgerows Caterpillar foodplant: Cabbages and related crops, garden naturtiums, wild mignonette On the wing: May and June; July to September This species causes far less damage to brassica crops than the Large White. It is less heavily marked than the Large white, the spring brood (as here) having paler grey spots and wing tips than the summer brood. |
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Green-veined White
marshy areas Caterpillar food plant: Garlic Mustard also known as Jack-by-the -Hedge, Lady's Smock -also known as Cuckoo Flower, Great Bitter Cress, some other wild members of the Cruciferae (mustard family) On the wing: May and June; August and September |
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Orange Tip (male) Habitat: Roadside verges, woodland edges, damp grasslands Caterpillar foodplant: Lady's Smock also known as Cuckoo flower; Garlic Mustard also known as Jack-by-the-Hedge, great bitter Cress On the wing: May to early July Only the male has the distinctive orange tips. |
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Orange Tip (female) - on flowers of Lady's smock. Both sexes have the intricate green mossy pattern on the undersides of the hind wings. The female lacks the orange tips.
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White letter Hairstreak Habitat: Woodland edges and roadsides where elms are present. Caterpillar foodplant: English Elm, Wych Elm, Small-leaved Elm. On the wing: June to August This is the scarcest of the butterflies known to breed in Allestree Park. In fact it is now nationally scarce due to the decline in elms as a result of Dutch elm disease (which appeared in Britain in the 1960s). As part of a project organised by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, the Friends of Allestree Park and the Appletree Hundred Group of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust planted a number of disease-resitant elms in the woods near the main car park (which already had some dying elms) in 2014. |
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Purple Hairstreak Habitat: Woodland containing oak trees Caterpillar foodplant: Foliage of oak trees, both native and non-native. On the wing: Late June to September Photographed by Derek Brownlee in Shropshire This species is very difficult to photograph as it spends much of its time flying around the tops of oak trees, hence no photo taken in Allestree Park. |
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Purple Hairstreak (underside) Photographed by Steve Plant in Allestree (not the Park). |
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Small Copper Habitat: Flowery grassland, woodland edges and rides. Caterpillar foodplant: Docks and Sheep's Sorrel. On the wing: May and June; July and August. |
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Common Blue (male) Habitat: Flowery grassland, woodland edges and rides, roadside verges. Caterpillar foodplant: Bird'sfoot Trefoil and other related plants of the clover family, including Red Clover. On the wing: May and June; July to September. |
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Common Blue (female) The female has varying amounts of blueon the predominantly brown uppersides of the wings. Some are almost completely brown.
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Common Blue (female - underside) Both sexes have similar array of 'eye spots' and chevrons on the underside of the hindwings. The ground colour is pale brown in the female, pale blue in the male.
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Holly Blue (female) Habitat: Woodland, hedgerows, gardens. Caterpillar foodplant: Holly, ivy, bramble, spindle, dogwood, gorse. On the wing: April to August.
The male is similarly coloured and marked but has a very narrow dark margin to the fore-wing. |
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Holly Blue (underside)
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Red Admiral Habitat: Gardens, woodland edges, hedgerows, bramble scrub, gardens - especially attracted to buddleia flowers. Caterpillar foodplant: Stinging Nettle, Pellitory-of-the-Wall On the wing: Mainly March to NovemberThis is mainly a migratory species, large numbers arriving in Britain from Southern Europe in June. A small proportion are able to survive the winter here. |
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Painted Lady Habitat: field margins, where there are thistles, hedgerows, bramble scrub, gardens - especially attracted to buddleia flowers. Caterpillar foodplant: Thistles, Stinging Nettle, Mallows, Viper's Bugloss On the wing: April to October
This is also a migratory species. In some years enormous numbers arrive here from North Africa, mainly in May and June. It breeds here in the summer but is (normally) unable to survive our winter. |
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Small Tortoiseshell Habitat: Field margins where nettles are found, bramble scrub, hedgerows, gardens - especially attracted to buddleia flowers Caterpillar foodplant: Stinging Nettle On the wing: March to May; July to September
This resident butterfly, formerly one of our most common, has suffered a serious decline in recent years. The reason is thought to be an increase in the numbers of a parasitic fly, due to global warming. There are signs of a recovery, however.
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Peacock Habitat: Field margins where nettles are found, bramble scrub, hedgerows, gardens - especially attracted to buddleia flowers Caterpillar foodplant: Stinging Nettle On the wing: March to May; July to September |
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Comma Habitat: Woodland edges, gardens Caterpillar foodplant: Stinging Nettle, Elm species, Willow species On the wing: March and April; July to September |
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Comma (male - underside) The female has a more brown underside. Both sexes have the white mark which gives this butterfly its name.
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Speckled Wood Habitat: Woodland edge, scrub Caterpillar foodplant: Various grasses,including Cock'sfoot and Yorkshire Fog On the wing: March to early October |
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Gatekeeper (male - showing the 'sex brands' in the centres of each fore-wing). Habitat: Scrubby grasslands, woodland rides. Caterpillar foodplant: Various grass species. On the wing: July and August. |
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Gatekeeper (male - underside) Both sexes have very similar coloration. |
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Meadow Brown (female) Habitat: Grassland - where the grass is of medium height, woodland edges, hedgerows. Caterpillar foodplant: Various grasses. On the wing: June to September. |
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Meadow Brown (female - underside) This is still probably Britain's commonest butterfly species, in spite of the loss of much suitable grassland. The female is somwhat more boldly marked than the male. There is, however, much variation in intensity of colour and markings. |
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Ringlet
Caterpillar foodplant: Various grasses. On the wing: June to August. |
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Ringlet (underside)
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Marbled White Habitat: Grassland with long grass, roadside verges, disused railways Caterpillar foodplant: Various grasses On the wing: June to August Photographed by Andy Butler, Clough Wood, Derbyshire This butterfly was almost unkown in Derbyshire twenty years ago. since then, aided by climate change, it has spread up from the south of England into the Midlands and some northern counties. The only records for Allestree Park were made in 2015 during the butterfly survey mentioned in the introduction. |
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Marbled White (mating pair) Photographed at Toton Fields Nature Reserve, Derbys./Notts. in 2016, female on left, male on right. This species is really a member of the brown group of butterflies, not the whites, despite its appearance. |
All photos by Bill Grange, except where indicated
For much more information on British butterflies, there are very informative websites at: UK Butterflies and Butterfly Conservation