Butterflies by family (3 of 5): Pieridae

The Pieridae are the whites amongst the butterflies. They are indeed predominantly white but with that they are still delicately coloured as well. Let’s start with the puzzle I solved for myself: the difference between the Large White (Pieris Brassicae) and the Small White (Pieris Rapae).

The Large White has a black spot on the tip of the forewing that stretches halfway, whereas the Small White only has a distinctive (but smaller) black tip on it’s forewing.

But you can only see that when you look at your pictures when back home (or that is how I saw the difference…eventually).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are very lively creatures and they will not necessarily stay on a flower or a leave for long. That makes taking a picture quite a challenge, although I have been able to take some nevertheless. In Dutch these butterflies are called Groot Koolwitje and Klein Koolwitje respectively.

 

One of the first butterflies to see in the spring is the Brimstone (Gonepteryx Rhamni). This lemon coloured butterfly was unknown to me until I saw one in May this year. I have shown it before, but it cannot be left out of this blog. In Dutch this butterfly is called Citroenvlinder, or “lemon butterfly”.

I once read that the Brimstone is one of the butterflies that lives the longest, sometimes up to thirteen months, although most of this time is spent in hibernation.

As it is often the first butterfly to be seen in the spring, even as early as January when hibernating adults are awoken on a sunny day There is a popular myth that it is this butterfly which gave us the word butterfly, an amalgamation of butter-coloured fly.

 

And finally a favourite of mine: the Orange Tip (Anthocharis Cardamines). It is a true member of the whites with a distinctive orange tip at it’s forewings.

Not one of the biggest of the family, but once you have seen one you will not forget the name.

In Dutch this butterfly is called: Oranjetipje. That means “little orange tip”. Nice name for a nice (Dutch coloured) butterfly.

Next time, I will show some blues and coppers from the family of the Lycaenidae.

The last picture in this blog is another of the Orange Tip.

 

Butterflies by family (2 of 5): Nymphalidae

The second blog in this series is dedicated to the most colourful of them all: the Nymphalidae’s. The are also called the “brush footed” butterflies and there are about 6.000 different species in this family. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. Funny enough are the bright colours on their upperwings compensated by a dull pattern on their underwings.  Let’s show what I’ve got.

Who doesn’t know the Peacock (Inachis Io)? This extremely beautiful and very recognizable butterfly can be seen from early March until September, with a pause when the eggs change into caterpillars etc. in June.

The big eyes on the tip of the forewings are of course the reason for it’s name.

Normally, you will see just one flying very gracefully and land on anything. From the ground to long grass to flowers, as you can see from these three pictures. This butterfly is called in Dutch: Dagpauwoog.

There is not much more to be said, other than enjoy the pictures…and the actual butterfly when you see it.

 

 

The Comma (Polygonia C-Album) butterfly is always kind enough to wait for me to take several pictures, before it flies away again. A very calm and hardly stressed butterfly indeed.

They can be seen on the ground as well as in low bushes at the edge of forests. I have even seen one in my garden this year as well.

It is called Gehakkelde Aurelia in Dutch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais Urticae) is reported to be in decline. Although not 100% scientifically proven, a parasite seems to be the best explanation at present. That is a shame, because they are truly colourful with a very busy pattern on their wings. perhaps the most distinguishable are the bleu spots on the edge of the lower upperwing.

This butterfly was the first one I ever took a picture of in the wild. It has captured my interest ever since. It is called Kleine Vos in Dutch.

Recently I saw two of them mating, which is always a good thing to see since it means that there will be a new generation afterwards. They could use this boost!

I have published that picture in an earlier blog, but it deserves to be shown again in celebration of this wonderful butterfly.

 

 

The last in this blog about the Nymphalidae is the Red Admiral (Vanessa Atalanta). Regal, authoritative and colourful. This butterfly is a true member of the family.

Their upperwings are indeed much more colourful than the somewhat dull underwings. But who is complaining, if you are privileged to see one anyway?

I have seen them often on big flowers, which makes their sight even more spectacular. In Dutch, this butterfly is simply called: Atalanta.

In the next blog of this series I will show the family of the Pieridae  or “the whites”.

It was a hard call to decide with which of these four to finish off. I decided for a picture of a radiant and almost transparent Comma.

 

 

Butterflies by family (1 of 5): Satyridae

I always like to organize things. Therefore it is with great pleasure that I am able to organise my picture archive of butterflies into families and subfamilies. I will try to show you the result in a series of 5 blogs about butterflies, family by family. Let’s see which way this goes…

The first family to show is the family of the Satyridae or Satyrinae. They are “the browns” amongst the butterflies. They are actually considered a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (such as the Red Admiral and the Peacock). But if we refer to them as the browns, it makes things less complicated. They can quite often be seen near wood edges and grassland. Nettles, tree leaves, thistles, they are all save havens for them.

Although it is always a matter of taste, I believe that the most beautiful of this subfamily is without a doubt the Gatekeeper (Pyronia Tithonus). The male has a broader brown edge on it’s very bright orange forewings than the female has.

Sometimes, this butterfly is called Hedge Brown. The fact that they are indeed often seen on hedges near a forest may be the reason of it’s more common name.

In Dutch it is called Oranje Zandoogje.

 

 

 

The next of the browns to show, is the Meadow Brown (Maniola Jurtina). This is an almost similar butterfly, albeit their is more brown than orange to be seen. Hence the name. I have not come across a lot of them, but most of the time their wings where somewhat tattered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Dutch this butterfly is called: Bruin Zandoogje. As you can see, you will find them on leaves near high grassland. Small footpaths near low growth are also likely places to spot them.

 

 

 

A very brown butterfly of the browns is the Ringlet (Aphantopus Hyperantus). From a distance and in flight, you could easily mistake it for a Meadow Brown. But with it’s wings folded, you see the distinctive and unique black and yellow spots.

They can be found most of the time on leaves of low growth or in high grass.

This butterfly is called Koevinkje in Dutch.

 

 

The last of this subfamily in my archive is the Speckled Wood (Pararge Aegeria). Although I have seen many of them in the past, I have only seen one so far this year; that was back in May. I guess I have to look better. They have the most spots of the browns, but is still very brown overall. With their spots, they are very recognizable. The best place to find them is in trees on leaves. They don’t always seem to come as low to the ground as the other browns.

The banner of this blog also shows one of these butterflies.

They are called Bont Zandoogje in Dutch.

I do not have more pictures of other varieties of this subfamily in my archive. Next time I will show pictures of the actual Nymphalidae’s.

To end this blog, I will show another Gatekeeper, just because the colours are so beautiful.

 

The Big Butterfly Count

Today I took part in the “Big Butterfly Count” that has been set up by the Butterfly Conservation. This activity asks for volunteers who are prepared to spend 15 minutes of their time to count the number of various butterflies in that period.

A very useful chart can be downloaded to help you identify and record the numbers you see in that quarter of an hour. After sending your results via the internet, your sightings are automatically plotted on a map.

The purpose of this count is best described in the words of the Butterfly Conservation themselves:

Butterflies react very quickly to change in their environment which makes them excellent biodiversity indicators. Butterfly declines are an early warning for other wildlife losses. That’s why counting butterflies can be described as taking the pulse of nature.

The count will also assist us in identifying trends in species that will help us plan how to protect butterflies from extinction, as well as understand the effect of climate change on wildlife.

The big butterfly count is a nationwide survey aimed at helping us assess the health of our environment. It was launched in 2010 and has rapidly become the world's biggest survey of butterflies. Almost 27,000 people took part in 2012, counting 223,000 individual butterflies and day-flying moths across the UK

The snapshot on the left shows one of my two recordings of today. If you click on the map the results page of the count will open.

 

I was pleasantly surprised about the amount of Ringlets (Aphantopus Hyperantus) I saw in my count. Although I may not have paid much attention to them in the past, I don't think there were so many when I visited this little butterfly heaven near Ruislip Lido.

But I also saw two Meadow Browns (Maniola Jurtina) before the 15 minutes were gone. Which is typical because I see them not as often as I would like.

In order to make sure I had evidence of the count, I also took some pictures of what I saw. Therefore, I can share pictures of a Large Skipper (Ochlodes Venatus), a Gatekeeper (Pyronia Tythonus) of which there were plenty and another picture of the Small White (Pieris Rapae) from the top.

The Big Butterfly Count will last until the 11^th of August and I am sure I will put in some more results.

 

It is a fun activity that can be done together as well. Just get out and enjoy the beauty of the butterfly!

 

 

 

The Green Heart of The Netherlands

Everybody knows Gouda for it’s world famous cheese. But since cheese is made from milk that comes from cows that need to eat lots of grass, there must be some green fields in the neighbourhood. And indeed, Gouda is at the centre of what is called The Green Heart of The Netherlands. Close to the rivers Hollandse IJssel and Gouwe as well as near by the Reeuwijkse Plassen there is an abundance of green flatland. Yesterday and today I took my camera out to see what was on offer in terms of wildlife. In this blog I will share the results.

My first stop, yesterday, was a natural reserve called Goudse Hout. This area has many ditches in typical Dutch grass land.

There are various public footpaths available and the reeds alongside the ditches provide shelter for insects and waterfowl.

Walking at the end of the afternoon, you can here many birds performing there evensong, but with all the trees now fully green, there was is no change to see any of them long enough for a decent picture.

It was however with great pleasure that I saw two Small White butterflies (Pieris Rapae) mating. Their courtship was like a ballet in the air. The results are shown below.

 

When crossing one of the ditches by the small bridge, I did see a dragonfly hovering over the water. As always, you cannot automatically see which one it actually is, but I knew I would sort that out at home. Picture first, name later…

It turned out to be a male Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum Cancellatum). The first picture was tsaken while he was resting on a leave, but later he performed it’s aerial dance and I was able to caught him in the act.

This dragonfly occurs nearly all over Europe except northern UK and Scandinavia; to the east, the range extends to Kashmir and Mongolia.

The adult male has a blue abdomen with a black tip and transparent wings, and the female has a yellow (later: brown) body with black bands along the abdomen and transparent wings. Even the immature males look that way. (source: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

Today, while cycling near the lakes of Reewijk, I saw four Barn Swallows (Hirundo Rustica) on a power line. They were not going to fly while I had my camera ready, but as soon as I stowed it away…you get the idea. Still, since it was the first time I took a picture of this versatile flyer, I could not keep it from this blog.

And therefore I will also show the four of them, resting on the lines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, a picture of some Greylag Geese (Anser Anser) that had just landed, as the picture on top shows. They look beautiful against the green background of this wonderful area in The Netherlands.

Summer & Butterflies

Today was the first decent day of the Summer with quite some sunshine and higher temperatures. So it was inevitable for me to go walkabout to find some butterflies. And I was not disappointed with a good variety and some of them even posing. As if they knew I would be there with my camera. The Ringlet (Aphantopus Hyperantus) in the top picture was the first of the season. I found one other picture in my archives of almost one year ago. This afternoon I made two more pictures which I like to share.

I wrote earlier that the Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais Urticae) is declining. The website of Gardener’s World describes this as follows:

The arrival of a new parasitoid fly, Sturmia Bella, in 1998 has been mooted as part of the butterfly’s downturn. Within the same decade of the butterfly’s decline, the fly (which specialises in parasitizing Small Tortoiseshell, Comma and Peacock butterflies) spread across the whole of England. It doesn’t appear to be quite that straightforward, though. Small tortoiseshell numbers went down in places where the parasitoid is currently unknown, and also in Europe where the fly is not a ‘new’ threat to the butterfly. Anyway, I was very happy to see two of these butterflies actually mating this afternoon. Keep up the good work and maybe the decline can be stopped.

 

Talking about reproduction: these two Gatekeepers (Pyronia Tithonus) on the right are almost certainly ready to mate as well. The male is higher than the female, but I am sure they will sort something out. They were actually the first Gatekeepers this season but there were a lot of them chasing each other. All very promising.

I did see a Meadow Brown (Maniola Jurtina) as well, but it was not possible to take a decent picture. So I have to do with one from my archive as shown on the left. I took this one whilst being stung by the Ivy and that happened again several times this afternoon. All in the name of art…

To finish this blog I will share a picture of a Five-spot Burnet (Zygaena Trifolii) and a Small Skipper (Thymelicus Flavus) respectively. The first one is actually a moth, but can be seen during daytime. The last one is just a beautiful little butterfly.

Finally the Summer has begun and I can’t wait to take more pictures of butterflies…and show them on my blog.