Wakelam’s Wildlife: Butterflies and moths, nature’s works of art

  • Published
  • By Judith Wakelam
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  We are now at the time of year when some of nature's most beautiful creations abound - butterflies and moths. Lepidoptera covers a large order of insects including butterflies and moths, and worldwide the number of different species runs into thousands.

Here in the United Kingdom we have quite a selection.

Some years, butterflies can be seen on the wing as early as February. The bright sulphur yellow brimstone which has an orange dot on the outer wing is one of the earliest to come out of hibernation (brimstone being the old word for sulphur). This year, due to a long winter, it was April 11 before I saw my first one, well over a month later.

Every year I keep a list of the dates that I first see what I call my key species, and brimstone butterfly is on that list.

Another species to emerge from hibernation early is the aptly named orange tip, but only the male has orange tips to his white wings, the female has black tips.

A good butterfly field guide is a handy thing to have, but if you don't want to go to the expense of buying one, your local library may well have one you can borrow or, of course, they can be identified on the Internet.

As summer progresses and different flowers bloom, more butterfly and moth species will appear. Knowing which plant is a food source for a particular species can make it easier to find them. For instance, willowherb is a host plant for the elephant hawk moth caterpillar which will develop into one of our largest and most impressive moths with a beautiful bright pink and green pattern.

The very distinct black and yellow striped cinnabar moth caterpillar can be seen in large numbers on ragwort. This caterpillar will develop into a black and red, day flying moth. Several moth species are diurnal, but if you really want to see moths look out for moth trapping sessions held locally. Moths will be trapped overnight and the following morning logged and released. It's amazing how many species can be seen in just one trapping session.

The small fast-flying blue butterflies, of which there are several different ones, are found on grassland and in gardens. When ragwort is in flower it will attract another of the smaller species; the small copper butterfly and flowering gorse is host to the tiny green hairstreak.

A walk in Thetford Forest will provide an opportunity to see many butterflies such as the speckled wood, gatekeeper and skipper. Flowering wild scabious, often seen on forest rides, attracts another diurnal moth, the six- spot burnet.

One of my favorite butterflies is the bright orange comma. It takes its name from the white comma-like marking on its outside underwing. It also has a unique raggedy edge to its wings, making it appear like a crumpled leaf when they are closed. Comma's can be seen on flowering bramble and stinging nettles but don't get too near to the nettles - they can be very unfriendly!

If stung, a dock leaf crumpled up and the sap rubbed on the sting will ease it.

Tortoiseshell butterflies lay their eggs on nettles, and I keep a small patch at the bottom of my garden for that reason.

Buddleia, commonly known as the butterfly bush, will draw butterflies into the garden - hence the name. Among those it will attract in large numbers are the peacock, tortoiseshell and red admiral. Ice plant and lavender are also good for attracting butterflies into your garden.

Being an island, we often have continental species appearing on our south coast. One species that we see occasionally is the painted lady, but last summer Britain experienced an invasion of thousands of them when warm winds from the continent carried them over.

Unfortunately due to a number of reasons, one of which is loss of habitat, some of our species are becoming rarer. I personally feel it would be a great shame if we were to lose any of these beautiful natural works of art.