Wednesday 24th June 2020

Species: Large Skipper (1) Red Admiral (1) Comma (2) Ringlet (2) Meadow Brown (12) Marbled White (21)

Meadow Brown - Tucking Mill 24-06-2020

Can it be too hot for butterflies? This is the question I was asking myself as I headed back from this trip down the cycle-path. I had headed off out in the mid-morning sunshine, with the temperature already above 24c. 

There were plenty of butterflies about, but I sort of expected to see more given the conditions. I know from previous experience that different butterfly species like to fly at different times of the day, and can become more sedentary at other times. It may also be that we are at an 'in-between' stage for butterflies in late June ,while we wait for the summer species to emerge.

 Marbled White - Tucking Mill 24-06-2020

However the Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns were flying in good numbers and interspersed with the odd Red Admiral and Comma.

Comma (hutchinsoni) - Tucking Mill 24-06-2020

The Comma seen on this trip was of the 'hutchinsoni' form, named after the late nineteenth century butterfly breeder Emma Hutchinson who was first to start unravelling this butterflies complex breeding strategy. These Commas have a much lighter colouration of the underside and slightly paler, orange ground colour on the upper-side. 

These individuals will breed and die during the summer months whereas their typically marked brothers and sisters will not breed before next spring. It seems that the daylight hours experienced by the caterpillars at key stages of their development determine which individuals develop as hutchinsoni, with caterpillars from eggs laid earlier in the spring much more likely to be hutchinsoni.

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