Butterflies 2018

Another look back at 2018 though this time I'll be focussing on the butterflies that I saw during the year. 2018 was a little different from other years in that I spent a great deal of time out of the county, often in the company of fellow bug botherers Phil Rogers and Al Shorrock. Our efforts did not go without reward either as I managed to see 46 species which included five new ones.

Black and White-lettered Hairstreaks.

My year started unexpectedly early with the sighting of a Red Admiral in January but other than that the season was slow to get going with no further records until March. On the local front both of the spring skippers seemed to do well though both will probably suffer from further development of so called "brownfield" sites. Another species likely to be affected is Marbled White as these sites make up their favourite habitat but in the meantime it's continuing its expansion into the area. Silver-washed Fritillary is another success story with further sites providing records including Priors Hall.

Duke of Burgundy and Adonis Blue.

Of the scarcer species I saw my first Black Hairstreak away from Glapthorn when I found one at Harry's Park while a hedgerow nearby supplied sightings of two White-lettered Hairstreaks. A wood near to Harringworth Lodge Lake hosted at least a couple of White Admirals and once again I got a tantalising though inconclusive view of a likely Purple Emperor here. Thankfully Brookfield Plantation did provide a confirmed record of a likely wandering Emperor which was my first in Corby. While the rest of Northants enjoyed something of a Clouded Yellow invasion I had to wait until October before I found one but given that I don't see this species annually in Britain it was still a result.

Pearl and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries.

The long hot spell during the summer seemed to have a good effect on the numbers of the smaller species in particular with Brown Argus, Small Heath and Common Blue appearing in good numbers. It was interesting to note some very small individuals of these species apparently brought about by accelerated development of the caterpillars before the food plants withered in the summer heat. Another butterfly that seemed to prosper was Small Copper and I enjoyed my best year for some time with sightings lasting well into October.

Large Blue and Marsh Fritillary.

A first road trip down to Bison Hill in Bedfordshire provided my first new tick of the year and that was Duke of Burgundy, a true stunner. Another trip, this time to Hampshire provided both of the Pearl-bordered Frits at Bentley Wood and also Adonis Blue at Martin Down, three lifers in a day, I don't get that with birds! Good stuff continued to be seen, my first English Large Heaths at Whixhall Moss and also my first ever Large Blues at Daneway Banks in Gloucestershire. Essex provided only my second Heath Frits at Hockley Wood and I also caught up with the beautiful Marsh Fritillary again at two spots. It was my best ever year for fritillaries with a total of six being seen, only High Brown and Glanville to go! Other decent species seen during 2018 included Chalkhill Blue, Wood White (in Northants) and Small Blue for only the second time.

Heath Fritillaries and Small Blue.

I'm hoping that next year will provide yet more goodies with the reintroduced Chequered Skippers in Northants foremost amongst my targets. There are still a few species that I would like to see in England and hopefully I'll be able to catch up with some, a High Brown Fritillary would be nice!

Purple Emperor, Small Copper and Wall, Chalkhill Blue.