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2014 Review of the Year Part V: Butterflies

Sun 29th Dec, 2024

As is often the case with wildlife watching, a quiet period is followed by a rush of sightings. This was certainly the case in March when the first butterflies of the year were recorded on our spring Forest Safaris as we watched Crossbill, Goshawk and Adder! 

The warm sunny spring weather resulted in Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Red Admiral and Brimstone showing well in Langdale Forest. A Red Admiral in early March was a welcome sighting after 2013's poor year and probably constituted a surviving overwintering adult after the mild winter. Four butterflies in early March isn't a bad way of start the tour season for this group. Comma, the 5th species of the year, became a reoccurring theme of forest safaris as the month progressed.

With the passing of March into April and more favourable weather, Small White, Green-veined White and Large White began to appear. Certainly in the case of Large White and Small White 2014 was a rather poor year, with many trips and tours not recording either species. Green-veined White appeared to at least have an average season. Holly Blue in Langdale Forest was a nice bonus in the middle of the month, a species which can be difficult to find on tours in this area. The species was also recorded as a second generation later in the year on a number of tours. Another mid-April species, the Orange Tip, appeared in good numbers in 2014 at localised sites, but appeared to be somewhat less widespread than in previous years.

The last week of April and first week in May were particularly productive in 2014 with an additional six species observed: Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, Common Blue, Small Copper, Green Hairstreak and Dingy Skipper, with the latter two proving particular favourites with clients. Both species are moderately scarce in Britain with specialised habitat preferences. The Green Hairstreak is an amazing tiny butterfly with wings covered in vibrant green scales. Dingy Skipper is perhaps more unusual than aesthetically appealing, but its intricate courtship and roosting behaviours often easy to observe.  

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With the middle of May comes another absolutely fantastic period in the butterfly calendar when two of the region's (and Britain's) rarest species are on the wing: the Duke of Burgundy and Pearl-bordered Fritillary. With respect to the latter in particular, we observed these species not on their main breeding sites, which are both scarce and sensitive, but on adjacent habitat where adults come to feed. Thankfully both of these species appeared to have a moderately good season this year. Duke of Burgundy suffered a period of poor weather in the middle of its activity period but was recorded in decent numbers after this, on a day in which Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Kingfisher, Goshawk, Adder and Slow Worm all gave great views close by. Wall, Small Heath and Brown Argus were also observed by clients for the first time in 2014 during this time period, the latter having an absolutely fantastic year.   

June represents yet another great month in the local butterfly calendar. The YCN team and clients racked up another nine species. Along with the more common Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Large Skipper and Small Skipper we also recorded Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Dark Green Fritillary and Marbled White. Of these latter three species, Marbled White and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary were at times hugely abundant and recorded from new sites to us on a number of occasions. Dark Green Fritillary on the other hand appeared to be in lower numbers than is usual. Of the small golden skippers, both Large Skipper and Small Skipper continued the theme of a fantastic June with some huge counts, especially around Filey and Flamborough.

The late June to early July period is all about three rare specialist species which can all be notoriously difficult to observe and find. The Large Heath being the first of the three and being a species which spends much of its time resting in the long grasses and rushes on large heaths and mires on the moor tops, this species was recorded in moderate abundance in 2014. The White-letter Hairstreak an arboreal species of the treetops had a particularly good 2014, with clients observing them through a telescope flitting around the top of a Wych Elm near Pickering. The final new species of the year was the cryptic, Grayling, a master of disguise. This is species which ties in well with of forest and sea safaris, where it occurs on the coastal cliffs close to one of our favourite whale watching areas in North Yorkshire.    

Late July sees the end of the key emergence period for the Yorkshire species, with attention turned to second generations of previously-seen species and to migrants. The Great Yorkshire Forest was awash with Peacocks on our August National Park Safaris. The forest rides are great places to look out for many butterfly species. Hemp Agrimony, a tall robust flowering plant, proved irresistible to late summer species and provided a fabulous opportunity for photography. 

Altogether we recorded 31 species in North and East Yorkshire in 2014, many seen well enough for both close-up study and photography.