Review of 2019 and 2020 - Butterflies: Swallowtails, Whites, Hairstreaks, Coppers and Blues

SWALLOWTAILS (PAILIONIDAE)

Scarce Swallowtail Iphiclides podalirius - A brief view of one at the Parc del Garaf in NE Spain on 22nd February 2020 - sadly too quick for a photo.

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WHITES (PIERIDAE)


Large White Pieris brassicae - Recorded here in the garden and at the meadows between 5th July and 14th September 2019 and between 15th May and 30th September 2020.  Also at Foxley Wood and Thompson Common.


Small White Pieris rapae - Recorded here in the garden and at the meadows between 5th July and 14th September 2019 and then (in relatively small numbers) between 20th May and 24th August 2020.  Also at a couple of other sites locally and at Llobregat Delta (NE Spain) on 22nd February 2020.  There are always a few white butterflies that aren't seen well enough to determine and with the late start in 2019 I imagine I must have overlooked some on earlier dates - having said that, butterflies in general were few and far between at my main study site prior to when these began to appear.

Small White, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 29th July 2019

Small White, Llobregat Delta (Spain), 22nd February 2020

Green-vined White Artogeia napi - Recorded here in the garden and at the meadows between 30th March and 2nd May 2019 and between 5th July and15th August 2019 then between 24th April and 8th May 2020 and between 4th July and 16th September 2020.  Also recorded on Mull on 10th and 12th June 2019 and in Spain on 22nd February 2020.

Green-veined White, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 19th July 2019

Green-veined White, Gava Mar (Spain), 22nd February 2020

Green-veined White, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th July 2020

Green-veined White, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 16th September 2020

Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines - Recorded locally between 19th April and 25th May 2019 and between 4th April and 15th May 2020.  The majority were from the Cathedral Meadows but a handful in my garden and elsewhere.

male and female Orange-tips, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 26th April 2019

Clouded Yellow Colias crocea - None.  I'm yet to record this species in the North Elmham area but should imagine I've got a good chance of finding it at the meadows in a good year.  I saw several in the Beetley/Bittering area in 2013 and I'm sure I would have found them round here had I been watching the area back then.


Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni - Mostly recorded in early spring between 22nd February and 25th May 2019, here, at the meadows and at 2-3 other sites.  Also one here on 23rd August.

Brimstone, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 29th March 2019

Cleopatra Gonepteryx cleopatra - One in the Llobregat Delta (Spain) on 22nd February 2020.

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HAIRSTREAKS, COPPERS and BLUES (LYCAENIDAE)


Purple Hairstreak Quercusia quercus - After a good year in 2018 I looked hard (well, ok, not all that hard, but I looked) for these along the railway at the bottom of the meadows in 2019 but only managed to see a single individual, on 29th July.  None here at all in 2020 but 4 at Foxley Wood on 10th July and 2 there next day.

Purple Hairstreak, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 29th July 2019

Purple Hairstreak, Foxley Wood, 10th July 2020

White-letter Hairstreak Satyrium w-album - None.  I really must make a concerted effort to see this species one of these days as it must be the most glaring gap on my list of species recorded - not just butterflies but all taxa.  OK, there are much commoner species missing among taxa like spiders that I've not paid much attention to, and even among taxa like bugs with which I've been making a fair bit of effort in recent years, but for group that I've been interested in and looking at and for pretty much my entire life this is a gap that's a little bit embarrassing!  I have looked for it at several known sites around Norfolk over the years but I clearly need to put in a bit more effort.


Green Hairstreak Callophrys rubi - No confirmed records locally (or indeed anywhere in Norfolk) although I did get a frustrating glimpse of what I think was this species at the meadows one day.  On Mull at least 3 at Glen More and 2 west of Tiroran on 10th June 2019.

Green Hairstreak, Glen More (Mull), 10th June 2019

Green Hairstreak, west of Tiroran (Mull), 10th June 2019

Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas - In 2018 I only recorded this species at the meadows in August and September but in 2019 it was the other way round with 1-3 on 3 dates between 30th April and 25th May and none later in the summer.  2020 was back to summer only, with records between 10th July and 11th September.  Also one near Carsaig (Mull) on 10th June 2019.

Small Copper, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 30th April 2019

Small Copper, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 10th July 2020

Small Copper, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th July 2020

Holly Blue Celastrina argiolus - In 2019 recorded between 18th April and 23rd May and again between 23rd July and 17th August.  Most records from the meadows (max 5 on 26th April) but also several from my garden and in Norwich.  In 2020 recorded here and at the meadows between 10th April and 20th May and between 3rd July and 23rd August (during which period also at Foxley Wood and Thompson Common).  Also at Gava Mar in NE Spain on 22nd February 2020.

Holly Blue, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 26th April 2019

Holly Blue, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th May 2019

Holly Blue, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th May 2020

Brown Argus Aricia agestis - Recorded at the meadows on 25th May and 24th June 2019 and 20th July 2020 (2); also 2 at Foxley Wood on 17th August 2019.

Brown Argus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

Brown Arguses, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th July 2020

Common Blue Polyommatus icarus - Recorded at the meadows between 22nd May and 15th August 2019 and between 20th July and 12th August 2020; also on Mull and at Foxley Wood and Thompson Common.

Common Blue, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 21st June 2019

Common Blue, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd August 2019

Next page: Admirals, Fritillaries and allies

Purple Hairstreaks

One of the highlights of a productive visit to the Cathedral Meadows on 2nd July was finding at least 30 Purple Hairstreak butterflies.  Judging from various reports on social media it seemed to be a good year for them so I'd been keeping an eye out for them.  After a couple of failed efforts I finally found them where I most expected them, in the oaks running along the  bottom of the meadows alongside the disused railway.  They were keeping high up so my photographic efforts leave something to be desired...

Purple Hairstreaks, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

Other butterflies included over 100 Ringlets and my first Gatekeeper of the year.  The former seem to be having a good year, although I don't have any previous years' data from this site to compare with, but I ended up seeing very few Gatekeepers indeed this year.

Moths included White Oak Midget Phyllonorycter harrisella, 6 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana, Common Yellow Conch Agapeta hamana, Timothy Tortrix Aphelia paleana, 15 Privet Tortrixes Clepsis consimilana, Light Grey Tortrix Cnephasia incertana, 2 Yellow Oak Buttons Aleimma loeflingiana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 4 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Plum Tortrix Hedya pruniana, 5 Common Cloaked Shoots Gypsonoma dealbana, Bud Moth Spilonota ocellana, 5 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Straw Grass-veneer Agriphila straminella, 2 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, 2 Blood-veins, Small Fan-footed Wave and thousands of mines of Horse-Chestnut Leaf-miners Cameraria ohridella.

Yellow Oak Button Aleimma loeflingiana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

Common Cloaked Shoots Gypsonoma dealbana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July - dark and pale forms

One of at least 3 waxflies was retained for checking and proved to be Conwentzia psociformis,a species I'd only identified once before.

Conwentzia psociformis (male, gen det), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

I only checked 3 of them but if all the soldier beetles were the same species there were at least 40 Rhagonycha fulva.  Other insects included 2 Emperor dragonflies, 8 Meadow Grasshoppers, the mirid bug Stenotus binotatus, a Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius and an Ichneumon wasp that I tried and failed to identify, but a member of the genus Tryphon apparently.

Rhagonycha fulva, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

Stenotus binotatus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

Tryphon sp., North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

That night new for the year (for the garden) were Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana, Orange Crest Helcystogramma rufescens, Drinker, July Highflyer and Buff Footman, but better than any of them was another Wood Carpet.

Orange Crest Helcystogramma rufescens, North Elmham, 2nd July

Drinker, North Elmham, 2nd July

Buff Footman, North Elmham, 2nd July

Other moths were Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, Diamond-back Plutella xylostella, Tipped Oak Case-bearer Coleophora flavipennella, Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Burdock Neb Metzneria lappella, Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, Light Brown Apple-moth Epiphyas postvittana, Grey Tortrix Cnephasia stephensiana, 4 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 8 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 5 Triangle-marked Rollers Ancylis achatana, Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, Many-plume Moth Alucita hexadactyla, 9 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Inlaid Grass-veneers Crambus pascuella, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 2 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, 4 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Fenland Pearl Anania perlucidalis, Mother of Pearl Pleuroptya ruralis, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, 3 Buff Arches, 3 Small Emeralds, 4 Small Fan-footed Waves, 2 Dwarf Cream Waves, 8 Single-dotted Waves, 3 Riband Waves, 7 Barred Straws, 2 Sandy Carpets, Grey Pug, V-Pug, 2 Green Pugs, 2 Brimstone Moths, 2 Early Thorns, 2 Willow Beauties, 3 Mottled Beauties, 2 Engraileds, Privet Hawk-moth, Elephant Hawk-moth, Buff-tip, 3 Rosy Footmen, Scarce Footman, 39 Common Footmen, 12 Buff Ermines, 2 Heart and Clubs, 2 Heart and Darts, Large Yellow Underwing, Double Square-spot, 2 Bright-line Brown-eyes, 5 Smoky Wainscots, 2 Common Wainscots, 2 Brown Rustics, Dark Arches, Rufous Minor, Common Rustic (and 1 agg.), 13 Uncertains, Rustic, 5 Mottled Rustics, 3 Beautiful Hook-tips, Straw Dot and Snout.

There was also a Common Earwing and Caddisflies included Medium Sedge Goera pilosa (new for the year) and Limnephilus lunatus.

Next day Scarce Obscure Oegoconia deauratella, Burdock Conch Aethes rubigana and Mere Wainscot were new for the year.

Scarce Obscure Oegoconia deauratella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 3rd July

Burdock Conch Aethes rubigana, North Elmham, 3rd July

Mere Wainscot, North Elmham, 3rd July

Other moths (there were only 33 species, a low number in July) were 2 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 3 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Inlaid Grass-veneers Crambus pascuella, 2 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, 3 Small Fan-footed Waves, Dwarf Cream Wave, 2 Single-dotted Waves, 5 Riband Waves, 3 Barred Straws, Sandy Carpet, Clouded Border, Swallow-tailed Moth, Willow Beauty, Mottled Beauty, Engrailed, Coxcomb Prominent, 24 Common Footmen, 18 Buff Ermines, Cinnabar, 3 Heart and Darts, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Smoky Wainscot, Common Rustic, 14 Uncertains, 3 Mottled Rustics, Burnished Brass and Snout.