Three stunning butterflies
My bird of the week I have been doing at work this year, sharing photos I've taken and some thoughts and facts about a particular species with colleagues, is on a summer hiatus and has made way for a butterfly of the week currently. I thought I'd also share the first three here as I have shared some of the bird ones occasionally.
Purple Emperor
Our second biggest species which is a summer jewel in the crown of British butterflies, in July and increasingly late June these regal beauties rule the oaks. They’re a species everyone wants to see and the males often feed on foul items such as rotting banana skins, fish paste or dog poo to get salts and minerals which it’s not rare to see observers carrying and depositing in strategic positions in the hope of getting a photo. For years it was one we searched for and never found but after seeing our first in 2018 it’s been an honour to see them several times since. The place that allowed us to start seeing them is the revered Knepp Wildland in Sussex. In the early 2000s it’s owners Charlie Burrell and Isabella Tree realised traditional farming had become unprofitable so they began a pioneering rewilding project; letting nature do it’s thing and allowing substitutes to natural grazing animals to roam free, namely Tamworth Pigs and Longhorn Cattle. The result was inspirational restoration allowing the creation of one of the greatest natural sites in the UK. It’s become a haven for rare Nightingales and Turtle Doves and the perfect location for White Storks and Beavers to be re-introduced. Among other butterflies it has the largest colony of Purple Emperors in the country with incredible numbers recorded. I always feel so lucky to be able to visit and leave filled with hope. Last year Purple Emperor was that one species we seem to get every year which is everywhere and as well as Knepp I loved seeing my first ever in my home county Hampshire at West Wood.
Swallowtail
The star species of our Norfolk trip to start the month, the Papilio machaon (Scientific name) is a butterfly I had dreamt of seeing from when I first got into them. It was an honour to see such a beautiful butterfly that would at be home in a tropical rainforest. The Swallowtail is our largest butterfly and to me looks more like a small bird when it flies. The British race “britannicus” is restricted to the Broads in Norfolk where it’s caterpillar food plant the milk parsley can be found but there are occasionally sightings of the continental race “gorganus” having migrated to Southern England, which may become more common in our warning climate.
Marbled White
One of my favourites and one I love seeing as it’s one of the main signs summer has arrived for me. Seeing them sail over meadows has become a quintessential sight of light and hopeful times of year for me. Having them mark the season for me is useful as they seem to emerge earlier and earlier due to climate change as warmer spring temperatures speed up the development of their caterpillars and chrysalises. They’ve gone from emerging in late June and peaking in July to emerging in early-mid June. They’re one of the species in Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count which usually runs the last two weeks of July and the first week of August when the most species are on the wing at any time. However I saw my first of 2025 on 1st June so I wonder if they’ll even be out when the count is on in years to come. Despite this shift they’re not thought to be declining.
