Hot and sultry

21/7/2021

Tuesday's transect was the hottest and most sultry walk of this year but the butterflies loved it and were out in good numbers, so today's count of 524 was our highest since the bumper year of 2019.

Numbers were high thanks to the Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Small/Essex Skippers as per last week but these were boosted by the Brimstones, Gatekeepers and Large Whites. We also saw our first Clouded Yellows of the season. About this time on previous years we've started to see the first Chalkhill Blues and second brood of the Common Blues but, apart from three Commons, there was no sign of their mass emergence in time for this week's transect.

As well as the highest total number for a couple of years it was also a very good transect for the number of species recorded,18 (six more than last week).

Count details:
175 Meadow Brown
167 Marbled White
39 Small/Essex Skipper
30 Gatekeeper
27 Brimstone
24 Ringlet
18 Small Heath
12 Large White
6 Small White
5 Dark Green Fritillary
4 Clouded Yellow
4 Speckled Wood
3 Common Blue
3 Comma
2 Red Admiral
2 Silver-washed Fritillary
2 Large Skipper
1 Small Copper
Click on butterfly names for more info.

Survey by Brian Gardner, Graham H and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report by Brian Gardner, pics by Graham Kenward
Click on pics to enlarge.