17th September, 1999
As well as noting
the presence of some species, there is also the chance to
notice the absence or scarcity of others. I have not seen
any gatekeepers using the grounds this summer and have
seen only one comma. Both of these Also, only a few painted ladies, which are migrants from Africa via Europe, have been present. Three years ago, in 1996, there was a large 'invasion' by this species. During that year,I was very surprised when I spotted the first painted lady of the year whilst walking in the Scottish mountains on the 2nd of June. The individual butterfly was resting in sunshine at a spot high in the hills, where there must have been little or no food available for it on the moorland at a time when there were still snow patches and the moorland plants were barely beginning to grow. Painted ladies became increasingly numerous throughout that summer, often outnumbering all of the other species on the buddleia added together. |