Spring 2012 - Glasgow & SW Scotland Branch of Butterfly ...

Red Admiral (The first species on the wing in 2011) © Scott Shanks
The warm and sunny April had a distinct effect on the emergence of
many of our spring butterflies, with quite a few species recorded 1 to 3
weeks earlier than usual. For example Green-veined Whites were
recorded 2 ½ weeks earlier than in 2010, and Pearl-bordered Fritillaries
were almost 3 weeks earlier than 2010! The subsequent cold, wet and
windy May and June appeared to reverse the trend with summer species
such as Northern Brown Argus, Meadow Brown and Ringlets emerging
closer to their normal emergence times.
Holly Blues were one of the species that benefited from the good
weather in April. There were 10 times as many sightings in April 2011
than during the whole of 2010! Most
of the sightings were from around Ayr,
where this species was first recorded
in 2008. There was also a scattering of
records from across Dumfries &
Galloway and a sighting in Airdrie too.
The second brood in July/ August
appeared less abundant, but a single
Holly blue was recorded in Ardrossan
on the 24 th of July, so hopefully it won’t
be too long before they colonise
Holly Blue © Owen Figgis
19 On the Spot – April 2012
Glasgow! Keep a look out for females
around holly bushes this April/May!
Orange–tips had a fantastic year, with records from many new sites
including 12 new 10km squares. The prize for most adventurous
butterfly of 2011 goes to a male OT which visited a garden in Balephuil
on the Isle of Tiree! This is 40 km from the nearest sighting on Mull and
would require a flight over at least 20km of open water! There is plenty
of cuckooflower on the island, so hopefully he managed to find a mate!