This April, witness the enchanting return of butterflies to London’s gardens, parks, and woodlands! From the delicate holly blue to the vibrant small copper and the ever-adapting speckled wood, these winged wonders are emerging in all their glory. Did you know the speckled wood thrives in wet summers, or that the painted lady might soon join our winter butterfly list? Mark your calendar for 12 April and join us as we explore the colourful lives of London’s butterflies, their habitats, and the surprising stories behind their survival. Don’t miss this celebration of nature’s most delicate dancers!
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Butterflies
More butterflies now join the general re-awakening of insect and invertebrate life. In January, February and March the same butterflies that over-wintered as adults were seen if a little warmth tempted them out of hibernation i.e. brimstone, comma, small tortoiseshell, peacock and red admiral. The painted lady can also join this list on occasion. It normally dies, as it is not believed to survive temperatures below five degrees Centigrade, compared with red admirals which can survive down to freezing. With global warming and an abundance of its host plants i.e. creeping thistle, burdock and nettles, it seems possible the painted lady will join our small list of winter butterflies more in the future.
This month these butterflies are joined by several more i.e. large white, small white, green-veined white, orange-tip, speckled wood, small copper and holly blue. Some of these are encountered much more than others, and things change from year to year as populations have difficulties or even crash. However, a spell of warm weather after mid April is usually rewarded by the first whites. The first blue, the holly blue, is common enough in London’s gardens and the speckled wood, once rare, is now our most common butterfly. Perversely, the speckled wood does well in wet summers. Their caterpillars are an undistinguished green, which is fortunate as they feed on grass. The adults, as their name suggests, are speckled and often seen in the dappled light of woodland paths. If two are seen cavorting, it is the one with rounder wings that will be the female.
The small copper varies greatly in its abundance. It feeds on both common and sheep’s sorrel, which exists on many of London’s waste areas and commons. Even so, this butterfly seems to be it is absent from boroughs such as Lambeth, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea although it can be found on suitable sites in Haringey, Islington and Hackney. This is a good time to identify butterflies as there are so few around and fewer mistakes to be made. Warm spells in the second half of the month is the time to look for them in woods, gardens and on commons.
