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butterflies galore
(October 18, 2009)THIS
summer has been poor - damp, cloudy and windy for the most part - but
there has been one bright spot, the beautiful painted lady butterfly.
Any butterfly watchers could not have failed to notice the amazing number
of these creatures that flew here in May.
of these creatures that flew here in May.They
arrived here from Morocco where conditions were perfect this spring and
annual migration which usually brings only a few of these spectacular
creatures here turned into a flood.
Those
butterflies soon died after their arduous journey but many managed to
mate and now their offspring, for some reason slightly darker than
their parents, are gracing our skies in ever increasing numbers.
Some estimates suggest there are now a billion of these butterflies in the country.
Sadly few, if any, of these will survive a British winter so you have to ask - Why do they come?
One of nature’s little conundrums but tell us if you now.
Anyhow
the elusive butterfly was tracked down in Newport in the middle of
Warminster on the buddleia, more famously known as the butterfly bush.
“For
the last few years the buddleia have bloomed and gone to seed long
before any butterflies had appeared and it has been a bit disappointing
but this year has been a lepidopterist’s delight,” said Steve Dancey
who took the photos on Sunday 9 August.