Scottish Borders Garden Butterflies 2023

We moved to this house in the Scottish Borders at the start of 2020 and since then I have been mostly working from home. During my lunch hours I tend to take the dogs for a walk around more or less the same route and I keep a note of the butterflies I see. I then keep a record of the highest number of each species I see each week. So, I now have four years' worth of butterfly records to compare.

Each year the weather has been quite different and that has had an impact on butterfly numbers. The weather was not great in 2023 with a lot of easterly winds. Spring started quite late but dry, but  from July onwards it was cloudy and wet.

Also, I have been spending a lot of time trying to improve habitats and plant different plants to attract butterflies. I would like to think that the effort is seeing rewards.

The main areas where I see butterflies is in the meadow I have been developing, on some Buddleia plants and, this year, in an area where I had some Spruce trees cut down, where I have replanted with native trees. The area is now quite grassy, with various other plants such a Fox Gloves and wild Raspberries.

The four species of white butterflies were interesting. Orange Tips generally had a good year. The first sighting was a week later than normal, but they were about in good numbers.

I saw more Small Whites than I have in previous years, but they were never seen in high numbers. I had found a number of chrysalises last year, which I kept in a cage over winter. 29 of them emerged over a period of a month in April and May. However, I never saw them in big numbers and, strangely, I didn't find any caterpillars on the Nasturtiums this year.

Conversely, Green-veined Whites didn't have such a good year for some reason.  I always associate Green-veined Whites with damper areas, so possibly last year's dry summer didn't agree with them.

Large Whites had a fairly average year. I had been expecting to see a lot of them, because there were a lot of caterpillars last year and there were several chrysalises on the house.  Again, this year, I didn't find any caterpillars on the Nasturtiums, which is unusual.

Last year was a really good year for Ringlets and this year wasn't quite as good. Overall, their numbers have gone up here over the last six years. I would like to think this is in part the result of some of the habitat work I have done.

2023 was a really great year for Meadow Browns here. I recorded 103 individuals, way up from the previous high of 21. As with the Ringlets, I would like to think that the Meadow Browns are enjoying the way I am managing the meadow. The high numbers of these two species may be a result of the weather the previous year, when eggs would have been laid and the caterpillars emerged. 2022 was a very dry summer. It will be interesting to see how they do this coming year after last year's wet summer.

I only saw 2 Small Coppers  here last year.  They had done really well the previous year, so I don't know why there were so few in 2023. There are plenty of food plants for them here, so I can only assume that it was the weather that didn't suit them.

I will continue this on the next post ...

East Lothian Butterflies 2023 Part 2

Continuing on from my previous post..

The first Small Heath was seen on the 17th May. They weren't seen in high numbers in 2023, possibly because not as many people were recording along the coast where they are most commonly seen. Apparently, there are two generations a year, but it is difficult to separate the generations because they overlap and vary according to each site along the coast and in the hills.

2023 could certainly not be described as a Painted Lady year. I only received 46 records and it was the first year, since I started recording butterflies in the 1990s that I didn't see one myself. The first record received was on 29th May and the maximum number seen in a week was 8 in August, indicating that they had managed to breed. It is interesting that the other migratory butterfly, the Red Admiral, did so well, but not so the Painted Lady.

The first Meadow Brown was recorded on the 4th June. They had the best year since I have been collating the butterfly records with 2565 butterflies recorded. Almost every year they are our most numerous butterfly recorded.

In contrast, the Common Blue had its worst year since I have been collating the records! The first record was on the 12th June and I only received records of 252 butterflies, with the average number over the previous ten years being 465.

The Large Skipper is a fairly recent arrival in East Lothian and is still seen in relatively small numbers. The first record I received was on the 13th June and I only received a total of 17 records. They have spread their range across the county, being seen along much of the coast and the foothills of the Lammermuirs. I suspect that it often goes unrecorded, being quite tricky to identify as it whizzes between flowers.

Ringlets were another species that had a poor year. In fact the worst year in the last ten years, not counting 2020, when we were in lockdown. The first record was on the 15th June and initially they seemed to do well, but just didn't peak in July as they normally would.

The Dark Green Fritillary also didn't do well in 2023 with the number of records being about a third of what we would normally expect. The first record was on the 18th June. The caterpillars feed on various species of Violets. I wonder if these plants didn't do well the previous summer with the dry weather we experienced.

On the 21st June I went into the Lammermuirs in search of Northern Brown Argus at a well known site for them. I managed to see five, which wasn't too bad for a short visit. They are only know to occur in a few small colonies in East Lothian and there have been no records from a couple of those sites in recent years. However, they were spotted on two occasions on the Barns Ness transect, so it would seem that there is a colony there, too. Also eggs have been found in a couple of locations north of Traprain Law, so there are probably more colonies than we realise.

I saw five Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries when I was looking for Northern Brown Argus. They were the only records that I am aware of this year. It is a rare butterfly in East Lothian, which has only been recorded from a couple of sites.

The final species to be recorded in 2023 was the Grayling on 3rd July. There is a well-established colony on the pyramid at Meadowmill. I am aware of them being seen in an east Lammermuir Dean and I hear that they are often seen at the old power station site at Cockenzie. This year there was one seen at Levenhall, which is very exciting. Maybe our re-location project is going to be a success after all!

Sadly, there were no Brimstones seen in East Lothian in 2023, having had a few records in 2021 and 2022. We normally rely on the odd migrant flying in and I suspect that until we have more food plants available for them, they will not be able to maintain a presence in East Lothian.

I didn't receive any records of the Green Hairstreak in 2023. They are known to occur in a few remote locations in East Lothian, so we rarely get records of them. I saw some just over the border at Soutra, where they appeared to be doing well, so hopefully they are doing as well in their colonies in East Lothian.

Similarly, the recently discovered Purple Hairstreak occurs in a few small colonies in East Lothian. I didn't receive any records in 2023, but I am sure they would still have been at their covert colonies in the eastern Lammermuirs

There are 25 species of butterflies known to breed in East Lothian, with two or three additional species that are occasional visitors to the area. In 2023 I received 2244 ad hoc records, totalling 7737 butterflies. These were in addition to the transects, which recorded another 6025 butterflies. In addition to these, there are other places that butterflies are recorded such as iRecord, iNaturalist and the Big Butterfly Count. We are never going to get close to recording every single butterfly that is in East Lothian, but I think we have a pretty consistent recording method that gives us a good idea of what has been going on in East Lothian over the last few years.

I am very grateful to all of the Countryside Rangers and volunteers who contributed records and I am always keen for anyone else to send me details of butterflies they see in East Lothian. All of the records I receive are passed on to Butterfly Conservation.

East Lothian Butterflies 2016 (2)

Continued from my previous post about the butterflies recorded in East Lothian in 2016.

Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera

The first Wall Brown was recorded on 12 May and they were seen in reasonably good numbers through to 15^th September. We are now getting regular records from Bilsdean, right along the coast to North Berwick. Each year we get one or two inland records, but we don’t seem to have any inland sites where they are regularly seen year after year.

Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus

Yet again we had a single record of a Holly Blue in East Lothian. This time it was in North Berwick on 15 May. I am sure there must be a little colony of them in one of the coastal towns around there.

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

The first Small Heath seen in East Lothian in 2016 was on 15 May and they were recorded until 29 August. Numbers were a little down on previous years, but not by too much.

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus

Common Blues were first seen on 8 June and regularly recorded through to 3 September. The numbers were very similar to previous years.

Ringlet, Aphantpopus hyperantus

Ringlets seemed to have a pretty good year, with numbers only a little lower than in previous years. The first record I received was on 19 June and they were seen until 17 August.

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

The first record in 2016 of a Small Skipper was on 19 June and they were seen through to the end of August. They are very well established now along the coast from Longniddry to North Berwick and at a couple of inland sites.

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina

The first Meadow Brown record was on 2 July and they were seen in good numbers through to the 30 August. They didn’t seem to be affected by the miserable summer.

Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis aglaja

The first record was on 3 July and they were seen in reasonable numbers but only until early August when I received the last record of the year.

Northern Brown Argus, Aricia artaxeres

I only received two records of Northern Brown Argus this year on 14 July and 30 July, both from the same site in the Lammermuir Hills. There are only another three locations that I am aware of them occurring in East Lothian, and I think the poor weather prevented other sites from being checked.

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Clossiana selene

We had a record of a Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary from the usual site in the Lammermuir Hills on 14 July. There were also two records of a Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary from John Muir Country Park on the 16 and 18 August. These are quite late in the season, but were recorded by different people in more or less the same area.

Grayling, Hypparchia semele

The first record was on 18 July, which is about three weeks behind the norm. They were still seen in reasonable numbers, though. I am only aware of three small sites where Graylings are found in East Lothian, so they are quite vulnerable to habitat loss.

Camberwell Beauty, Nymphalis antiopa

I heard of a very exciting record that a Camberwell Beauty had been seen feeding on a Buddleia on 26 August in a garden in Dunbar. It was seen in the same place the following day. This is the first record of this very rare migrant that I am aware of in East Lothian since 1983. I have no reason to doubt this record even though there were no further records of it having been seen elsewhere.

The other butterfly that we may have expected to see was a Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus. We had three records of them in East Lothian in 2014, but none since. There is a good colony of Large Skippers just over the border at Cockburnspath and I have no doubt that they are still in East Lothian. It is just that the weather has been very poor over the last two summers so people haven't been down to that corner of East Lothian to look for them. I will certainly make an effort to search for them in 2017.

So, all in all, it wasn't a bad year for butterflies given the weather. Most species did as well as ever, but there were worryingly few Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks and Commas later in the year. I thought that this could be because the weather was poor at a critical time just after the caterpillars had hatched. However, Red Admirals and Painted Ladies did well and they would have been caterpillars around the same time.

We have found a few hibernating Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks, so hopefully their numbers will bounce back this year. Already I have received a record of a Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell flying this year!

East Lothian Butterflies 2011

What was a very disappointing year as far as the weather was concerned, turned out to be a surprisingly good year for butterflies. After a very hard winter with a lot of snow, spring arrived quite suddenly when it warmed up towards the end of March. The spring weather was fairly normal, but June, July and August were very wet and cooler than normal.

Peacock, Aglais io

The year kicked off with a Peacock being spotted on 22 February at John Muir Country Park by the countryside ranger. This was on a freak warm day and Peacocks didn’t reappear until the third week in March, when a good number of them were seen. The number of sightings was low until the next generation emerged in late August.

Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae

I saw my first butterflies on 21st March - a Small Tortoiseshell and a Comma squabbling over a choice sunny spot on the River Tyne near Haddington. There were good numbers of Small Tortoiseshells, particularly earlier in the year, but they didn't seem to do so well later on, most likely as a result of the weather we experienced over the summer. I observed a female laying eggs in June, which took 18 days to hatch. Sadly the caterpillars soon disappeared and I fear they perished due to the cold, wet weather.

Comma, Polygonia c-album

The Comma only started being regularly recorded in East Lothian in 2006. Prior to that I have one record for 2004 and one for 2005. It isn’t a common butterfly here, but it is now seen reasonably often each year. I saw a couple of Commas in March, but just as I was beginning to think they were suffering from the poor weather, I received a few more records in July, August and September. The number of sightings was certainly lower than the previous year.

Small White, Pieris rapae

The first record of a Small White was on 22^nd March, which is quite early for East Lothian. They appeared in greater numbers in mid April. Small White don’t generally occur here in large numbers. Green-veined Whites outnumber them considerably and it can be difficult to spot the difference between the two species until they land.

Panted Lady, Vanessa cardui

There were very few Painted Ladies around this year, but strangely one of the few records was on 5th April at John Muir Country Park, which is very early. Two were recorded in Gullane in July and just one or two more recorded in October. I am sure the weather can have a big impact on how many of these migratory butterflies arrive here from the south. Another slight issue is that Painted Lady caterpillars are freely available to purchase and some of the butterflies we see here could have been reared and released.

Orange Tip, Anthocharis cardamines

The Orange Tip season was noticeably shorter than usual this year, most likely because of the short spring. The first record was on 16^th April when there seemed to be a mass emergence. Numbers recorded were very good over the next six weeks and then they quickly diminished.

Large White, Pieris brassicae

The first Large White I saw this year was on 17^th April. We don’t see a lot of Large Whites in East Lothian, just the odd one here and there. The number of Large Whites this year was generally a bit lower than normal.

Green-veined White, Artogeia napi

Green-veined Whites must be the most common butterfly in East Lothian. The first sighting was on 18^th April. Numbers seemed good for the first generation, but the second generation that appears from July didn’t seem to do as well with fewer sightings reported.

Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus

Probably the most exciting news for me was that Holly Blues were recorded in one small location near Aberlady in April and May. There were no records of a second generation later in the year, but again the weather was not very conducive. There has been another colony right on the western corner of East Lothian for a few years now, but it is good to know that they seem to be spreading.

Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas

I saw my first Small Copper of 2011 on 9^th May. The number of sightings was a little lower than normal this year. These butterflies can be locally common, but they seem to be restricted to various sites around East Lothian.

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta

Red Admirals arrived in force in early May with the first one recorded on 9^th May. This year they have been more numerous than I can previously remember. Unusually high numbers were recorded particularly later in the year, right through to November. It will be interesting to see if any make it through the winter.

Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera

I first saw Wall Brown just inside East Lothian at Dunglass last year. I was pleased to find them there again this year in greater numbers. The first record this year was on 9^th May in John Muir Country Park and later in the year I was surprised to spot one near Dunbar, so they also appear to be spreading along the coast.

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

The number of Small Heath recorded this year was lower than normal. I saw my first one on 15^th May in the Lammermuir Hills. They also occur at many sites along the coast, sometimes in great numbers. They occur here right through until September.

Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis laodice

The Dark Green Fritillary is another butterfly that occurs in various locations in the Lammermuir Hills and at the coast. I saw my first one this year on 20^th June and various others were recorded throughout the summer. It doesn’t occur in great numbers, so it is difficult to know if this year was a good or bad year for them.

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Clossiana selene

There was one Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary recorded by the countryside ranger in John Muir Country Park on 17^th May.

Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria tircis

Having had one record of a Speckled Wood in 2010 near Tyninghame and one the previous year in John Muir Country Park I had suspicions that there may be a colony somewhere in the area. On 20^th May I was excited to find two on the north side of the Tyne Estuary. Since then I have returned a few times and have seen Speckled Wood at this same spot and close by. They were also recorded the other side of the estuary a few times this year, suggesting that they are now established in the park. There was another sighting a couple of kilometres away at Binning Wood and also one at Yellowcraig, so it looks as though they are moving up the east coast.

Ringlet, Aphantpopus hyperantus

The first record of a Ringlet this year was on 10^th June. Although they seem to like damp grassy areas, the number recorded this year was lower than it has been for a few years. They tend to be quite short-lived and are usually only recorded for six or seven weeks from the end of June to the beginning of August.

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus

Common Blue butterflies aren’t widespread, but there are some sites where they can be quite common. The first record I have for 2011 was on 14^th June. Looking through old transect records 2011 was the best year on record and this is the only species that seems to have done well this year.

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina

I saw my first Meadow Brown on 28^th June. Numbers seemed to be generally down on previous years, particularly at the coast, but there were other hot spots where good numbers were seen.

Grayling, Hypparchia semele

I had heard that Grayling had been seen at Blindwells, an old opencast site, for the last few years. On 5^th July I visited Blindwells with a local enthusiast and we quickly came across the colony, seeing more than 10 on an old railway siding. I was later told of another colony less than a kilometre away on a re-landscaped spoil heap and one was reported in a nearby village later in the year.

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

The other exciting new record for East Lothian was a Small Skipper that was seen at Aberlady Local Nature Reserve on 21^st July. There were two more records of Small Skippers a little further along the coast at Gullane in August. As far as I am aware these are the only records of Small Skippers in East Lothian.  It would be interesting to know how they got there and hopefully we will see them there next year.

So, that's 21 species, which must be a record for East Lothian. Two new species for the county and various other species expanding their range. Quite remarkable, given the poor weather.

Menorca - Butterflies - July 2010

Menorca is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. There are about 25 species of butterflies occurring there with another five or so having been recorded as vagrants. We spent two weeks there in the summer of 2010, staying in an old farm house near the centre of the island. Attached to the house was an orchard, (where my daughter counted 19 different kinds of fruit trees) which turned out to be the perfect place for butterflies. I wasn't expecting to see too much, but I was to be pleasantly surprised.

We arrived in the evening just as the sun was going down, but there were still some Speckled Woods, Pararge aegeria aegeria, flying by the house. These proved to be very common flying anywhere with a bit of dappled shade.

Probably even more abundant than the Speckled Woods were Holly Blues, Celastrina argiolus. I was delighted to see so many of them living along the ivy-covered walls of the orchard.

Southern Brown Argus, Arica cramera, enjoyed the wild flowers in the orchard...

... along with a few Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus.

The Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas, was less common, but still a lot more abundant than in Scotland.

I am used to seeing Small Heaths, Coenonympha pamphilus, on coastal grasslands and moors in Scotland. They seemed a bit out of place to me in the orchard. Back home they also tilt their wings towards the sun whenever they land in order to catch as much warmth as possible. In Menorca they always faced into the sun so as to catch as little sun as possible!

I was pleased to see a lot of Clouded Yellows, Colias croceus,  in the orchard. They seemed a lot less timid than those I had seen in Portugal.

The other yellow butterfly that occurs there is the Cleopatra, Gonepteryx cleopatra. These have a lovely flash of orange on their upper wing, but they always rest with their wings closed so it is only visible when they are flying. They also have an amazing ability to blend into the ivy when they roost at night.

As in most places in Europe, Large Whites, Pieris brassicae, were fairly common.

I saw one or two Small Whites, Pieris rapae, too.

A familiar sight in Scotland, but not so common on Menorca is the Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina.

I spent ages following a Southern Gatekeeper, Pyronia cecilia, along the Alengdar Gorge, but it just wouldn't settle long enough for me to take a photo. This one appeared in the orchard and was much more obliging.

What I assume was the same Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, always appeared in one particular area of the orchard.

Red Admirals, Vanessa atalanta, enjoyed the fallen fruit. They are amazingly well camouflaged when their wings are closed.

Having only just discovered Wall Browns, Lasiommata megera, back in Scotland it was funny also finding them in Menorca. As with most of the butterflies I saw there, they rested with their wings closed, whereas in cooler Scotland they tend to rest with their wings open absorbing the sun's rays.

This is the best picture I could manage of a Two-tailed Pasha, Charaxes jasius. These are amazing butterflies with a really powerful flight. It was great watching them gliding amongst the fruit trees.

On the last day of our holiday this Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Leptotes pirithous, visited a bush next to the swimming pool were it remained for most of the day.

The other three species that I saw, but wasn't able to take a picture of were a Long-tailed Blue, Lampides boeticus, a Swallowtail, Papilio machaon and a Geranium Bronze, Cacyreus marshalli, making 20 species for the trip. This was a lot better than I had expected. What Menorca lacks in variety of species is more than made up for by the number of butterflies in the air.