Sierra Nevada Butterflies - June 2024 Part 3

A bit further down the mountain is my favourite butterfly spot. Somewhere where I could spend days just watching all of the different species. There were maybe not quite as many species there as during my July visits, but I still saw more than 22 species in the hour, or so, that I was there.

There were butterflies everywhere I looked. First off was a Silver-studded Blue. At least I think it was, as I am still a little uncertain about the difference between Silver-studded and Idas Blues in the Sierra Nevada.

There were some Small Skippers flying there.

Also some beautiful Marsh Fritillaries each with their favourite perch that they would return to when disturbed.

Obviously Small Whites were the most numerous butterfly there, too, but close behind were Common Blues. I must have seen more than 15 of them.

Other common butterflies were Meadow Browns and Wall Browns.

I was also really pleased to see Mother-of-Pearl Blues. These are really beautiful butterflies and there were several of them flying there this year.

Again, there were plenty of Wall Browns, Bath Whites and Clouded Yellows.

Quite a number of butterflies flew past, which I could identify, but they didn't land. These included Black-veined Whites, Large Whites and Cleopatras. There were also a few that I couldn't identify, that looked as though they were Graylings of some kind.

I took a picture of this skipper and later identified it as a Large Grizzled Skipper.

There were a few Knapweed Fritillaries, which had taken up territory on prominent branches, seeing off any other butterflies that flew anywhere near.

I also saw lots of little Southern Brown Argus flying...

...and after I returned home and looked at my pictures, I noticed that some of them were Mountain Argus.

I also saw a few Speckled Woods, which I haven't seen in the Sierra Nevada before.

I saw some Iberian Marbled Whites and a Red Underwing Skipper, but wasn't quick enough to photograph them.

Eventually, I had to drag myself away, knowing that I had a three hour drive to get back to the villa. It had been a fantastic day, though and in total I managed to identify 36 species. Not as many as I would have seen in July, but still a fantastic number in one day.

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 2021 Part 1

The number of East Lothian butterfly records was quite a bit lower in 2021 than in previous years. This was partially due to the additional work load that Covid 19 placed on the Countryside Rangers and, to some extent, because I am no longer living in East Lothian. I didn't receive so many records from volunteers this year, maybe because they were making the most of the reduced lockdown restrictions. However, it turned out to be a very interesting and exciting year for butterflies in East Lothian, possibly a record year!

It is a little odd reporting on East Lothian butterflies now that I am living in the Borders. I usually get an impression on how things are doing when I am out and about, but things can be very different here compared to East Lothian. I did keep a note of butterflies that I saw when I was in East Lothian on site visits, but frustratingly those dates often didn't coincide with decent weather!

So, in 2021 we received a total of 1,546 records totaling 7,996 butterflies. This is a higher number of butterflies than were recorded in 2020, but about half the number of previous years.

2021 started off very cold and frosty. Despite a warm spell at the beginning of April frosts continued into May. Thereafter the weather wasn't too bad, but the earlier cold spell appeared to impact on some butterfly species.

Despite the weather, the first butterfly to be recorded in 2021 was a Small Tortoiseshell seen at Aberlady on 17th February. This species did very well during the spring, but there weren't as many as usual later in the summer. This year I didn't find any Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars, despite looking in likely spots, which is unusual. I suspect that the late cold spells must have limited breeding opportunities for them.

The first Peacock was seen on 26th February sunning itself in a skip in Dunbar! Like the Tortoiseshells, they appeared to have a poor year, even taking account of the limited number of records received. This corresponded with how few I saw at home on my Buddleia later in the summer.

It wasn't until the 16th of March that we saw the first Comma of the year. Unfortunately, 2021 was one of the worst years I have known for them. They are not normally seen in large numbers, but this year we only recorded 24 individuals. On average over the last 8 years we have seen over 75 Commas each year.

The first Small White was recorded on 3rd April. They had a reasonably good year, but like the species above the summer generation wasn't as big as normal. It is interesting that the Green-veined White, that has a similar life cycle, did much better later in the year. The Green-vein is a species that I associate with damper areas, so possibly they are better able to cope with poor weather. The first Green-veined White was recorded on 17th April and they were seen through to 7th September.

It was exciting to see the Holly Blue doing well again in 2021. The first record was on 10th April and over the season I received records of 101 Holly Blues. They were seen in all of the locations where they were seen the previous year and don't appear to have expanded their range further. However, this is encouraging, given that many other species struggled in 2021.

The first Speckled Wood was seen on 11th April. Their numbers were lower than normal in the spring, but they more than made up for it with very high numbers seen in late August and September. It was good to see their numbers bounce back after a poor year in 2020.

Orange Tips first appeared on 12th April. Unfortunately, they had a very poor year, probably because their flight period coincided with the cold weather. Of course the cold weather may also have meant that fewer people were out looking for butterflies, so hopefully things weren't as bad as they appeared and we will see them back in good numbers again this spring.

Large Whites made an appearance from 21st April. They didn't do very well in the spring, but unlike its smaller cousin, the summer population was relatively high. It isn't a butterfly that is ever seen in large numbers, but 2021 was one of the best years we have had.

Red Admirals had a particularly poor year. The first record of was on 22nd April and only one more was seen in May. June was better, but we didn't see the usual big influx of migrant butterflies. As a result the summer population was lower than we have seen for the last few years.

The first Wall Brown was recorded on 30 April and they went on to have a fantastic year. Over the last ten years, since they first arrived in East Lothian, they have increased in number year after year. 2021 was by far the best year yet with records of 663 butterflies reported.

Small Heaths had a very good year. In fact I received more records of them in 2021 than in any previous year. They had a short season, first being recorded on the 17th May and being seen until 5th September. It is said that in Scotland there is only one generation a year, but further south in England there are two generations a year. It is difficult to understand what is happening here with them being seen over such a long period and it is tempting to think we get two generations.

Common Blue had a bit of a slow start to the season, with the first record being received on 30th May. However, their numbers soon picked up and they ended up having a very good year.

2021 wasn't a good year for Painted Ladies. The first record wasn't until 5th June, which is a lot later than usual and I only received records of 38 individuals. I suppose that when you think that these butterflies start off in Northern Africa and migrate over two or three generations before they arrive here that it isn't surprising that some years very few make it. They will need good weather and food sources throughout their journey to be successful.

I will continue this on the next post...

East Lothian Butterflies 2018 Part 2

Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas

The Small Copper isn't a butterfly that is normally seen in large numbers, most often being seen individually, as males aggressively defend their territory or chase after females. In 2018 there were regular records of more than ten being seen. It was certainly the best year I can remember for Small Coppers. The first record was on 8th May and they were seen through to 2nd November. The most exciting news is that that we had a very obvious third generation in 2018, which we haven't previously seen here.

Number of Small Copper records received each week in 2018

Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera

The first record of a Wall Brown in 2018 was on 11th May. The Wall Brown has continued to increase in numbers year on year since it was first recorded here in 2010. As with many other species, the spring population did pretty well, but it was the second generation that did particularly well. In previous years we have found the odd pioneering individual exploring further afield, but this year there did appear to be an expansion of the range of this butterfly with it being found in numbers at various sites where it hasn't previously been recorded.

Distribution of Wall Browns in 2018 compared with previous years.

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

The Small Heath seems to have two overlapping generations a year, although it is not really possible to separate the two generations. There also seems to be quite marked differences between different sites, and in my experience those in John Muir Country Park appear to finish quite a few weeks before those found in Aberlady and Yellowcraig. Most years there are also a few quite fresh-looking individuals later in the season making us question if there could be a partial third generation. 2018 wasn't particularly different from previous years, with the first record being on the 18th May and the last hanger-on being seen on 23rd September.

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus

As with most other species, the Common Blue did very well in 2018. Numbers weren't dramatically higher than normal and it is interesting to speculate why some species did so much better than others. Possibly it may be to do with how their food plants coped with the hot, dry summer. The first Common Blue was seen on the 29th May and the last one was seen on the 7th September.

Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui

Painted Ladies were quite late to arrive in East Lothian in 2018. There were a couple of records in early June, but it wasn't until later in July that they were seen in any numbers. 2018 turned out to be one of the best years we have had recently for Painted Ladies.

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina

Meadow Browns were the only butterflies that didn’t do particularly well in 2018. I think that they suffered from the poor weather the previous summer. Although numbers were higher than last year, they were lower than we would normally see. The first record in 2018 was on the 12th June and they were seen through until the 29th August.

Ringlet, Aphantpopus hyperantus

Ringlets did reasonably well in 2018, but not as well as many other species. I think they may also have been a victim of the previous poor summer. The first Ringlet was recorded on the 18th June and their short flight period lasted until the 5th August. It will be interesting to see if the great weather of 2018 will allow numbers to bounce back in 2019.

Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis aglaja

We don't tend to see a lot of Dark Green Fritillaries and they are generally limited to coastal sites and one or two valleys in the Lammermuir Hills. Numbers in 2018 were about average, but they had a terrible year the previous year, so it was good to see them bouncing back.

Northern Brown Argus, Aricia artaxerxes

I am only aware of four places in East Lothian where Northern Brown Argus occur. Three of those sites are very small and vulnerable. Because of this I don't receive many records of Northern Brown Argus, so it is difficult to assess how they are doing. However, at one site near Dunbar, despite several visits only one Northern Brown Argus was recorded. Maybe this is a butterfly that we need to look at a bit more closely in the future.

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

The Small Skipper has been increasing in number year on year, since it was first discovered in East Lothian in 2011. Unsurprisingly, 2018 was its best year yet. They were initially found along the coast in the Aberlady and Gullane area, but in more recent years have been found in the Lammermuir Hills, lowland woodlands and various areas of rough grassland across the county. The first record in East Lothian was on 21st June and they were seen through to 27th August.

Grayling, Hypparchia semele

I am only aware of three sites where Grayling are found in East Lothian. One of these is very remote and I didn't receive any records from there this year. The other two sites are close to Prestonpans and one of these colonies is about to be lost to a housing development. There is an exciting project currently underway to create a new habitat to try to relocate one of these colonies. The first Grayling was recorded on 27th June and they were seen through to 21st August.

I didn't receive any records for Large Skippers in 2018, but I suspect they will be out there somewhere, unlike Holly Blues, which I fear have died out in East Lothian, having not been recorded here in the last two years. I didn't receive any records of Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries from East Lothian, either, but I am sure they would have been out and about somewhere in the Lammermuir Hills. Given the prolonged period of great weather I was surprised that we didn't receive any records of Clouded Yellows or any other unusual migrants.

Many species were late to appear because of the cold weather, which lasted into April. It was interesting to note that the hot weather didn't result in prolonged emergence and may have shortened the time that each generation was around because they all emerged quite close together. In contrast, poor weather can extend the flight period, because butterflies have to spend time sitting out the rain, rather than flying around, potentially damaging their wings.

East Lothian Butterflies 2017 - Part 2

Following on from my previous post here are the remaining species recorded in East Lothian in 2017.

Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi

The Green Hairstreak is probably very much under-recorded in East Lothian. There are old records from the Lammermuir Hills, but they have not been seen in those sites for many years. They have, however, been discovered in other areas of the Lammermuirs and in woodlands on the East Lothian side. They require blaeberries as food plants for the caterpillars, and everywhere we have found them is within a few feet of conifer trees. Numbers appeared to be down in 2016, but it is difficult to tell how they are doing without more specific monitoring.

Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui

Painted Lady numbers are very variable year on year, depending on many factors on their long migration from Africa to the UK. We don't ever see enormous numbers of them in East Lothian. The first record for East Lothian was on 5th May and it looks as though there was a better than average arrival of Painted Ladies. They didn't go on to produce a large second brood, presumably as a result of the summer weather.

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

The Small Heath confuses me a little! In the south of the UK there are two generations a year and up here we are supposed to get just one generation. However, I have noticed a big difference between sites in East Lothian. They are rarely seen beyond the end of June in John Muir Country Park, yet in other sites are seen through until the end of August. In 2017 the first record was on 6th May. They started off doing well, but their numbers were lower later in the season. We have been getting later records each year, but in 2017 we had a remarkably late record of one being seen on 20th October. I can only imagine this was from a second brood.

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus

The Common Blue was seen in slightly lower numbers than normal in 2017, with sightings being lower than average towards the end of the season. The first Common Blue was recorded on 31st May and they had a fairly normal year with numbers just a bit down on the average.

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Clossiana selene

The Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary is a very rare butterfly in East Lothian, only being recorded in a couple of places in the Lammermuir Hills and at John Muir Country Park. This year I only received one record on 7th June from John Muir Country Park.

Ringlet, Aphantpopus hyperantus

Ringlets did reasonably well in 2017. The first record received was on 14th June and their numbers built up quickly to a maximum, three weeks later and then back down to zero in the next five weeks.

Northern Brown Argus, Aricia artaxerxes

The Northern Brown Argus only occurs in a few small colonies in East Lothian. There is one very well established colony in the Lammermuirs, a very small and precarious colony on a golf course near Dunbar and possibly another couple of inaccessible sites where they occur. They tend not to travel far from their food plant, Rockrose, and therefore don't have much likelihood of spreading in East Lothian. The first record in 2017 was on 17th June and because we receive so few records it is difficult to assess how well they are doing.

Large Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

It was very pleasing to receive two records of Large Skippers in 2017. In 2014 we received our first record on the coast just inside East Lothian. We had expected them to continue along the coast, as many other species have, but despite many people searching there were no sightings in 2015 or 2016. Then on 17th June 2017 someone spotted them in two locations in the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills. They had caught us all off guard and sneaked west! I am sure there will be plenty of us out checking appropriate sites along the Lammermuirs in 2018!

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina

The Meadow Brown is normally the most numerous butterfly in East Lothian, but this year it was knocked back into four place. The first record we received was on 19th of June and this coincided with the start of the horrible rainy weather. It is interesting to see that numbers picked up to almost normal levels in August once the rain had stopped!

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

The Small Skipper was first recorded in East Lothian in 2011 and since then it has been increasing in number and spreading across the county. This butterfly was first spotted at Aberlady bay, then in Saltoun Wood, other sites along the coast, Gifford, Linn Dean and Haddington to mention just a few. It would be interesting to know it manages to get to all these sites. Does it fly large distances, or is it that we just haven't noticed it in places between these sites?

Grayling, Hypparchia semele

The Grayling is only regularly seen in two or three sites in East Lothian. Unfortunately, one of those sites, Blindwells, is due to be developed and public access is being restricted. They are normally seen between mid-June to the end of August. The first record I received in 2017 was on 24th June and numbers seemed low this year.

Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis aglaja

The first record in 2017 of a Dark Green Fritillary was on 1st July. Sadly, because their emergence was during the rainy weather 2017 was their worst year of the last five years. Numbers of ad hoc and transect records were both less than half what would normally be expected.

Sadly, 2017 was the first year that I haven't received a record for a Holly Blue since 2009. There was a colony around the Newhailes and Brunstane area, which sadly seems to have died out and each year I have received one or two records from around the Gullane/North Berwick area. I live in hope that there is a little colony hidden away somewhere in that area.

I am very grateful to all of those who have contributed butterfly records. It shouldn't be too long before we are seeing butterflies again in 2018!