This month, in the first of a series on insects and other invertebrates, we are looking at some of the butterflies and moths which are found in our meadow and which have been very busy during July and August.

Female butterflies and moths lay their eggs on host plants. Some are very choosy and will lay eggs on only one plant species or on plants of the same family. The larvae emerge from the eggs and begin to feed, shedding their skins a number of times as they grow bigger, a new skin having already formed underneath. These are known as instar stages and as they progress, the wings of the butterfly or moth are gradually forming internally.

Eating Machine	Big Caterpillar!

Butterflies and moths, like all insects, have bodies consisting of a head, thorax and abdomen. In the caterpillar stage they are simply eating machines, with thirteen segments behind the head, ‘real’ legs attached to the front three segments and a number of prolegs  further back. The last pair of prolegs are on the hind segment and are called claspers. The prolegs have small hooks, enabling the caterpillar to hold on tightly to the host plant and move around it, eating as it goes.

Privet Hawk Moth Caterpillar

Shown here is the most spectacular caterpillar we have found so far in the meadow, a Privet Hawk Moth caterpillar, which posed on a twig in the back hedgerow for the benefit of everyone coming away from the two-o’clock demonstration on August 3rd. At approximately three and a half inches long and a little over half an inch thick this vivid green caterpillar with purple and white stripes was just about fully grown and we would very much like to see the large moth it will later become. The Privet Hawk Moth is the largest British resident moth, with pink and black bars on its body and hind wings and a wingspan of up to 5 inches.

Burnet Moth Chrysalis

On the last occasion of shedding, a pupa emerges instead of a new caterpillar, with developing wing buds and limbs becoming visible. During the pupal or chrysalis stage, locomotion and feeding stop and the metamorphosis to adult butterfly or moth takes place. Pupae protect themselves in various ways – some produce silk and spin a protective cocoon or simply hang from a twig, some bind leaves together as a hiding place from predators and others cement together soil particles, using sticky secretions, to form an underground chamber. Some species of Blue butterflies have developed a special relationship with ants during the caterpillar and pupal stage. Caterpillars make their way inside ant nests and release a sugary secretion which the ants collect. In return the ants tolerate the caterpillar feeding on eggs and ant larvae. When the adult butterfly emerges from its pupa it has to run the gauntlet of ants, now hostile, to get out of the nest! A newly emerged butterfly has small, flabby wings and these need to be expanded and hardened before it can fly. This is done by pumping fluid through the wing veins and the butterfly is then ready to fly and begin feeding.

Essex Skipper

Adult butterflies and moths have very specialized organs on their heads. They smell with their antennae and the males can smell a female of their own species from some distance away. The Essex Skipper shown here can be distinguished from the very similar Small Skipper by the black undersides of its antennae – those of the Small Skipper are yellowy-orange. The eyes are made up of a large number of tiny eyes called ocelli. This arrangement means that they are good at detecting movement and are very aware of approaching danger – it also makes photographing them rather difficult, as they see you coming and fly away before you can get near enough to focus the camera! Many of the photographs in this article were obtained by patient stalking, mostly on the knees, and there are a number of very attractive moths and butterflies which we haven’t managed to capture on camera!

Coiled Proboscis	Drinking Proboscis

Most moths and butterflies have a very long tongue, called a proboscis, which is coiled up when not in use. They do not have jaws with which to chew, so they have to rely on liquid food. The proboscis acts like a straw, through which to suck up nectar, often reaching nectar sources that are out of reach of bees or other insects. The proboscis in some species can be up to six inches long, but members of some moth families do not have one at all, in which case they do not take in any food and live for only a few days.

 

Moth and butterfly wings are covered with small scales, some of which contain pigments that give them their colours.

Peacock	Common Blue
Common Blue - Male	Common Blue - Female

Others, such as the Blues, have refractive scales that interfere with the light falling on them, producing metallic colours. Some species have different colouring in male and female forms, as in the Blues shown here. The colouring and markings are also often very different on the top surface and under surface of the wings. In species such as the Blues, which are often quite hard to tell apart, the patterns and colours on the underside of the wing play a large part in identification, seen here where the wings are held upright in the closed position. Many butterflies and moths have colouring which plays a part in camouflage or defence. Some blend into the colour and pattern of their surroundings, such as leaves or tree bark, while others have large spots which look like eyes, to deter predators. The colours produced by pigments gradually fade with exposure to light, so that older butterflies and moths often become pale and their wings rather tattered. (The photograph of a Peacock butterfly was not taken in the meadow - we do have that species but have not been able to get near enough for a photograph so far!)

Clouded Yellow	Green-veined White	Speckled Wood	Plume Moth

Here are a few more of the butterflies and moths found in Reg’s Meadow which we have managed to photograph. One of the less common ones is the Clouded Yellow Butterfly – not a very good photograph, but it was elusive and would not let us near. It has large green eyes and is very beautiful. The upper surface of its wings when open is bright yellow with black edges.

Silver Y Moth

Four Spotted Moth	Magpie Moth
Meadow Brown	Marbled White

The Magpie moth was found in the hedgerow behind the seating area and is the only one we have seen. The Silver-Y gets its name from the small marking on its wings, shaped like a letter Y.

There are many other butterflies and moths in our meadow which we have not covered in this article – some we have not managed to photograph and many we have not yet identified. There are around 70 species of butterfly and nearly 2500 species of moth in Britain, so we still have a long way to go. We’ll keep looking!

Gatekeepers Mating

One of the times when it is quite easy to photograph butterflies and moths is while they are mating, with apologies to those shown here for invading their privacy! Male butterflies have pincer-shaped projections at their rear end, which they use to grasp the female when mating and they often remain in this position for a long time. Females have an ovipositor with which they lay their eggs, finding the appropriate host plant by ‘tasting’ with sensors on their legs. The eggs develop into caterpillars and the moth and butterfly life cycle of egg – caterpillar – pupa – adult begins again.