Days Out and Walking Holidays in Cornwall

So many butterflies in Cornwall

Posted in blog

  on Monday, 26 September 2011 11:42

• < Prev
• Next >

Butterflies are invertebrates, having a back bone or more accurately jointed limbs, from the group “Anthropoda”. Moving down the taxonomic classification they are from the order Lepidoptera which means “scale wings” which describes the scaly membrane that gives them their unique colours. Having said that look at the photo of the Red Admiral- more orange than red.

One thing I didn’t know for a while was that some species of butterflies live for a few days (common blue) whilst most can hibernate and live on to the following spring. Some over winter as larvae and others as full adults. Others are migrants from warmer climes.

You might remember the sighting of millions of painted ladies in the spring of 2009. I personally haven’t seen many clouded yellows in 2010 but did two or three years ago where they seemed to dominate the hedgerows.

2010 has been a great year for butterflies in Cornwall. Maybe, with a new camera it’s a case of having taken more notice of them and thereby taking a lot more photos of them. I like a challenge and some species especially the Whites and Yellows have a tendency to flit a lot more than most of the others. They will settle just long enough to train the camera lens on them and just before you can focus and press the shutter….flit… they’re off again.

The Comma seen here often will be spotted along hedgerows and paths feeding off nettles, elm, hops and red currant. It is fulfilling when you spy a certain plant and then look for the butterfly associated with the food plant. Or vice versa. I always remember seeing an orange tip coming towards me up a valley path and then I looked for the garlic mustard plant. A surprising welling up of happiness when I spied the definitive triangular leaves. Nature read about in a book actually coming to life on a walk. There’s not much better than nature unfolding before your very eyes underlining the link between facts read and facts observed.