On the hunt for rare butterflies

 

Here's a pretty little thing, it's a Pearl Bordered Fritillary and there are a bunch of them breeding prolifically in the hills of south Denbighshire. More specifically the location of these butterflies is Eyarth Rocks at Pwllglas near Ruthin, here is a limestone pavement of rock on top of a hill overlooking the Vale of Clwyd.

It's the perfect habitat for butterfly colonies as it happens, the key ingredients being bracken for cover and in the understorey, violets for the caterpillars to feed on; the exposed limestone absorbs the warmth of the sun and retains it over night - thus they have food, shelter and central heating. What more do they want? Caterpillars in general are fussy eaters - Fritillary caterpillars are very fond of Violets and the Pearl Bordered Fritillary feeds on Dog Violets in particular which grow well on the Eyarth hilltops. And what did we see today on our winter walk at Pwllglas? Lovely views of the Vale of Clwyd but, alas, no butterflies fluttering by - the earliest sightings are in April.

And what did we see today on our winter walk at Pwllglas? Lovely views of the Vale of Clwyd but, alas, no butterflies fluttering by - the earliest sightings are in April - these early hatchers will be the Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary, a close relative to the one pictured above. There are, in fact, eight species of butterfly to be found here as listed on the right - it must be a magnet for lepidopterists. We'll have to join them in the spring!

D Duck the famous American lepidopterist!