Richard Bell's nature sketchbook since 1998
A small tortoiseshell rests on the seed head of wild carrot on a track between lagoons at RSPB St Aidan’s nature reserve. Our cultivated carrots are varieties of the same species, Daucus carota.
After flowering the stems of the umbel curve inwards as the seeds develop.
The seeds are armed with combs of hook-tipped bristles, ready to attach to any passing animal.
At first glance you might not suspect that Astrantia was a member of the cow parsley family, Apiaceae, but the little umbel of the flowerheads and the rosette of bracts are a clue. It’s popular with pollinators – such as this small tortoiseshell at Wentworth Castle this morning – and long-lasting, so we think that we could find a space for it in our flower border.
I thought that I’d give my laidback lepidopterist friend Roger a bit of a challenge with his birthday card this year. This is going to be difficult if you’re not familiar with British butterflies, so answers at the foot of this post.
And if that isn’t enough here are four bonus species – all different species of a group of small butterflies that hold their forewings at an angle above their hindwings, so they look a bit moth-like.
Top cartoon, back row, left to right: Red Admiral, Purple Hairstreak, Painted Lady
Front row: Small Tortoiseshell, Purple Emperor, Comma, Small Copper
Bonus species, left to right: Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Essex Skipper (and yes, as Roger pointed out, Dagenham is no longer in Essex, it became a part of Greater London in 1965!)
I didn’t get around to including the Chequered Skipper, shame about that.