Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Serene September: butterflies and a gentle waning sun

A red admiral butterfly. Photo: Keith Broomfield.
A red admiral butterfly. Photo: Keith Broomfield.

September air, so clear and fair; a time of swansongs for some creatures whilst others – such as several types of geese  –  will be hitting our shores over the next few weeks as they leave their northern breeding grounds to seek respite from the rapidly approaching arctic winter.

But for me, September is all about softly-lit backgrounds against a gently waning sun. There is a special sharpness to the air that invigorates the heart. It is also a peak time to see all kinds of wildlife and among the most striking are red admiral and peacock butterflies.

Both species are total sugar junkies at this time of year, actively seeking out nectar from late flowering plants or settling upon rotting windfall apples to sup their sweetness. If you have a buddleia growing in your garden, the chances are its purple flower spikes will now be a magnet for both of these types of butterfly.

Red admirals can be a bit flighty when you try to approach close, so I was pleased to come across a more relaxed individual recently (photographed here). An interesting thought; if some red admirals are less skittish than others, does that mean that each individual butterfly has its own unique “personality”? I rather imagine it does.

Most red admirals are unable to survive a Scottish winter, so the ones we first see here in spring are migrants that arrive from continental Europe and North Africa. These incomers lay eggs and the butterflies now on the wing come from this recently emerged new generation.

I just love watching beautiful peacock butterflies as they swirl and dance in the air. They are so named because the iridescent “eyes” on the wings look similar to the markings found on a peacock’s tail. The large-eye pattern is designed to startle potential predators, especially if the butterfly quickly flashes the wings open.

But I suspect a mouse or bird would quickly learn from such a ruse and soon ignore it. As another aside, it is relatively unusual to see any type of butterfly being taken by a bird or small mammal. I’m not sure why this should be so, especially since butterflies are most conspicuous, and one would have thought easy to catch. Perhaps their large wings are hard to deal with.

Serene September is but a passing month, over so quick and soon no more than a memory.  The air chills, the last remaining flowers wilt and the days become shorter.

It is the turning of the seasons and the turning of life. By November, the peacock butterflies will seek out garden sheds or hollow trees to find a sheltered place to hibernate. Many won’t make it, but some do, and they will reappear the following spring to lay their eggs.  The job is done and they too will die. The next generation of peacocks is now waiting in the wings.

Info

As well as buddleias in the garden, red admirals and peacocks particularly favour sedums (ice-plants) for their rich nectar. Both these butterfly species lay their eggs on nettles in the spring and summer.