There it was gone. Is that an expression local to North Derbyshire? Something that appears briefly and then disappears…
The blue skies and warm sun have gone and we are now expecting storm Freya to arrive on Sunday. Whilst it was very enjoyable, in a world of shifting weather patterns, it was also a little disconcerting for a few days in February to be so mild, this time last year we had the Beast from the East
But before the cloud came we had more visitors to the pussy willow, a comma butterfly
Who had a very neat vanishing trick up its sleeve. Now you see me, now you don’t.
The Comma is a fascinating butterfly. The scalloped edges and cryptic colouring of the wings conceal hibernating adults amongst dead leaves, while the larvae, flecked with brown and white markings, bear close resemblance to bird droppings.
The species has a flexible life cycle, which allows it to capitalize on favourable weather conditions. However, the most remarkable feature of the Comma has been its severe decline in the twentieth century and subsequent comeback. It is now widespread in southern Britain and its range is expanding northwards.
I might be a bit slow on the uptake, but it wasn’t until recently I realised that some butterflies over winter, I assumed that they emerged from their chrysalis in the spring.
Wrong, this is how the comma butterfly spends its year
We’ve been busy bees, having a serious clear out of our barn,
well its actually turned into a kind of archaeological dig, so much stuff! It was during this process, we found lots of hibernating butterfly tucked away behind old cupboards and pieces of timber, sadly I also found a lot of dismembered wings! I suppose a spider needs to eat.
March 1, 2019 at 8:17 pm
Fascinating info about the comma butterfly. I too didn’t realise that they could overwinter. I wonder what their average lifespan is.
March 2, 2019 at 12:52 am
Interesting text and pictures. Thank you.
March 2, 2019 at 1:09 am
For three years, I’ve been pondering the identify of a butterfly I found on a tree trunk in a rural Texas cemetery. It’s wings aren’t as deeply scalloped as yours, but it looks remarkably like a dead leaf when its wings are closed, and the color and markings are similar. I’ll be off to try again to identify it — this time, with a clue!
That’s an interesting expression you shared. The closest I can think of here is “Easy come, easy go,” but that isn’t quite the same meaning. The pussy willows are beautiful. We don’t have them here, but they were always the first branches clipped and forced when I was growing up.
March 2, 2019 at 11:58 am
Lovely post and wonderful pictures. I agree about it being rather disconcerting, both the weather and seeing butterflies. xx
March 5, 2019 at 11:03 pm
I saw a brimstone butterfly here in Somerset before winter returned. Fascinating post by the way.