Wildflower patch

[Vince Massimo]

Hi Richard, according to Martin Warren's latest book, Butterflies and Peter Eeles' Life Cycles of British and Irish Butterflies (plus some other sources), the big-batch-layers on nettle (Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock) are literally putting all of their eggs in one basket, so are very selective as to where they lay. They take a long time testing numerous plants before deciding on a perfect location. That is one of the reasons why they need a large patch of nettle, but also because there will be many larvae which will need a plentiful supply of food nearby. It may not just be about selecting the perfect healthy plant, but also its location within the patch. Both Paul (Bugboy) and myself have noticed that Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell females tend to lay on nettles within a large patch, but favouring those plants growing adjacent to a piece of bare ground or on the edge of the clump and we have speculated that the micro-climate may be warmer there. Whatever the reasons, it is not uncommon to find multiple females of both species selecting the same plant and sometimes even the same leaf on which to lay.

Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell egg-laying - North Stoke, Sussex 11-April-2017

Vince

[Richard Trillo]

This is absolutely fascinating, Vince, thank you. I remember huge colonies of peacock and small tortoiseshell caterpillars on a big stands of nettles on a sandy site near Hythe in Hampshire, in the mid-60s. It was a lovely, warm, sheltered spot. In recent decades I've often wondered why I don't see nests of larvae on the (usually much narrower) nettle beds in my suburban area even though the adults are around – and obviously breeding somewhere. This makes me impatient to try some micro-climate experiments with nettles in my garden here in New Malden.

I must say I've been blown away by the information that's available on ukbutterfiles.co.uk and butterfly-conservation.org. I've just downloaded a list of species recorded within my 1km radius, to help me narrow down some food plants. And I've just chanced on your absolutely outstanding clouded yellow life-cycle study. Jaw-dropping photos, and incredibly inspiring. Congratulations!

[Vince Massimo]

No worries, Richard, it's all part of the service. There are other life-cycle reports here:
viewforum.php?f=37

Vince

[bugboy]

Well since I've been name dropped I'll add my tuppence worth here. Going back to your query about Crested Dogstail grass, I have a single reference of it as a larval host plant (LHP) for the Small Heath in one of my books. However It's not specific to that grass and if you're looking to attract skippers and browns then many are known to favour Festuca sp., Poa sp., Cock's Foot Grass, Yorkshire Fog and Timothy Grass. Reading that link you posted I think the Butterflies are mentioned in reference to Timothy grass rather than Crested Dogstail.

I agree with Vince's comments with regard to the nettle feeders. I was watching a female Small White flitting around and casually laying almost at random here and there on some Rape plants just yesterday, and comparing that to last year when I watched and waited for around half an hour as a female Peacock chose the exact leaf on which to deposit her full clutch, the differences couldn't be more stark! As Vince has already stated, you'll need a good few square meters of nettles in a sunny aspect and with decent amounts shelter from wind to tempt a Small Tortoiseshell or Peacock to lay. If you are allowed such large amounts of this 'weed' in your garden, some form of woody shrubbery close by would probably be welcome as a place for the larvae to wander off to pupate on. Cutting them back between broods to encourage fresh growth may also make it more tempting.

I'm very jealous of your large garden btw, living in London I just have a little first floor flat

[Richard Trillo]

Thanks for your reply Paul. I looked again at the link I posted and you're quite right - it switches from discussing crested dogtail to talking about Timothy (Phleum pratense), and that's the grass mentioned as a food plant. So I think they've accidentally pasted in some text about Timothy. And it looks like the seed merchants are all copying each other erroneously regarding crested dogstail

I've now ordered some seeds from Emorsgate, as recommended by Vince, including a meadow mix with various grasses and a good proportion of yellow rattle, plus some single species (sorrel, as we have occasional small coppers, garlic mustard for orange tips and bird's foot trefoil). They sell tiny quantities, whereas Boston seeds who I thought looked promising only sell in minimum quantities of 100g, which in most cases would be enough to sow a much larger area than I have, which is less than 10 square metres.

Thanks for your further observations about egg-laying – I had no idea the females of different species had such diverse behaviours when it comes to choosing where to lay, though I've always been struck by the inquisitive, and what I would call intelligent behaviour of some butterflies, especially when interacting with humans.

Right, I'm off to the garden centre to see if I can buy any shot plants or buckthorn bushes rather than ordering online and waiting weeks. Many thanks again!

[selbypaul]

Hi Richard
Just to say that I found Buckthorn extremely hard to purchase. I've never seen it in a standard garden centre, and very few nurseries seem to sell it. (Only 20 are listed on the RHS website). In early March I tried to purchase 200 bare root plants as part of a local initiative I'm leading, and contacted all 20 sellers. Only one had any in stock at that point, because most people purchase bare root plants in the summer/early-autumn for November/December delivery. The bare-root purchase season is now over, so I suspect that any orders you place now will either cost a fortune to deliver in pot, or will need to wait until November for bare-root delivery.

One other thing to note is about the difference between Common Buckthorn and Alder Buckthorn. I have pretty poor clay soil in my garden in Sheffield, so all the online advice seems to be to go for Alder Buckthorn in these circumstances. But having spoken to a number of people since planting my 10m Alder Buckthorn Hedge in winter 2016-17, I should have bought Common Buckthorn. To thrive, Alder Buckthorn needs waterlogged acidic clay soil. Whilst my soil is clay, in the summer it gets quite dry, and it certainly isn't acidic. It would explain why my Alder Buckthorn plants have grown slowly!

Hope this helps
Paul

[Richard Trillo]

Many thanks Paul. That's interesting. I have managed to find some common buckthorn from Cumbria Tree Growers, 60-90cm bare root trees at £0.85p each (plus £12 delivery and VAT). I bought 25 and I think that's the lot and they've sold out. Michael there (https://www.treegrowers.co.uk/about.html) has been very helpful, so should be a good contact in future.

[selbypaul]

Brilliant, thanks for that tip Richard. Much appreciated