My seasonally earliest ever note, of a male Orange-tip butterfly, in direct sunlit afternoon flight, near Lincoln.
April 11th 2024.
- Allotment Cherry on April 11th 2024. Just that memorable, seasonal, very specific timing.
Lincolnshire male butterflies
The male forewings of the Spring generation of Green-veined white butterfly generally had much paler dark markings, than a faster life cycled summer generation.
Male Holly blue also seen, but not photographed.
- April 14th Speckled wood (assumed to be male)
- April 14th Male green-veined white, wings already damaged in clash.
- April 14th Male Orange-tip butterfly
- April 14th Male Green-veined white
- April 14th Male Orange-tip, wings open in direct sunlight
On Friday 19th 2024
A coldish breeze, external temperature reading in my car read 12ºC at about the same time as male Orange-tip butterflies took to the wing, in a sheltered location, with direct lunchtime sunlight, where a micro-climate might have made it slightly warmer.
This Spring, locally near Lincoln, I had not yet identified a female of any butterfly species, apart from one Brimstone and perhaps I was not looking hard enough at the Small Tortoiseshell (numbers appeared to be down, since 2015-2022) and Peacocks.
For early and late Spring butterflies, recommended place to look was north side of Lincoln gap (South facing bank of River Witham, cut through the Limestone geology. Places for n(ature and the view) included Lincoln's Liquorice Park.