Bu tterflies and moths of Falkirk and Lanar ksh ire an id entification guide Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies and moths are beautiful insects and a joy to observe as well as identify. This guide will help you identify all the butterflies, and some moths that occur in Falkirk and Lanarkshire. It also has a table so you can easily see which species are on the wing at a given time, and suggests some of the best and most easily accessible places in the region for you to see them. We hope this leaflet will encourage you to learn more about these beautiful insects. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 key 5 Orange-tip 45-50mm 9 Common Blue 29-36mm Anthocharis cardamines Polyommatus icarus Day-flying Night-flying Males are unmistakable with A widespread butterfly found their bright orange wing-tips, but in a variety of grassy habitats females have no orange so could almost anywhere that its YELLOWS & WHITES be confused with Small or Green- caterpillar’s food plant, Bird’s- 1 Clouded Yellow 57-62mm veined Whites. However, Orange- foot-Trefoil, occurs. The beautiful Colias croceus tips have more rounded wing tips and brightly-coloured males are A migrant to the UK from the and distinctive mottled green very conspicuous, while the Continent, this butterfly is well undersides that can also be seen females are generally blue-brown known for its mass immigrations faintly through the upperwing. with distinctive orange spots. It when they arrive in large Their distinctive orange eggs can usually has just one generation numbers in “Clouded Yellow be found on the caterpillars’ food a year, the adults flying between years”. It is most frequently seen plants - crucifers such as Cuckoo June and September. between May and September . Flower, Garlic Mustard, Honesty and Dame’s Violet. It flies mid VANESSIDS 2 Large White 63-70mm April to June and is widespread AND FRITILLARIES Pieris brassicae in moist grassland areas. 10 Red Admiral 67-72mm This is our largest white butterfly Vanessa atalanta and a strong flier. The caterpillars HAIRSTREAKS, A familiar and distinctive ‘garden’ feed on brassicas such as COPPERS AND BLUES butterfly that migrates to the UK Cabbage, Broccoli and 6 Green Hairstreak 27-34mm every year from Southern Europe Nasturtiums, and are therefore Callophrys rubi and North Africa. It can breed in disliked by gardeners. It is Despite the bright green Scotland but rarely survives our distinguishable from the Small appearance of this small butterfly, winters. The major influx starts White by its larger size, darker which always sits with its wings in late May and is reinforced until black wing tips extending further closed, it is often difficult to spot. August, with adults being seen down the wing edge, and bolder It prefers warm, sheltered sites until November in good years. spots. Flies June-September. near woodland or along the The caterpillars feed on Stinging scrubby edges of moorland where Nettles, adults are often seen 3 Small White 38-57mm its caterpillars feed on Blaeberry on Buddleia. Pieris rapae (bilberry). The Green Hairstreak The caterpillars feed on brassicas, flies from mid April to June. 11 Painted Lady 64-70mm but they cause less damage than Vanessa cardui those of the Large White. Easily 7 Purple Hairstreak 37-39mm Another migrant, this species is confused with the Green-veined Neozephyrus quercus unable to over-winter in any part of White which is similar in size, but A striking butterfly, but very the UK and re-colonises each year the upperside has dark tips to difficult to see, as it feeds on from mainland Europe, sometimes the forewings, and it lacks the Honeydew in the canopy of in spectacular numbers. They can green veins on the underside Oak and other trees. The adult often be seen congregating in of the wing. It is one of the first butterflies are best looked for in areas with Thistles, which serve butterflies to be seen in spring late afternoon or early evening as both a food plant for the and flies all summer. on warm days when they can caterpillars and a nectar source be seen by scanning the tops for the adults. The peak of 4 Green-veined White 40-52mm of the Oak trees with binoculars. immigration usually occurs in Pieris napi Occasionally they fly down from June, and adults can be seen Generally this is the most common the canopy to nectar on flowers. until October or November, but species of white to be seen in The caterpillars feed only on Oak. there appears to be no reverse the countryside. Unlike the two Flies late July to mid-September. migration South in autumn. “cabbage whites”, the Green-veined White feeds on wild crucifers (e.g. 8 Small Copper 32-35mm Garlic Mustard) and is not a garden Lycaena phlaeas pest. The green veins on the This dainty butterfly is a underside of the wing distinguish widespread species found in this from other white butterflies a range of habitats, including and moths, but they can fade gardens. Its caterpillars feed on with wear and are less distinct Common and Sheep’s Sorrel. The in second generation butterflies. spring and summer broods can One of the first butterflies of overlap, so it can be seen from late spring, it flies all summer. April through to late September, although it is rarely abundant. 12 Small Tortoiseshell 50-56mm 16 Dark Green Fritillary 63-69mm 19 Large Heath 35-40mm Aglais urticae Argynnis aglaja Coenonympha tullia This well-known butterfly can This is a large butterfly that feeds UK Biodiversity Action Plan Species be seen in virtually any month on Violets as a caterpillar. Found The Large Heath is restricted of the year in almost any habitat. in flower-rich habitats with patches to wet, boggy habitats where The caterpillars feed on Stinging of scrub. It could possibly be its main food plant, Hare’s-tail Nettles growing in sunny confused with the Small Pearl- Cottongrass grows. It always conditions, favouring fresh bordered Fritillary but is a more sits with its wings closed, but young leaves. It over-winters as powerful flier, is much larger and can be distinguished from the an adult and is one of the first has a green background to the Small Heath by its duller Colour butterflies to emerge in the spring. underside of its hind wing . It flies and larger size. It usually has Adults can be seen feeding on from June to August. more prominent spots on the Thistles and Buddleia. In autumn hindwing, but they are not always adults are regularly found in BROWNS present. Flies from early June houses, sheds and outbuildings 17 Meadow Brown 50-55mm to mid August. seeking hibernation sites. Maniola jurtina The Meadow Brown can be seen 20 Ringlet 48-52mm 13 Peacock 63-69mm in a variety of flower-rich habitats, Aphantopus hyperantus Inachis io grasslands and woodland edges The Ringlet has been expanding An unmistakable butterfly and and often occurs in large its range in Scotland. It has a now a regular garden visitor, numbers. The caterpillars feed very dark, velvety appearance its range has rapidly expanded on a variety of grasses. Males and a white ‘fringe’ to its wings northwards in recent years. tend to be darker than females, when newly emerged. The Often one of the first butterflies but the amount of orange on both “ringlets” on the under-wings to be seen in the spring having is variable. A strong flier, it is seen vary in number and size and can over -wintered as adults, its on the wing from late June to summer brood can be seen early September. be virtually absent. It favours tall, from July to September, in much damp grassland, where the larger numbers. The caterpillars 18 Small Heath 34-38mm caterpillars feed on a variety of feed on the young leaves of Coenonympha pamphilus grasses. It flies, even in dull Stinging Nettles. UK Biodiversity Action Plan Species conditions, from late June to An inconspicuous butterfly August, and can be abundant . 14 Comma 55-60mm that tends to fly only in bright Polygonia c-album conditions, and always keeps 21 Grayling 55-60mm A very distinctive butterfly that its wings closed at rest. It occurs Hipparchia semele has rapidly spread North through mostly on dry grasslands and UK Biodiversity Action Plan Species the region in recent years. The heaths, where the sward is short The Grayling needs warm, caterpillars feed on Elm, Nettles and where there are fine-leaved sunny sites with bare ground and Hop. The adults may be grasses upon which the and fine-leaved grasses, upon seen in spring, with a summer caterpillar feeds. Although which the nocturnal caterpillars generation flying from July widespread in Scotland, it has feed. Its natural habitats include to October. undergone massive declines in coastal cliffs, dunes and heaths, other parts of the UK. It only has but it has been able to colonise 15 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary one generation per year, from many so-called ‘brownfield’ 41-44mm mid May to early August. sites such as old quarries and Boloria selene industrial sites, and railway lines. UK Biodiversity Action Plan Species The adult butterflies can be hard This species occurs in damp, to see at rest due to their superb flower-rich habitats, woodland camouflage. They are on the wing clearings and the edges of bogs, from late June to early September.