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Butterflies are some of the most obvious and
beautiful insect visitors to our gardens. In Britain, there are about 60 species – of these, up to
22 can be recorded in gardens. In Butterflies need warmth to be active and fly, and they need
to drink nectar for energy. Provide both, and you’ll have a
butterfly haven. Try to plant plenty of different nectar plants
that flower throughout spring, summer and autumn, in a
sheltered, sunny spot. If you have a large garden, try to leave a ‘wild area’.
If not, plant some attractive wild plants, such as scabious and
valerian, among the cultivated ones. Don’t forget to include
caterpillar food plants if you want butterflies to breed in your
garden. Some adult butterflies hibernate, so provide places for
them to hide – for instance, a hedge or ivy on a
fence – and you may see early spring butterflies in your
garden.
How to attract Butterflies and Moths Butterflies and Moths will visit any garden, however small, if it is planted with suitable nectar plants. Nectar, tree sap and honeydew is on the menu, which the insects suck up with their proboscis.. Butterflies like the warmth and it is important to choose sunny, sheltered spots when planting nectar plants. Plant as many different nectar plants as possible to increase the number of visiting species, preferably with several of the same variety planted together in blocks, and try to plant so there are flowers available right through the seasons but particularly in Spring and Autumn. Early flowers are great for butterflies just emerging from hibernation and in Autumn some species need to build up their reserves in preparation for Winter and dormancy. Original 'species' plants provide much more nectar than hybrids. Deadhead the flowers, mulch your plants and water well to keep the plants healthy and prolong flowering. Plants that are well-watered will produce far more nectar for hungry moths and butterflies.
Caterpillars need food!!
By providing food plants and shelter for the caterpillars, your butterflies can breed. You can help boost populations of butterflies by planting food sources for their caterpillars.
Habitat Consider leaving a sunny corner to grow wild, let the wildflowers and grasses grow. This will allow butterflies such as the Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Small Heath and Ringlet to breed, their caterpillars all eat common native grasses, but only when they are left to grow tall. To create a wild area, simply allow the grasses and wildflowers already there to grow. If you want to supplement with extra plants, treat wildflower seeds like any others: sow in trays, prick out and grow on before planting out in small groups. In the first year cut the area several times to give your new wildflowers a chance against the competitive grasses. In subsequent years, the grass can be cut at the end of each summer, after all the flowers have set seed. Leave a few patches of long grass, in which caterpillars can pass the winter. In short grass, you could plant common bird's-foot trefoil to attract the beautiful Common Blue butterfly or plant stands of nettles for Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks. If you don't want to plant nettles in your garden, consider planting some in containers placed in sunny locations, where they will do the job but not get out of control.
What's in the Garden? - your Month to Month guide
December - February : Butterflies hibernating : Brimstone, Comma, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell
Spot of Mothing? (finding and recording moths)
Why? Moths far outnumber butterflies and are much more varied, and learning about the many species in your own area is a fascinating and enjoyable hobby. Moths have also received far less attention than butterflies - mainly because they fly at night and aren't as readily noticed, and as a result, less is known about them and where they occur. This means that the information you collect about your local moths can make a real contribution to knowledge and can directly help conservation.
Top Tips on attracting moths, try the following:
The table below shows some of the commonest macro moths in the Merseyside area. The photos my help for identification purposes, but it's recommended that the place to start looking would be in our favourite moth book : 'Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland' by Waring, Townsend and Lewington. Remember that many of the moths are quite variable in appearance, so don't just look for an exact match. Click on any of the photos to see larger versions. Another website I would recommend : take a look at the UKMoths website
Three Micro moths
Way's to tempt them in! Sugaring Some moths will come to artificial nectar called “sugar”, it's strong rich fragrance acts as an attractant. Heat about 500ml of brown ale in a large pan. Then stir in and dissolve about kilogram of dark brown sugar, followed by a tin of black treacle/molasses. Simmer the mixture for a couple of minutes, cool and store in a suitable container for carrying outside. A drop of rum can be stirred in before use, but it's not essential. Just before dusk, use a brush to paint the mixture onto trees, walls or fence posts. (Warning this does stain so be careful where you paint it!) Check the painted areas for moths with a torch during the first two hours of darkness. The best nights for sugaring and roping are warm humid summer evenings - Watch those wings quiver!! Wine Ropes An alternative method to sugaring uses thick cord, cotton rope or cloth made from absorbent material. Heat a bottle of cheap red wine in a pan, stir in a kilogram of sugar and, after cooling, soak metre lengths of the cord or twisted cloth in the mixture. Hang these “wine ropes” over low branches, bushes or fences just before dusk and later check for moths that have landed on the ropes to feed, by torch-light. The success of these techniques is very variable. Some nights will produce lots of specimens while on others the sugar solutions will be ignored You should avoid handling the moths and caterpillars. It is useful to have small containers to put them in while you identify them – transparent pots or jam jars are ideal. Be sure to release them as soon as you have identified them, and always release them in a safe place with lots of plants/cover, away from the eyes of hungry garden birds . Don't forget National Moth Night is on 7th June 2008. More information : www.nationalmothnight.info www.mothscount.org
Bugs The
good bugs' favourite flowers
Lacewings, ladybirds, hoverflies and parasitic wasps love these plants: Dill, Korean Angelica, Pot & French Marigold, Coriander, Cosmos, Poached egg plant, Golden Rod.
Lacewing
There are 14 species of lacewing in the UK. Both the adults and larvae are carnivorous and often feast on aphids. The larvae suck the aphids’ juices and may even use the drained bodies to hide under. Larvae consume around 200 aphids before becoming adults. Adults may also drink nectar. Lacewings, have wings that are lace-like. They are transparent with a lattice of fine green veins. The body of the 12 species most commonly seen is pale green to bluish-green, they are 3-4cm long with metallic-looking eyes. Female lacewings lay each egg on a thread of mucus that hardens in the air, leaving the egg on a slender stalk. Generally some adults hibernate, although many perish. Lacewings like dry, cool refuges such as garden sheds, garages and other outbuildings Generally seen at night (but also by day) from May to
August, throughout the garden, parks, meadows and woods. Among the best-known and most well-loved beetles, ladybirds are easy to recognise. Seen from early spring until autumn, throughout the garden, parks, meadows and woods. hey have bright red elytra (wing cases) with black spots. Brightly coloured, which acts as a warning to predators of their bitter taste, they are also able to exude a pungent fluid to ward off ants, birds and people. The commonest species are the two-spot (up to 5 mm long) and larger seven-spot ladybirds (up to 8 mm long) , although about 40 others can also be found in the British Isles. Most
species of ladybird are inactive from September or October until
February or May depending on the species and the weather. This
is mostly due to the lack of food. Over wintering sites vary
according to the species. Some species over winter on their own,
others in small groups of three or so, whilst other species
gather in huge clusters of hundreds or even thousands .During the winter adults hibernate in cracks, crevices and
leaf litter and emerge in April to find a mate. Females lay eggs
that hatch after about four days, depending on the temperature.
The eggs hatch into steely-blue larvae with creamy-yellow spots.
They eat aphids and small insects voraciously. When
favourite foods are unavailable ladybirds turn their attention
to hoverflies, moths, worms, spiders, dead flies in spider webs,
adult crane flies, shield bugs, nymph and adult frog-hoppers and
small beetles. After several moults over the course of 12 weeks, they emerge as adults to feed for a few weeks
before seeking a sheltered spot to hibernate. Hoverfly
Seen between March and November, these brightly-coloured insects look like bees or wasps, they are in fact true flies and do not sting. Mimicking bees and wasps has an advantage as they are avoided by predators, believing they sting and taste unpleasant. There are about 250 different hoverfly species in Britain. You can generally see plenty of adults hovering near and resting on flowers throughout spring, summer and autumn. They drink nectar and eat pollen and honeydew. Poached egg plant is a favourite, others include stock, sweet cicely, shasta daisy, perennial cornflower, coneflower, bergenia, poppy, heliotrope, aubrietia, catmint, ice plant and arabis. The larvae of different species eat different things, plants, feed on rotting wood and fungi, attack bulbs or parasitise other insects. More well known and welcome in the garden are those that eat aphids and other pests .Hoverfly larvae can eat up to 600 aphids before becoming adults! Parasitic Wasp Parasitic wasps, that is, wasps that live part of their lives as parasites inside other insects comprise one of the largest insect groups, several hundred species. This very large group is extremely variable in size and colour, but most are small to medium-size and brown or black in colour. Parasitic wasps generally do not sting and are not pests except for their occasional, annoying presence as accidental invaders in the house. They are harmless and beneficial because they provide some biological or natural control of other insects. Parasitic wasps use their stinger to lay eggs inside other insects. They can live and feed inside or outside the host's body. They can be solitary or sociable living communally - with anything from 1 to many 1000's of larvae consuming the same host.
Links: Butterfly Conservation Lancashire Butterfly Conservation Cheshire & Peak Butterfly/Moth Conservation The UK Butterfly Monitoring scheme(UKBMS) Entomological Livestock Group (for Butterfly/MothTrap Supplies)
The Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds. Registered charity no. 207076
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Moths are attracted by lights at night, so leave
on an outside light (low energy bulbs are ok)
Parasitic Wasp
