Garden Butterflies - Summer 2015

This has been the first year in which I have monitored the butterflies visiting the garden, to be honest not a great variety, the Buddleia tree planted last year did its best to attract the butterflies into the garden, but the flowering blooms were disappointing, hopefully this will improve next year as the plant matures. 

The most common butterfly to visit the garden has been the Holly Blue,  hardly a day goes by without a sighting of this butterfly, the mature Ivy we have growing over a wall is a favoured area for this butterfly although it can be seen almost anywhere around the garden. I have never seen this butterfly with its wings fully open in the garden.

Holly Blue

Holly Blue

The Peacock Butterfly has been another regular visitor to the garden, favouring the mature Privet Bush when its in flower.

Peacock

Peacock

Large White's seem to fly into the garden but always seem very restless not settling for long before they are over the garden fence and lost to view.

Large White

This one was unusual, it seemed particularly interested in the top of the Weigela tree, allowing me to get a lucky photograph as it appeared to hover in slow motion, unknown to me at the time , another large White was resting there, probably a female.

Small Whites have also been seen visiting various shrubs around the garden, here one was actually captured on one of the Buddleia blooms 

Small White

Small White

Another Butterfly interested mainly in the privet flowers and Buddleia blooms was this Tortoiseshell,

although a fairly common butterfly not seen very often in the garden.

Tortoiseshell

Another fairly common butterfly but only an occasional visitor to the garden, and one of my favourites.

Comma

This female Gatekeeper has been the only sighting I have made in the garden.

The only other Butterflies that I have seen in the garden has been the Red Admiral, occasionally seen sunning itself on the trunk of the Pear tree. I have not managed to capture an image of these yet.

And there we are, not a spectacular list, I definitely need  some more attractive plants to bring in the Butterflies for next year. Eight species in all.

[Additional note - one Speckled Wood butterfly seen in the garden today 4th September, increasing  garden records to nine species.]

There have been a few Moths seen around the garden , Swallowtail, Red underwing, Small Magpie,the most spectacular for me was the Lime Hawkmoth which spent the day on some Hydrangea flowers, before flying off in the evening, these are attracted to Lime Trees which just happen to be planted on the roadside verge at the front of the house.

This one was quite faded and seen in early summer.

Lime Hawk-moth