Painted Lady / Tidselsommerfugl

Cynthia cardui


The Painted Lady has a wing span of 50-60 mm. It is easy to recognize, and there are almost no variations. The orange colour might be blurred by dark "scales". In rare cases are the circular spots in the seams of the back wings larger and blue in the middle.

The Painted Lady arrives (to Denmark) from North Africa in May-June or (infrequently) in April. Danish descendants fly from late July until beginning of October. As a migrating butterfly it is seen everywhere and breeds in all sorts of open areas. In the migration periods it is often seen in large numbers in flower-rich spots along the coast.

It cannot overwinter in Denmark, neither as a grown-up butterfly nor as egg, caterpillar and chrysalis. In North Africa, from where the Danish migrators origin, flies the Painted Lady all year and propagates especially in the winter period.



The caterpillar's fodderplants are thistles (Carduus and Cirsium) and many other composites and nettle (Urtica) and several other low plants.

The flight is quick and whirring, and in the migrations the Painted Lady might appear in hundred- thousands or in millions. It is attraced to many various flowers, especially Eupatorium (named bonesets, thoroughworts or snakeroots), thistles and buddleias in gardens.

The frequency is variable, depending on the arrival from the south. The Painted Lady might completely fail to come in some years - and most years it is only seen in few numbers. In Denmark it arrives in large numbers in average every 10th year. It was extremely numerous in 1988 and 1996. Seen and found all over the country.

Source: Michael Stoltze: Dagsommerfugle i Danmark, 1997.

The Painted Lady in other countries: Wikipedia





photo:grethe bachmann

Cranberry Fritillary / Moseperlemorssommerfugl

Boloria aquilonaris
 

Naturplan foto: stig bachmann nielsen

   
Cranberry Fritillary has a wing span of 32-42 mm. It is recognized by the multicoloured  underside of the back wing and on the tip of the back wing, which creates a sharp angle. The upperside reminds of the upperside of other fritillaries, but the front wings are pointed and narrow, and the black spots in the middle field make usually a distinct coherent curved line.

The size varies much, and some populations mostly have small individuals. The spread of the dark marking of the upperside vary and the details of the underside vary considerable as to markings and colours.

It flies middle June till late July. Its habitat is bogs with cranberry. It overwinters as a tiny caterpillar in low bog-vegetation, mostly upon the underside of a cranberry leaf. The fodderplanmt of the caterpillar is cranberry.

                                                        

photo:grethe bachmann

  
Cranberry Fritillary lives in Scandinavia, Poland, Czeck Republic, Slovakia,  Austria, Germany, Switzerland and in a few localitites in France.
In Denmark has the Cranberry Fritillary has disappeared in many places because raised bogs have been destroyed. At Fyn (Funen) and Sjælland (Zealand) are only left 3 or 4 localitites. The species have disappeared in many places in the eastern part of Jutland, but lives well in other places.

Protection:
A natural high water level has to be maintained in the rest of the raised bogs, so they do not overgrow - and the bogs must not be exposed to grazing or manuring. Many localities are marked by drainage trenches, which should be filled up - or else grow the bogs into forest, because the peat is exposed to air.

Source: Michael Stoltze, Dagsommerfugle i Danmark, 1998

photo: 
Cranberry Fritillary, bog north of Madum sø, Himmerland, July 2011: 
stig bachmann nielsen Naturplan foto: & grethe bachmann 

Small Tortoiseshell/ Nældens Takvinge

Aglais urticae

Small Tortoiseshell, here from a church yard in Himmerland

Small tortoise shell is one of the first butterflies we see each spring . It is Denmark's National butterfly, and it is wellknown and common all over the country. The frequency  changes from year to year dependent on migrations.

Small tortoiseshell, Underside

Small tortoiseshell (wing span 46-53 mm)  is easy to recognize with its clear colours and the white spot on the front wing. The variation is modest, but the three black spots on the front wing might be small or miss completely in very rare cases. Some rare specimen have white-yellowish colours instead of the usual clear brick red. The flying period is from last June until October in one or two generations and again in March-June after overwintering.Its habitat is everywhere, where nettle grows, especially at buildings - and the larvae's fodder-plant is nettle. (Urtica).

Small tortoiseshell and a bumble bee

The butterfly roams about and is seen everywhere. It overwinters as a grown-up butterfly in hollow trees, caves, cellars and not at least in un-heated rooms in houses. The flight is quick and whirring, and the  mating couple are often seen flying close together high up in a spirale flight. The males are territorial, since thy from their resting places fly up against all disturbing insects or other passing animals. Both sexes seek to various flowers, not at least to Hemp agrimony, Thistle and Field scabious or to Asters, Buddleias and flowering herbs in gardens. The tortoiseshell is also attracted to fermenting windfalls.

Flying tortoiseshell  and Buddleia

photo: grethe bachmann 

Silver-washed Fritillary/ Kejserkaabe

Argynnis paphia

Silver-washed Fritillary
Bjerre Skov, Horsens, Jutland

The Silver-washed Fritillary is active right now in July until late August, and each year I go to Bjerre forest by Vejle fjord to look for it. It flies in glades and sunny spots of the wood and loves the blackberry flowers. The Danish name Kejserkåbe means Emperor's Cape and this fine coloured pattern would certainly be a beautiful cape for an emperor. The Silver-washed fritillary lives in Europe except southern Spain, Scotland and the northern part of Scandinavia.

The Silver-washed fritillary butterfly is deep orange with black spots on the upper side of its wings and has a wingspan of 54–70 mm, with the male being smaller and paler than the female. The underside is green and unlike other fritillaries has silver streaks instead of silver spots, hence the name silver-washed. A rare variation in some years is a special female, which is green-black with a straw coloured base.

Unusually for a butterfly, the female does not lay her eggs on the leaves or stem of the caterpillar's food source (in this case violets) but instead one or two meters above the woodland floor in the crevices of tree bark close to clumps of violets. The larvae's fodder plants are various Violas.

The Silver-washed Fritillary is a strong flier and more mobile than other fritillaries and as such can be seen gliding above the tree canopy at high speed. Its flight is safe, fast and sailing and it seeks especially to flowers of blackberry and thistles. The mating dance, which can be watched on good localities in the morning, is very characteristic and beautiful. The male flies down under and then steep up in front of the female, who continues to fly straight on, while the male lose speed and once again dives down under and steep up in front of the female.

In Denmark Argynnis pahia is still common at Lolland-Falster, Møns Klint, Sydsjælland and Bornholm, but has during the 1970s and 1980s declined much in Jutland, at Funen, West- and North Sjælland.

Protection of the species:
This species needs many small and unfertilized glades. It thrives well in forests with extensive utilization, like in stævningsskove, (coppicing) which hold many glades in various growth. The Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) is on the Danish Red List as moderately endangered.



In the old days the Silver-washed Fritillary was especially connected to the stævningsskove (Coppicing woods). It is in a serious decline in Denmark, possibly caused by the lack of light-open varied forests. Until ab. 1990 it was numerous in North Jutland in Rold Skov and in Lille Vildmose, but after 1990 it is only known in a few examples, i.e. Rebild, and outside North Jutland in the forests by Vejle fjord, in Gudbjerg skov at Funen and Gribskov in North Sjælland. Still numerous populations in the rest of Sjælland, on the southern islands and Bornholm.

photo Bjerre Skov  grethe bachmann

Dragonfly/Guldsmed

Dragonfly in culture
Dragonflies have often been seen as sinister. Names like "Devil's darning needle" and "ear cutter" link them with evil or injury. A folktale from Romania says that the dragonfly was once a horse possessed by the devil. In Swedish folklore the trolls use the dragonflies as spindles when weaving their clothes. They are often associated with snakes, a Welsh name is "adder's servant".
In East Asia and among Native Americans, dragonflies have a far better reputation, one that can also be said to have positively influenced modern day views about dragonflies in most countries, in the same vein as the insect's namesake the dragon, which has a positive image in the east, but initially an association with evil in the west.

They also have traditional uses as medicine in Japan and China.In some parts of the world it is considered lucky to have a dragonfly land on you, even to the point of yielding seven years of good luck. Images of dragonflies were common in Art Noveau, especially in jewelry designs. They have also been used as a decorative motif on Fabrics and home furnishings.
About 300 million years ago dragonflies could be about 1 m long and with a wing span of ab. 1,2 m.




photo 2005/ 2009: grethe bachmann

Black-tailed Skimmer /Stor Blåpil

Orthetrum cancellatrum





Black-tailed Skimmer/ Stor Blåpil
Vest Stadil Fjord,West Jutland

Black-tailed skimmer is common in North Africa and the most of Europe. In Norway it is considered extinct. In Denmark it is known from all districts. Since Denmark is on the northern border of its area of distribution it is possible that the Danish occurence of black-tailed skimmer might be influenced by climatic changes.

The male has a blue abdomen with a black tip and transparent wings and the female has a yellowish brown body with black zigzag marks along the abdomen and the transparent wings. It is an active skimmer that patrols its territory aggressively frequently resting on patches of bare ground or stones although it will occassionally rest up in vegetation. It favours open areas of still water that has a hard not muddy substrate.

How to help dragonflies and skimmers:
Leave patches of bare ground around the edges of larger water bodies and leave cut grass and other vegetation to dry out in ‘habitat piles’. These pale areas will attract basking dragonflies. Skimmers hunt from low perches, so placing a few sticks or twigs close to the water’s edge will also encourage them.

photo Vest Stadil Fjord , DK : grethe bachmann