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

Serious Insect Crisis

 When do we wake up?

Queen of Spain Fritillary/Storplettet Perlemorsommerfugl/ photo GB

Butterflies and other insects are rapidly declining everywhere in Europe - and not least in Denmark. Scientists point, among other things, to pesticides, monoculture and lack of space as reasons.
 
A new investigation published in the prestigious journal Science shows that the insects of Europe disappear -  this is even a talk about an ecological collapse. The German scientists have examined the insect occurrence in more than 100 nature reserves in western Europe - and the insects are extinct even in the nature reserves. The biomass of insects have fallen with more than 80 %.

The drastic decline for the insects of Europe could mean a decline in the number of birds, which has already been identified in Denmark, where since the 1970s four out of five partridges, three out of four lapwings and more than half the skylarks have disappeared. Huge areas - which earlier was nature- were ploughed without putting something else instead -  and at the same time we experience the climate changes.

Sad but true -many Danish politicians apparently do not care, on the contrary there is a support for that Denmark - as one of few countries of EU - fights against a ban on pesticides, ( because the Danish agriculture demands it), which could represent a risc both to ourselves and the wild bees.

It is said that the approval of spraying in Denmark is tough, but in the approval is alone considered if a substance is representing a risc for the ground water or if it is exceeding limits in our food. It is not  evaluated what happens upon the ground and it is not taken into account that herbicides like Roundup, which is the most used in Denmark,  simply removes all plant growth where it hits -  or that 2.500 tons various active substances are spread over 60 % of Denmarks area each year -  or that the agriculture is allowed to use almost 1.000 various products.

This means that organisms in the earth, the wild plants of the fields and the insects upon the plants and the birds who live by the insects are being pushed more and more in the intensive Danish farm land. This happens in a degree where we are the witness of a slow collapse of ecological balances in the whole open countryside. This also applies to nature reserves.

 


Source: Excerpt of article by Ella Maria Bisschop-Larsen, Præsident for Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Journal "Natur og Miljø",  September 2017. 

Bumblebee/ photo:GB

An ecological study in Western Germany. 
The amount of insects collected by monitoring of traps in Orbroicher Bruch nature reserve in north west germany decreased by 78% in 24 years.


Each spring since 1989 insect traps have been set up in meadows and woodlands in Orbroicher Bruch nature reserve and 87 other nature areas in the West German state Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Recently the scientists presented alarming results: The average biomass of insects caught during summer was decreased from 1,6 kilo pr. trap in 1989 till only 300 gram pr. trap in 2014.

"The decline is dramatic and depressing and this applies to all kinds of insects, including butterflies, wild bees and hoverflies ", says Martin Sorg, who is entomologist from  Krefeld Entomological Society, which is responsible for the monitoring project.

Several other studies from the western part of the world support the results from Germany.

The insects disappear everywhere.






Grethe Bachmann
Source/ Natur og Miljø, September 2017 

Brown Hairstreak / Guldhale

Thecla betulae



The Brown Hairstreak has a wing span of 33-41 mm. It is easy to recognize by the golden colours of the underside and the marked black/white lines. From the upperside the female is recognizable by the large, orange spot on the front wing. The male can - seen from the upperside - look like the Satyrum-species, but these always keep their wings folded during rest.

The flying period is from first August til mid September and sometimes even later. The flying period starts later than any other Danish butterfly. Brown Hairstreak lives in pastures and light-open thickets and glades with a large growth of blackthorn or cherry plum. It overwinters as egg upon the branches of the fodderplant, and the caterpillar first develops inside the egg in spring. The caterpillar's fodderplant are blackthorn (Prunus spinosus), cherry plum (P. ceracifera) and sometimes plum (P. domestica), wild cherry (P. avium) or other Prunus-species.

The flight of this butterfly is fast and restless, but the species spend much time in the treetops, where they sit in the sun with half spread wings or seek food like honey dew. They also seek to thistle, yarrow, goldenrod, hemp-agrimony, heather or other flowers or to overripe fruit (i.e. fermenting blackberry still on the vines). Females, who need much energy by the oviposition, are seen more often on flowers and fruit than males.

Brown Hairstreak is in some years seen in large numbers, but as a rule it is few in number and difficult to find. It is in decline in the agricultural areas. It is very susceptible to pesticides and is never seen in sprayed areas. It has disappeared from some places on the Danish islands during the 1950s.

Source: Michael Stoltze, Dagsommerfugle i Danmark, 1997.


Black Hairstreak/Slåensommerfugl , Satyrum pruni,  - is a very rare butterfly, today seen in Midwest- England. It might be extinct in Denmark. Not seen since 1987.

White-letter Hairstreak/ Det hvide W/ Satyrum w-album, ccommon in most of Denmark but might be diminish because of the sick elm-trees.  

The Ilex Hairstreak /  Egesommerfugl / Satyrum ilicis, is  close to extinction  in Denmark, only known from one place.

The Purple Hairstreak/ Blåhale  (Neozephyrus quercus) common in Denmark

text and photo: grethe bachmann
photo of Brown Hairstreak, Sletterhage, Helgenæs August 2007: grethe bachmann

Common Brimstone / Citronsommerfugl

Gonepteryx rhamni





The Common Brimstone has a wing span of 54-64 cm. When it is resting both sexes are easily recognizable because of the wing shape. During flight the male is easy to know because of the lemon yellow colour, while the female reminds about a Large White butterfly.


The middle spots varie a little in size and colour, but else are almost no variations. Flying time is July-October and again after overwintering in March-June. It is one of the earliest butterflies of the year. Usually it shows in the first sunny days, when the temperature is above 10 degrees (Celsius). It can live almost one year as an adult butterfly.



 

The brimstone overwinters as adult butterfly among branches and leaves. The fodderplants are alder buckthorn and common buckthorn. Its habitat is forest and thicket with alder buckthorn and common buckthorn  The brimstone is roaming and is often seen in open flowerrich terrain, like in lucerne fields, where the species seek nectare before overwintering.

The brimstone is very "seeking" to flowers, both spring and autumn. In late summer it seeks especially the Asteraceae-family,  like cabbage-thistle and other thistles -  and to red clover and lucerne, or to the buddleias in the gardens.The species is seen on the first sunny days of the year where the temperature reaches 8-10 degrees Celsius. It flies unsteady and low, and in early spring it is often sitting upon sunny spots in the forest floor to get some warmth.



Frequency and spread:
Common Brimstone lives in Europe, North Africa and Asia; across much of its range it is the only species of its genus and is therefore simply known ad "The Brimstone"

The brimstone is very common in Denmark, especially in and around moist thicket-woods. It is rather scarce in West Jutland. The frequency varies from year to year, and the species might roam far and wide and reach even small islands with no permanent living conditions.

Source: Michael Stoltze. Dagsommerfugle i Danmark, 1998.
text and photo: grethe bachmann 

Marsh Fritillary / Hedepletvinge

Euphydryas aurinia

Characteristics:  Wing span  33 - 42 mm.  In freshly hatched condition the species are easy to recognize on the narrow wings and the variegated drawings in black, yellowish and orange brown. The colours vary much and in between the basic colour is uniform orange brown. The male can be very small with a wing span of 30 mm                                                                          

Behavior: The flight is low, changing from whirring to hovering . Both sexes eagerly seek to flowers and are seen on fx Marsh-thistle, Common ragwort or Arnica.

Flight period:  The flight period is short and  rarely stretching over more than three weeks in the individual years. The safest period is 1-2 weeks in June, but the flight time may start late May in warm years stretching into July in cool years.

Habitat: The habitats are difficult to characterize. They are often border areas between moist and dry areas in nutrient-poor soil, like in the edge of heaths or bogs and in low places between the inner dunes and the heaths behind them.

The larvae: The larvae overwinters together with halfgrown larvaes in close webs upon the fodder plant Devil's bit Scabious (Succia pratensis)

Frequency and Spread:  earlier spread in local populations in big parts of Denmark but has collapsed since the late 19th century. Disappeared from Zealand in the 1920s and from most of Jutland in the period 1950-1990. Since 1990 only known from about 20 small localities in North Jutland.


Protection of the species:  the species endures no types of fertilization of their habitats. Disturbances like grazing are necessary - eventually with intervals of several years and never at the same time in the localities. It is necessary to examine how the species react in the rest of the habitats. PROTECTED.


Source: Michael Stoltze "Dagsommerfugle i Danmark", 1997

Photo juni 2010 Nordjylland: stig bachmann nielsen Naturplan Foto

Viborg and Dollerup in September

A Taste of Denmark

Dollerup Bakker is a popular destination for hikers and bikers. From the top of the hills are several magnificent views across the lake Hald. On the other side of the hills is a large heath as far as you can see. The hills lie by Hald Sø (lake) which is one of the deepest lakes in Denmark ( 31 m). The lake was created in the latest Ice Age by a gigantic ice lump. The ice melted and formed the very hilly terrain which is a part of the Mid Jutland heath. There are large height differences in the area. 



A view from my favorite resting place down to Hald sø. Far away you can see the town Viborg, but it was a misty day. It is late in September and nature is still mild and warm. A small copper (lille ildfugl) was still flying around in the fine weather.






























There are lots of cowberry-bushes but the berries seem to have been picked already here. Cowberry or lingonberry is not a commercial product today, but during earlier centuries they were a welcome extra profit for women and children from the simple living peasant-families on the Jutland heath. Women and children sold the berries to the local grocers, who sent most of the portion to Copenhagen. 30.000 kilo were sold in a record year as late as 1947. The owner of the "cowberry-parcel" got a certain quantum of the berries or the peasant-family might do some work for him in order to keep the allowance. It was also a common thing to dry berries in the oven and sell them later at high prices.  The women did not tolerate any foreigners on "their land". If some foreign woman arrived she was chasen away with much trouble and physical fights. This was great entertainment for the children.

People used the dried leaves for a nice tasting tea.

In the oak coffin of the Egtved Girl from Bronze Age was found some cowberry wine.  














During the latest years the Danish forest- and nature management and the municipality of Viborg have been working on a large restoration and reestablishment of the original nature in Dollerup, so it now appears as the almost lost culture landscape from the Middle Ages.in Denmark. Among other things many trees , which did not belong on the heath, were removed. As late as in the winter 2008-2009 large parts of self-grown trees were removed and light open spaces were created . They are necessary in order to reestablish the worth conserving heath and pasture landscape in Dollerup Bakker. Other places are kept open by goats and sheep.

In September was a city-feast in Viborg. with many various activities  Viborg is a nice and cosy town with many fine cafès and restaurants, museums and interesting places for the whole family. Also the surroundings of the town holds many attractions. You can see it on the website viborg.dk

market day

Music in the street.

What a big dog! Is it the Danish Dog?

The fine dog has spotted me. It looks friendly don't it?

"See me hop see me run!"  Are they really alive?

market day

I

In Viborg is a Latin garden (Latinerhaven).In the 1700s it belonged to the old Latin school. The garden was taken over by Viborg municipality in 1928 after the Latin school stopped. The garden is divided into various sections with flowers, perrenials and rhododendrons - and a newer section with snaps-herbs.



photo September 2014 in Viborg and Dollerup Bakker: grethe bachmann

Butterfly wants to join a Flute-concert in Odense

Butterfly and Flutist



A butterfly lands on the face of a Japanese flutist, Yukie Ota, while she’s playing Pierrre Sancan’s ‘Sonatine’ at the 2014 Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition in Odense, Denmark.
Grace under pressure? Wait for it... she didn't miss a note!


It is really a special moment. Just watch it!
GB

A Dark Variety of Silver-washed Fritillary in Bjerge skov south of Horsens.

Argynnis paphia: Silver-washed Fritillary/ Kejserkåbe; 
dark variety :  Argynnis paphia f. valesina

an orange male meets the valesina

In the month of  July the Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia)  is easy to observe in Bjerge/Bjerre skov, a forest south of Horsens. On this day in mid July there were numbers of the pretty orange male flying around among the brambles. The Danish name is Emperor's Robe, and the beautiful deep orange colour with the spots and stripes would fit an emperor very well.

But suddenly came a dark variety, which we had never seen before.There was even a date between an orange male and a dark silver-washed female upon the road. 

This dark variety was named by a famous English lepidopterist Frederick William Frohawk, who named it after his daughter Valezina and called it Argynnis paphia f. valesina.  This spectacular form occurs in a small percentage of females. It is quite distinctive in flight looking like an overgrown ringlet and has the common name of the Greenish Silver-washed Fritillary.

Argynnis paphia f. valesina

Frohawk was the author of Natural History of British Butterflies (1914), The Complete Book of British Butterflies (1934) and Varieties of British Butterflies (1938).  At seven he spotted and caught a rare Pale Clouded Yellow butterfly.  In ab. 1880 Frohawk concentrated on illustration and obtained his first commission for illustrating The Field. Frohawk was encouraged in his work by Lord Walter Rotschild, who later bought his water-colours of butterflies His butterfly collections are now part of the Rothschild collection in the Natural History Museum at London.

Argynnis paphia f. valesina

Silver-washed Fritillary/Kejserkåbe

The Silver-washed fritillary /Kejserkåbe in Denmark:
The spread of the Silver-washed fritillary is somewhat dispersed in Denmark. It has disappeared from large parts of Jutland and Funen. It was earlier widespread in hardwoods in all parts of Denmark.


Problems: The silver-washed fritillary is found in forest glades - and such glades should not be either drained, fertilized or sprayed with pesticides - but hay harvesting and extensive grazing during period would be beneficial. Livestock in the forest is also beneficial,since it brings light and warmth and improved conditions for the violet, which is the host plant of the Silver-washed fritillary.

In the last time of their flight period the Silver-washed fritillary flies often to other habitats, sometimes to residential areas.

The Silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia)  is on the Danish red list, but it is neither protected or listed in Denmark.

Source: Fugle og Natur, Michael Stoltze; British wikipedia, 
photo: Bjerge/Bjerre skov July 2014: grethe bachmann     

Lille Vildmose in Himmerland, Northeast Jutland.

It was magnificent summer weather in late May and start June - and one of our first summer trips went to the Lille Vildmose in  Himmerland (Northeast Jutland). Lille Vildmose is a raised bog, it is an endangered habitat, not just in Denmark but also in Europe. A project LIFE+ focuses on securing the raised bog and to create conditions for the decomposed part of the raised bog to re-emerge in the long run. This area is the largest left raised bog of the lowlands in northern Europe, and it includes more than half the total raised bog in Denmark. Lille Vildmose is appointed as a Natura2000 area (7824 ha) and a Natura2000 plan has been prepared with a focus in keeping and extending the raised bog area.

From the reed beds sounds the voice of the bittern.

Eurasian Bittern 


When this is said the large moor in Himmerland is a wonderful place to visit, also because of the boardwalks across a big part of the area. It would be impossible to cross the moor without these boardwalks and bridges. The animal and plant life is very rich and you'll never know how much or what you'll see on such a tour. Birds of prey, like the golden eagle, the whitetailed eagle, the marsh harrier or the Eurasian hobby. We did not see the large birds of prey this time, but we heard the rare golden oriole. We did not see this beautiful yellow bird, but we later came to a place where we heard another rare bird. The strange voice of the Eurasian bittern sounded from the reed beds -  and a few moments later an Eurasian bittern flew above our heads and disappeared in the reeds. A rare sight. There are approximately about 22 Eurasian bitterns in Lille Vildmose right now. We heard its strange voice calling out like an angry  bull every five minutes.

                                                                  
Legend
No other bird in Denmark is surrounded by so much mystery. Both the hidden ways of its living, the owl-like flight and the strange voice have contributed to this. People were scared of this strange bird with a voice as strong as any mammal - and when it was strutting around in the night hours people thought they met a ghost. The voice of the bittern created legends about the Merman's cows, roaring and  longing for coming ashore. In the old days lived a landlord, named Mads Spejser, at Aggersborggård at Limfjorden opposite the town Løgstør. He was a brutal master and a nasty neighbour and very much disliked. His spirit is said to hazard like a dark bird across the landscape at night, flying with silent wing beats, uttering hoarse cries like the  bittern. 

New Observation Tower

A new observation tower has been raised in 2014,  called Brandtaarnet (the fire tower). Until the 1980s was here a fire watch tower, where a guard supervised the moor to observe if  there was fire or smoke. The new tower is a part of an ongoing and very comprehensive EU-LIFE nature-restoration project  Brandtårnet is the sixth observation tower in Lille Vildmose. It is 6-7 meter tall, and half as tall as the tower at the Vildmose Center at Vildmosevej. But it is tall enough since the moor is as flat as a panncake -  and there is a fine view across the earlier peat-extraction area, which during WWII gave work to 1200 men. Today it is a bird-rich restoration area, and from the new yellow tower it is possible to follow the rapid change of the nature area in these years.

The moor was earlier overgrown with birch which has now been removed. Only a few birches are allowed to stay in the landscape.

cloudberry, no flowers yet.

cranberry flowers

Plants

The plant life is special in a moor, there are tufts of spaghnum moss, cranberry, rosemary heather, bell heather, cloudberry, sundew, cotton grass, white-beak-sedge etc.

bell heather

cotton grass

Kærguldsmed / Leucorrhinia pectoralis

A Dragonfly...........


In Europe, dragonflies have often been seen as sinister. Some English names, such as "devil's darning needle"  and "ear cutter", link them with evil or  injury.  A Romanian folk tale says that the dragonfly was once a horse possessed by the devil. Swedish  folklore holds that the devil uses dragonflies to weigh people's souls. The Norwegian name for dragonflies is Øyenstikker ("eye-poker"), and in Portugal they are sometimes called tira-olhos ("eye-snatcher"). They are often associated with snakes, as in the Welsh name gwas-y-neidr, "adder's servant". The Southern United States term "snake doctor" refers to a folk belief that dragonflies follow snakes around and stitch them back together if they are injured.
For some Native American tribes they represent swiftness and activity, and for the Navajo they symbolize pure water. Dragonflies are a common motif in  Zuni pottery; stylized as a double-barred cross, they appear in Hopi rock art and on Pueblo necklaces. They have also been used in traditional medicine in Japan and China. In some parts of the world they are a food source, eaten either as adults or larvae; in Indonesia, for example, they are caught on poles made sticky with birdlime, then fried in oil as a delicacy.

And two Butterflies

Moserandøje /Large heath.

Bølleblåfugl / Cranberry Blue

in Portland Mose

some restoration work in the moor.

a view from Portland Mose out to the coast (to Mulbjerge)

A poppy field near the Vildmose.

the limestone quarry near Lille Vildmose.

It was a lovely summer's day in Lille Vildmose.

photo: grethe bachmann, June 2014.