Focus on the Small Blue Cupido minimus.
Jul 1, 2016 6:56:47 GMT
deliasfanatic, mygos, and 3 more like this
Post by nomad on Jul 1, 2016 6:56:47 GMT
Focus on the Small Blue Cupido minimus, Fuessly 1775.
Cupido minimus of the Lycaenidae family is the smallest British butterfly. This species has a wide distribution, occurring through Europe to Amur in Asia. It is absent from much of the Southern part of the Iberian peninsula and it is not found in North Africa. Many of the colonies in Southern England are to be found in limestone and chalk grassland where it is on the wing in May and June.
The larvae foodplant is medicinal Anthyllis vulneraria which is commonly known here as Kidney Vetch. The adult female is almost entirely brown while the smaller male shows traces of blue scaling. At some of its steeper grassland sites, the females of Cupido minimus will egg-lay on the foodplant which thrives in the rabbit grazed short turf of the upper and middle slopes. On emerging many C. minimus often gravitate towards the bottom of the slope where less windy conditions and here the butterfly will communally roost in the longer grass.
Recently at sunrise, I set off for a south-facing piece of chalk downland and thankfully the aggressive cattle which graze this area were not present. These cattle often in a large herd always seem to have calves at some stage of development and seem to think that Entomologists are an intrusion. As the farmer who owns this cattle once said as I approached these downs " Be careful the cattle have their calves" even though there is unrestricted access on these grasslands there are grazing stock warning signs by the gates and styles. On this visit the cattle and their calves were penned in a nearby area and as I walked pass them their bellows rent the morning.
Reaching the nearby downland all was peaceful again. Searching the lower slope, the grass was heavy with the morning dew and here I counted over fifty Cupido minimus roosting head down swaying gently in the wind. When the sunlight broke though the puffy clouds, individual butterflies would bask with their wings spread, twisting to the warmth of the sun. Many were worn having been on the wing for in the unsettled weather of the previous few days.
A fortnight later I was in the Cotswold Hills further to the north visiting a south-facing limestone bank and the Small Blues were already on the wing. Not especially a warm day, I was able to find a few basking Cupido minimus on oak scrub at the bottom of the steep slope. The males when they meet, like to chase each other returning quickly to settle again.
C. minimus females bask in the early morning sun on the North Wiltshire downland. June 2016
Males of C. minimus basking, Cotswold Hills.
C. minimus Resting. Images 1 . Wilts Downs. 3 Cotswold Hills.
Biotope of C. minimus.
The south-facing chalk Wilts Downland site where I observed the C. minimus communal roost.
Cotswold Limestone bank.
The Wiltshire Cattle.
Cupido minimus of the Lycaenidae family is the smallest British butterfly. This species has a wide distribution, occurring through Europe to Amur in Asia. It is absent from much of the Southern part of the Iberian peninsula and it is not found in North Africa. Many of the colonies in Southern England are to be found in limestone and chalk grassland where it is on the wing in May and June.
The larvae foodplant is medicinal Anthyllis vulneraria which is commonly known here as Kidney Vetch. The adult female is almost entirely brown while the smaller male shows traces of blue scaling. At some of its steeper grassland sites, the females of Cupido minimus will egg-lay on the foodplant which thrives in the rabbit grazed short turf of the upper and middle slopes. On emerging many C. minimus often gravitate towards the bottom of the slope where less windy conditions and here the butterfly will communally roost in the longer grass.
Recently at sunrise, I set off for a south-facing piece of chalk downland and thankfully the aggressive cattle which graze this area were not present. These cattle often in a large herd always seem to have calves at some stage of development and seem to think that Entomologists are an intrusion. As the farmer who owns this cattle once said as I approached these downs " Be careful the cattle have their calves" even though there is unrestricted access on these grasslands there are grazing stock warning signs by the gates and styles. On this visit the cattle and their calves were penned in a nearby area and as I walked pass them their bellows rent the morning.
Reaching the nearby downland all was peaceful again. Searching the lower slope, the grass was heavy with the morning dew and here I counted over fifty Cupido minimus roosting head down swaying gently in the wind. When the sunlight broke though the puffy clouds, individual butterflies would bask with their wings spread, twisting to the warmth of the sun. Many were worn having been on the wing for in the unsettled weather of the previous few days.
A fortnight later I was in the Cotswold Hills further to the north visiting a south-facing limestone bank and the Small Blues were already on the wing. Not especially a warm day, I was able to find a few basking Cupido minimus on oak scrub at the bottom of the steep slope. The males when they meet, like to chase each other returning quickly to settle again.
C. minimus females bask in the early morning sun on the North Wiltshire downland. June 2016
Males of C. minimus basking, Cotswold Hills.
C. minimus Resting. Images 1 . Wilts Downs. 3 Cotswold Hills.
Biotope of C. minimus.
The south-facing chalk Wilts Downland site where I observed the C. minimus communal roost.
Cotswold Limestone bank.
The Wiltshire Cattle.
