# Butterflies so many this year



## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

I have a budliah and never have I seen so many Butterflies.
We are seeing so much more of wild life arent we this year.
More bees earlier and at last I have a ladybird on the budliah where there are honey Bees but this cloud of Butterflies is all over it.
It is right by my front door and so everytime we walk out there we have to go through them as they fly around.
Nature is very pretty


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Very few wasps round here though Mavis.

They are usually a damn nuisance by now, but we've hardly seen any.

Not many bees recently either, even during the warms spells.

Dave


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

Zebedee said:


> Very few wasps round here though Mavis.
> 
> They are usually a damn nuisance by now, but we've hardly seen any.
> 
> ...


August is the month for wasps so there is still time for you to get stung 

We still have a lot fo Bee's here in the East of Kent.


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Neighbour has chopped down 6 budlia bushes that have for the past 25 years bee full of red admiral and totoiseshell butterflies.

We have more swallows but less sparrows about.

This is the first year that i haven not heard cockoos

Rabbits by the bucketfull

And we live in the countryside.

dave p


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

DTPCHEMICALS said:


> Neighbour has chopped down 6 budlia bushes that have for the past 25 years bee full of red admiral and totoiseshell butterflies.
> 
> We have more swallows but less sparrows about.
> 
> ...


We have Rabbits on the beach here they live on a bank and come out on the beach at dusk.
Have we had House Martins this year i havent seen any.
We did hear a cucko in the spring but not since.
Our Blackbirds have had a second lot of babies.
My Robin is still around.
I havent seen so many Hedgehogs though.


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## Detourer (May 9, 2005)

I lifted this from last months DD’s “News Letter”…………

Morocco's loss is the UK's gain. Hundreds of thousands of Moroccans have begun arriving in the South East of England, from the High Atlas region of Morocco.

Unusually high numbers of Painted Lady butterflies have been arriving in the UK according to reports from around the area. Wildlife photographer Kerry King said enthusiasts recently managed to spot nearly 3,000 in about 45 minutes.

The Butterfly Conservation Trust said the species, which has orange, black and white-spotted wings, was becoming increasingly common across the UK. Moroccan Painted Lady butterflies migrate to Europe seeking cooler temperatures each year.

Mr. King said: "In a space of about 45 minutes, we counted nearly 3,000 of these butterflies which are quite incredible. The Painted Lady is not a British butterfly. It migrates to this country. This year, because we've had mild weather conditions and I should imagine the wind has been perfect for them, we have seen this abundance of Painted Lady butterflies which is absolutely just swarming across the South East."

The Butterfly Conservation Trust said that both the Painted Lady butterfly and Humming-bird Hawk-moth were arriving from Morocco and becoming increasingly common in the UK…………..Nice one.


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

Had a look and yes some are Painted Lady butterflies with white spots.
But mainly Red Admirals and brown ones with all different coloured pattern's
Been for a walk on Tankerton slopes and there are an abundance of lady birds Red with black spots and orange with black spots.
Came home and there were 48 hover flies in the porch-- some were mating ---Question-- Are we being taking over by the Insects today.


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## GypsyRose (May 9, 2005)

What a lovely post!! I have seen very few butterflies this year (not just in our area which is S Wales as we travel a lot in our MH).....rabbits YES!! Jellyfish yes!! Maybe our very own "wldlife" (3 Yorkies!!) put other wildlife off??


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## clianthus (Jul 8, 2006)

Hi Mavis

It's really strange that you should post about butterflies today as I was only saying to Ken yesterday what a lot there were around the garden.

I wasn't sure what type they were but from the description it sounds as though they are Painted Lady butterflies.

Bit of a change in weather for them today though, cloudy and damp, not very Moroccan at all.


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## rowley (May 14, 2005)

Our buddlia is not yet in bloom, however we too have a good amount of butterflies. Lots of birds have nested in the garden this year. Very little frog spawn though, few bees and no ladybirds. I understand that the harlequin ladybirds are coming this way


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

clianthus said:


> Hi Mavis
> 
> It's really strange that you should post about butterflies today as I was only saying to Ken yesterday what a lot there were around the garden.
> 
> ...


Its raining here now and everything has gone it really has been a very good day for nature.
I have been talking to friends and neighbours and we ended up on a nature watch, looking for ladybirds and bugs and things.
It was really good.
Ok until I see a spider 8O


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## Texas (May 9, 2005)

We planted 2 new budliah bushes, the old one died through some idiot  cutting the roots off whilst trying to stabilise it with a hefty cane.

But as yet we haven't seen many butterflies.

We had stoats living in the garden last year, they reared 4 'Kits'? but they haven't been back this year... got them on camera 'tho. chasing about the shrubbery.


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

I've seen a few moths about today, she must have had her purse out again. :lol:

The old ones are the best 

Pete


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

Texas said:


> We planted 2 new budliah bushes, the old one died through some idiot  cutting the roots off whilst trying to stabilise it with a hefty cane.
> 
> But as yet we haven't seen many butterflies.
> 
> We had stoats living in the garden last year, they reared 4 'Kits'? but they haven't been back this year... got them on camera 'tho. chasing about the shrubbery.


Have they flowered as its the Necter they like from the flowers and then in winter the flower heads dry and the birds feed on them.
Each year in Jan I cut the shrub down to the ground and it grow's tall by the summer again.


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## SpeedyDux (Jul 13, 2007)

Last week on the shores of Lake Garda I saw a big flowering buddlia bush with about a dozen Hummingbird Hawk Moths fluttering round it sipping nectar in the hot afternoon sunshine. Also some Painted Ladies. Marvellous sight. Lovely scent too. Further up in the Italian hills I noticed several Swallowtail butterflies, a species I haven't seen in England for ages. 

I planted a couple of buddlia bushes in my garden after the neighbour destroyed his which had been attracting the local butterflies, bees and Blue Tits. This year I haven't seen many butterflies on my buddlias this year but the flowers are attracting quite a lot of industrious bumblebees. 

Back to Italy: The skies above Lake Iseo were crossed by about 30 or so Grey Herons each evening as they flew from their feeding grounds in the nature reserve back to their distant heronry roost which I couldn't see but might have been somewhere on Monte Isola. Flying high above us for about half an hour, in small flocks of up to 6 Herons as the sun was setting. I feel privileged to have seen so many Herons in a short space of time and will always remember it as one of the highlights of the trip. 2 years ago there were Daubenton's Bats skimming the lake surface to catch insects at dusk but I didn't see any this time. 

SD


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