Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland by Richard Lewington

Author:Richard Lewington
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472938794
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2016-03-13T05:00:00+00:00

Caterpillar

After hibernating when small, the caterpillar feeds actively in the daytime and pupates when it is nine months old.

Chrysalis

The distinctive curved chrysalis is suspended within a tent of grass stems held loosely with silk. Here it remains for about a month.

High Brown Fritillary

Argynnis adippe

None of our British butterflies has declined more rapidly than the High Brown Fritillary, which once occurred in most large woods in England and Wales as far north as Cumbria. It is now found mainly in the Morecambe Bay area and Dartmoor, with a few sites in between, totalling about 50 colonies. In these sites it occurs on rocky limestone outcrops scattered with trees, or on scrubby grassland, both habitats being dominated by Bracken.

Adults are fond of feeding from the flowers of Bramble and thistles and are easily approached, but in flight they are swift and elusive, and will disappear high into the foliage of trees if alarmed or if the weather is bad. Although the High Brown Fritillary lives in colonies, individuals frequently wander for several kilometres. Its single brood flies from mid-June until late August.

Hard to separate from the Dark Green Fritillary in flight, the underside of the hindwings is the best way to tell the two apart at rest. The High Brown Fritillary has a characteristic row of rust-red spots with silver centres.

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