Raindrops on strands of spide silk over a flush
Yellow flowers of spearwort overhang water. Blades of grass stippled with raindrops reach out around water mint. Raindrops highlight long silken strands that somehow the spider has cast over dark water. The image catches the essence of a rainy day.
Vegetation is saturated and cuckoo spit is abundant. Our feet raise moths like this silver-ground carpet and the micro-moth Aethes cnicana. There are large, leafy plants of Devlil's-bit scabious and Chris tells us that Marsh Fritillary will be close to their larval foodplant, deep down through a cool and rainy morning. If this weather lasts they'll be unable to feed so will grow weak. When they do fly their flight will be slower so they'll be vulnerable to predation.
To estimate Marsh fritillary success we'd need to return in early August to count webs. Last year, there were some 70 webs each with up to 100 caterpillars. Only 10% will reach adulthood. Adults will now be close, right down in foliage and very hard to see. The egg stage is quite brief, the caterpillar stage is long and goes right though winter. Freshly hatched caterpillars feed and feed. By September they're a centimetre long . With autumn weather all the caterpillars go right down to ground level and enter hibernation, staying together as a mass almost at the surface level of the soil. Their communal webs shrink right down into a mass, a black ball. They live together at ground level, so low down that even the long tongues of grazing cattle will not rip up too many, most will survive. Cattle grazing (the right number) opens up vegetation and allows Devil's-bit scabious to thrive the following year. On a warm and sunny day in January and February caterpillars would rise above their silken thread and little black masses can be seen in mid-winter if it's warm and sunny. If it grows cold they'll retreat down to soil level and will repeat this pattern depending on the weather until the end of March beginning of April when it's warm enough for them to come up and have a really good feed to complete instars. If they get to the third instar they'll go right through 4,5, 6 then pupate mid to late April. Pupil and egg stage are quite short. The caterpillar stage is long and extends right through winter.
I've seen the butterfly and hope to return in August to see webs and caterpillars. I saw Marsh fritillary for the first time in late May last year and began to learn about their secret lives. The butterfly has a single brood and this is peak-flight time. The thistles they feed on are only just coming into flower, synchronicity is key.
Were it not for intermittent showers we might see butterflies on the wing: Marsh Fritillary, Small Pearl Bordered, Small Heath in this second venue we visit. I like the naturalist's detective work of finding the food-plant of a species as an indicator that it will be present.
Small copper, food plant sorrel
Gren hairstreak foodplant bilberry
Marsh Fritillary Deviil’s-bit scabious
Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Marsh violet
There's a mass of bilberry, the food plant of green hairstreak which I found in April at Foulshaw and Meathop Moss. Green leaves lush and bright after rain, a few last flowers and purplish ripening berries. Magenta bell heather comes into flower, earlier than common heather still in the green. There's crowberry in the mix too.
In a wetter, more marshy zone where we seek Marsh fritiallry ( and glimpse one in low flight) there's Devli's bit scaious and cross-leaved heath. Cranberries are ripening on sphagnum mounds, tiny red leaves trailing over the moss.
Small copper, food plant sorrel
Gren hairstreak foodplant bilberry
Marsh Fritillary Deviil’s-bit scabious
Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Marsh violet
There's a mass of bilberry, the food plant of green hairstreak which I found in April at Foulshaw and Meathop Moss. Green leaves lush and bright after rain, a few last flowers and purplish ripening berries. Magenta bell heather comes into flower, earlier than common heather still in the green. There's crowberry in the mix too.
In a wetter, more marshy zone where we seek Marsh fritiallry ( and glimpse one in low flight) there's Devli's bit scaious and cross-leaved heath. Cranberries are ripening on sphagnum mounds, tiny red leaves trailing over the moss.
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