Late Summer Butterflies and Moths

Numbers of butterflies dwindle as the days become shorter despite warm temperatures. The Meadow Brown butterfly is one of the longest-flying - usually appearing around the end of May and can still be seen at the beginning of October. It can therefore use a variety of food plants throughout the summer.

This late summer Meadow Brown is nectaring on a Thistle - a very popular plant for large numbers of insects when it flowers after midsummer food plants go to seed - a Bumble bee was sharing the flower with the butterfly:

The Meadow Brown flew off whilst the White-tailed Bumble bee (Bombus lucorum) buried its head in the flower.

Gatekeeper butterflies have a shorter flying time, usually from the end of June until the beginning of September.  They can vary a lot in size, the male usually being smaller than the female, but the easiest way to distinguish them is by upper wing markings:

Female Gatekeeper on brambles - the upper wings lack the  dark brown band markings seen on the male upper wing:

Male Gatekeeper on Bramble flowers - the difference is very easy to see when the butterfly is  basking and its slowish flight makes it easy to track. Fresh bright Meadow Brown butterflies can sometimes look like Gatekeepers at a distance but close-up can be seen to have single white 'pupils'

in the fore-wing black eye spots whereas the Gatekeepers have two white 'pupils' in each eye spot as in the photo of the female.

Unseen Creatures amongst the long grasses:

in looking for butterflies which fly off over the grasses at the last minute, more activity comes to light in the form of grasshoppers, crickets and Micro Moths  - the area is teeming with life normally invisible.

Moths - especially the Grass Moths -  small Micro moths are difficult to see close up and record in the field

- what are they called? In total, there are more than 2,500 Macro and Micro moths named, with new ones being listed each year, perhaps due to the changing climate.. 

 I haven't found out the names of these two - yet:

Nameless - is it a Wave? perching on the underside of a flowering Nettle stalk

Nectaring on Ragwort - another very popular food plant -

havent found out the name as yet. It's quite small with the wingspan 

less than the diameter of a flower head.