The Comma butterfly appears in
the Autumn and is
commonly seen feeding on rotting windfall fruit. It
most unusual feature is the highly scalloped wing
edge. When the wings are closed there appears a
pale comma shape on the otherwise dark wing, from
which the insect gets its name.
Brimstone
Butterflies are just about the first
to appear in the spring, disappear during
the summer, and reappear in late autumn.
In the spring they are particularly attracted
to pussy willow flowers which arrive very
early in Spring.
The insects overwinter as adults, and are what you see in the spring. This is the characteristic colour of the male. Note the orange spots on the rear wings, which are more obvious on the other side of the wing. The female is white, but sports the same spots. The underwing (not shown here) is greenish, and the resemblance to a leaf is stunning.
The Peacock butterfly is
probably the most commonly seen
large butterfly, most likely seen of flowering garden
plants
such as buddleia (often known as the 'butterfly bush')
and
Sedums.
In the sunshine the upper wing look quite brightly coloured, but is actually quite dark, and the underwing almost black. The eye spot pattern is said to startle potential predators.