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| From Summer to Autumn |
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Page 6 of 6 Speckled Wood butterflies still fly in the garden; even though it has been generally overcast and damp, they still fly because it is the temperature that is important. I’ve even seen them flying in the rain. There are lots of them and I have seen them lately sucking the juices from a pile of dumped grapes that went mouldy in the wet summer. These individuals are from a third generation and may even breed again to produce a fourth that will fly in November/December, but that will be weather dependent. With the first records in Cornwall often being as early as February, there is barely a month when it is not possible to see one of these butterflies. There have been records in the county for Speckled Woods in every month of the year. They over-winter either as caterpillars or pupae, a situation that is unusual in the life cycle of a butterfly. Cock’s-foot and Yorkshire Fog, along with other common grasses are the normal food-plants of the caterpillars, so there is good reason to leave those rough, informal areas in your garden.  Curlew. The knapweed has been visited by many butterflies, mostly whites and Wall Browns, but sadly no Clouded Yellows or Painted Ladies. There are very few of these migrants so far this year due to the weather. Some deep pink flower-heads remain, but most are clusters of brown seed that attract the Goldfinches. Yellow Bartsia is still in evidence, a few flower spikes hanging on, relics of the summer, but most Wild Carrot flowers are shrivelled and curl in on themselves over a bed of bristly seeds that stick to your clothes. Last but not least, two mosquitoes have entered the house to hibernate; they rest on the bathroom wall, and I shall leave them there. The Natural History of Land’s End by Jean Lawman is available in hardback at £19.95 or softback at £13.99. | ||||||||