by Christopher Chatterton

Created on: September 18, 2010

The Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria) is an aptly named butterfly; it is a speckled brown colour and prefers the dappled sunlight of woodland glades and the shade of trees and bushes. The Speckled Wood is found throughout much of Europe and the British Isles, where it has expanded its range considerably since the 1930’s (Lewington, 2003).

Identification

The edges of the Speckled Wood butterfly’s wings are predominantly dark brown in colour, changing to a lighter chocolate-brown toward the centre. Each wing is dotted with buff-cream coloured patches, with each forewing containing a black 'false eye' with a white centre. Each hind-wing has three false eyes (Feltwell, 1984), with females possessing larger spots than those of the males (Lewington, 2003).

There are between two and four generations per year, with both sexes of later broods being darker coloured than those of the first (Lewington, 2003). The average wingspan of the Speckled Wood butterfly is 45mm, making it a moderately sized member of the Nymphalidae family, which contains 'fritillaries' and 'browns'.

Behaviour and lifecycle

Unlike most butterflies, (all of which require sunlight to power their wings for flight), the Speckled Wood butterfly has an unusually high tolerance to shade. During the day, Speckled Wood’s are often to be found resting on the leaves, and/or low branches of trees and bushes, and can also be found along hedgerows and in gardens (Feltwell, 1984).

The Speckled Wood can also be found flying along lanes and woodland hedgerows. In gardens, the territorial males will perch on sunlit vegetation, and will spiral into the air to ward off rival males. Studies have found that these more sedentary males tend to have four hindwing spots, whereas males that actively patrol in pursuit of females usually have three spots (Lewington, 2003). Adding some credence to the theory that more spots mean more dominance, the extra-spotted defensive male is usually successful in sending off the intruder (Feltwell, 1984).

Both sexes of Speckled Wood butterflies will visit flowers late in the season, but mostly prefer aphid honeydew from leaves in the woodland canopy. Uniquely among British butterflies, the Speckled Wood can overwinter either as a caterpillar or a chrysalis, giving rise to up to three overlapping broods that first appear in late March and continue until around mid-October (Lewington, 2003). Caterpillars of the early summer become fully grown in about a month. Autumn

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>