Wild for summer

Ivividly remember my first marbled white. I was entranced as this cream and black butterfly fluttered rather lazily through a shrubbery next to a meadow. I followed it for a short while, hoping to capture its beauty in a photograph. A passer-by told me I was wasting my time; these are butterflies that don’t settle for long.

He was right. I gently followed its meandering flight and it seemed an eternity before it finally settled on a leaf long enough for me to creep up and snap a couple of shots. What a beauty it was when I finally got a proper look at it – a chequerboard pattern marks out the marbled white as one of our most delightful butterflies.

These are delicate and captivating butterflies of meadows and grasslands. Not for these caterpillars is the restricted diet that some of their fussier cousins follow. They’re happy munching away on a wide range of common grasses such as cock’s-foot, fescue and Yorkshire fog. Females fly through the jungle of grasses flicking their eggs towards the ground; when the eggs hatch into caterpillars, they clamber into clumps of grass and chomp their way to pupation. Adult butterflies will be emerging now and will be on the wing into August.

England has lost about 97% of its wildflower-rich meadows but here in Worcestershire we’re lucky enough to have around 20% of the meadows that remain. Meandering in meadows is tricky because there are so many delicate plants that are easily squished by our feet but while some are inaccessible, others have paths mown through them. The good news is that the range of marbled whites has expanded so if you’re somewhere with lilac-coloured scabious, thistles and knapweed, keep a look out for marbled whites. They’ve been spotted on railway embankments, woodland rides and even road verges as well as more traditional meadows. I’ve even had one fly through my garden on its hunt for a mate and suitable habitat.

Look for them in the morning when they bask with their wings open to soak up the warmth. Whilst admiring them, spare a thought for a careless bird who tries to eat one. Naturalist and author Miriam Rothschild always believed that their eye-catching pattern must act as a warning to birds. She was right! Shortly before her death in 2005, chemical analysis showed that marbled whites are indeed poisonous to birds. The caterpillars sometimes feast on grass that has been infected by ergot fungus, the toxins of which are stored in their bodies and make the adult butterfly dangerous enough to be left alone. Discover more about Worcestershire’s wildlife at www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/wildlife-explorer

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