What’s In a Name? The Painted Lady

James Mann responds to Richard Stewart’s search for a name for a mass of butterflies

Each time we have a Painted Lady year the search for a collective noun for a large influx of butterflies increases.

I have come up with several names; my suggestion of plague received the censure of Richard. Perhaps he will agree to this name for another species had he have shared my experience of seeing dozens of chains of Pine Processionary moth caterpillars, some chains up to 10 metres long, wending their way through the forest during one of my randonnées last year. Richard was not so scathing with the invasion but it did not seem right. Horde and swarm have been proposed and in my recent article I used the word drove, but none seem perfect.

Giving the matter more thought it came to me that as far back as the 15th century the bird people gave many species a specific name such ‘Parliament of Rooks’ , ‘Gaggle of Geese’ or ‘Unkindness of Ravens’ . Although some names may now sound a bit obscure they would have had meaning when first used. If it is all right for birds, why not butterflies?

One sunny April morning as Anne and I watched the hundreds of Painted Ladies nectaring on our lime tree she said that they would make a wonderful picture, as the ladies are painted they could be a canvas.

We propose that ‘A canvas of Painted Ladies’ be adopted as the collective noun to describe a large number of this species. Unless a more appropriate name can be offered could the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation propose that this be adopted on a national basis.

James and Anne Mann Saint Jean Pla De Corts France

Painted Lady by Mervyn Crawford