Vanessids

Vanessids include some of the most attractive butterflies found in Cornwall. Fortunately they are also some of the most common. They are very frequent visitors to the garden specifically attracted to buddleia, providing an excellent reason to grow it in the garden.

All vanessids overwinter as adults. Some species find the climate mild enough to survive the winter. While others like the peacock and red admiral will only do so in good years but in these cases the numbers are bolsted by migrants from Europe. Many of the vanessids’ foodplants are nettles, a good reason to find an out of a way place in the garden for a small patch of nettles.

  Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

  Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

  Peacock Inachis io

  Comma  Polygonia c-album

  Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae

Comma Polygonia c-album

The comma is a distinctive butterfly with scalloped edged wings, giving it a tattered appearance. This shape breaks up the wings outline, making them more leaf shaped and provides camouflage. On the underwings, the comma has white comma shaped markings, from which the butterfly gets its name.

The comma has an unusual lifecycle. The comma overwinters as an adult, in spring the adults come out of hibernation, mate and lay their eggs. The eggs hatch, however for some reason the caterpillars follow one of two strategies, fast or slow growing.

Photograph by Alan Griffiths

The fast growing caterpillars change into pupa, from which lighter coloured butterflies emerge. These lighter butterflies themselves breed and produce fast growing caterpillars that on reaching adult hood produce identically marked but dark form butterflies. The slow growing caterpillars themselves produce dark coloured butterflies.

The food plant is primarily nettles but they will thrive on willow and hops. The spiny caterpillars are blackish with white and red. The adults have a fondness for fermenting fruit which brings them into gardens to feed on fallen apples and ripe raspberries.

Peacock Inachis io

The Peacock is an extremely colourful butterfly frequently seen in gardens feeding on buddleia. It has distinctive bright eye like markings on its wings

The eyes are a defensive mechanism, as when a potential predator approaches the butterfly opens its wings. The displayed eye patterns give the impression of a much larger creature surprising the predator putting it momentary off guard, providing vital seconds to escape.

The caterpillars’ foodplants are nettles. There is usually only one brood a year. The eggs are laid in batches. The black and spiny caterpillars on hatching do not disperse, but instead live communally in a tent made of silk and nettle leaves. This they continue to do moving on as they exhaust their immediate food supply, and forming new tents. When the time comes to pupate they all disperse at once, each finding a safe place to pupate.

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

This is a very distinctive and beautiful common butterfly. The butterflies are often seen in gardens particularly feeding on buddleia, but they also have a penchant for feeding on fermenting windfall apples.

The main foodplants of the caterpillars are nettles, a good reason to leave a small patch in your garden. The eggs are laid singly, each caterpillar hiding by pulling back a leaf on itself using their silk and forming a small tent.

The caterpillars are black with small spines but they can sometimes have a greenish tinge. A good give away to a caterpillar’s location are the droppings found under the leafy tent.

Each year red admirals migrate here from the continent. The next generation will either attempt a return to Europe or if they remain, hibernate over the winter period. Unfortunately during overwintering most die off. In recent years, specifically in warmer regions such as Cornwall, more are surviving their winter hibernation.

Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae

The small tortoiseshell is one of the most common butterflies seen in gardens. The native population is reinforced by migrants each year. The fore wings are brightly coloured but when in flight these are not seen, instead the more drab underwings are.

The caterpillars’ foodplants are nettles. Depending on the weather there are two to three broods. The eggs are laid in batches. The spiny yellowish and black caterpillars after hatching communally live in a silk tent.

Adult Small Tortoiseshells are often found in homes during their winter hibernating.

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

The Painted Lady is an annual migrant from the continent, they breed here and the new brood returns. They do also overwinter here as adults but most die, it is only in the more temperate regions such as Cornwall that this strategy can be successful.

The main foodplants of the caterpillars is thistle and to a lesser degree nettles. The caterpillars are solitary, hiding by pulling back a leaf on themselves with silk and forming small tents.

The caterpillars are black and spiny with a broken yellow line running down their side.