FoAP - Butterflies

Butterflies and moths have many things in common.

The main differences are that most butterflies fly in the daytime, whereas moths tend to fly at night, and butterflies are typically larger and have more colourful patterns on their wings. Moths are typically smaller with drab-coloured wings.

Moths have a frenulum, which is a wing-coupling device. Butterflies do not have frenulums. Frenulums join the forewing to the hind wing, so the wings can work in unison during flight.

The easiest way to tell the difference is that a butterfly’s antennae are club-shaped with a long shaft and a bulb at the end. A moth’s antennae are feathery or saw-edged.

See also our Moths page.

Annual Butterfly Reports compiled by Tony Jakeman and Gerry Rawcliffe

BUTTERFLIES OF ALEXANDRA PALACE PARK 2024 – A BRIEF REPORT

It is recommended to read this report in conjunction with three Spreadsheets:

Nationally, 2024 was an alarming year with a significant drop in butterfly numbers. The BC’s ‘’Big Butterfly Count in the summer recorded the lowest numbers in the 14-year history of the scheme. The reasons for this are complex, but a main factor has been the weather over recent years following droughts in 2022 and then in 2024 the UK’s wettest spring since 1986. And extremes of weather affect the abundance of critical food plants and the ability of the butterflies to breed successfully.

This lack of butterflies was also very evident in the Ally Pally Park with the late appearance of species overwintering as adults - Red Admiral, Peacock, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and Comma. Fortunately, the Easter weekend at the end of March was warm and sunny and at last good numbers of butterflies were seen - but then cooler and showery weather returned in April with sightings again reduced. Even a mini heatwave in the second week of May failed to bring out the butterflies – and this trend continued to the end of June when hot and sunny days welcomed high numbers of our meadow species especially Meadow Brown and then Gatekeeper.

1) Dee Cullen’s transect recordings at the Park from the beginning of April to the end of September show a fall of 19% in butterfly numbers in 2024 compared to 2023. And in the specific butterfly ‘hot spot’ area of Anthill Meadow a 21% fall in numbers.

2) In total 27 species were recorded in the Park, with only three species not seen – the one-off sightings of Long-tailed Blue and Green Hairstreak from 2021 - together with Silver-washed Fritillary, of which one or two are usually seen annually.

3) The Big Event though was undoubtedly the first recorded Purple Emperor butterfly on July 27th, on the racecourse path (presumably taking salts) near to the Conservation pond. Spotted and photographed by Helen Bantock (a moth specialist) but not relocated thereafter – in spite of the best detective efforts of Henry Wyn-Jones and others. This was a hoped-for event, as there have been regular sightings of Purple Emperors at nearby Hampstead Heath over the past 10 years. Add to that the fact that (male) PE’s are often found flying at the tops of oak trees and their larval plant are Sallows – both of which are present in that area of the AP Park. We have to be on the lookout again in 2025!

4) There must be real concerns as to whether the Park can sustain what have become ‘rare’ species – Small Heath, Brown Argus, Ringlet and White-letter Hairstreak. And shockingly only one Small Tortoiseshell butterfly was seen on April 1st in spite of the abundance of nettles in the park – a feed plant for their caterpillars.

5) The ‘Losers’ in 2024 with significantly smaller numbers observed included Small Whites, Holly Blues, Speckled Woods, Gatekeepers, Small Coppers, Purple Hairstreaks and Red Admirals

6) There were only a couple of ‘Winners’ with extra numbers of Marbled and Green-veined Whites observed.

7) Of the remaining species, the numbers were generally as expected – Skippers, Meadow Browns, Brimstones, Comma etc. 2024 was a strange year for Common Blues with very few seen from early June until numbers increased in August.

8) Gratifying that the Park’s hotspot in 2024 was the Anthill Meadow which regularly held the most butterflies and where 21 of the 27 species were observed. This was surely due in part to the sterling efforts of the AP Park Friends’ work parties in clearing areas of brambles and planting new wildflowers. By comparison, the ‘upper meadows’ towards Blandford Hall were relatively quiet. And in spite of the old, tall vegetation being cut back in spring, the new scrubby plant growth behind the cricket club car park did not attract many butterflies – and ditto the northern perimeter of the cricket pitch…

Finally, the Friends have recently commissioned advice from Butterfly Conservation on the future management of Anthill Meadow to best serve the needs of the Park’s vibrant but fragile butterfly communities. We look forward to enjoying the fruits of this advice in the years to come.

Information compiled by Tony Jakeman, Dee Cullen, Gerry Rawcliffe, Markus Percic, Stephen Middleton and Greg Smith.

BUTTERFLIES OF ALEXANDRA PALACE PARK 2023 – A BRIEF REPORT

It is recommended to read this report in conjunction with the Spreadsheet logging the First and Last sightings in the park from 2019 to 2023.

As a preface, to highlight the particular and unusual weather experienced locally from summer 2022 into early 2023:

The heatwave of July 2022 – which saw extraordinary gatherings of Purple Hairstreak butterflies low down on foliage late in the day.
From 11 Dec 2022 freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall.
Into 2023 and a dry January into February, then colder and wetter through March.

This surely impacted upon the lifecycles and appearances of the Park butterflies in 2023:

Considering the data logged from 2019, there were late appearances by all the early-season butterflies including the 5 species which regularly overwinter as adults (Red Admiral, Peacock, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and Comma).

Perhaps due to a very hot spell of weather in early September 2023, there were plenty of butterflies into October – with 5 species seen later than in the preceding 4 years – Small Copper, Small White, Common Blue, Brown Argus and Meadow Brown.

Abundance of our ‘meadow’ species – Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper - where Dee Cullen recorded 399 sightings of Meadow Brown in her Butterfly Conservation transect walks during the summer months being 36% of all butterflies noted.

In total 26 species were seen in the Park in 2023 just 3 short of the recent times total of 29, missing out only on the rare 2021 sightings of Long-tailed Blue and Green Hairstreak, and there were no migrant Clouded Yellows spotted this year.

Gratifying that the Park’s hotspot in 2023 was the Anthill Meadow which regularly held the most butterflies and where 21 of the 26 species were observed. This was surely due in part to the sterling efforts of the AP Park Friends’ work parties in clearing areas of brambles and planting new wildflowers. By comparison, the meadow sites of ‘Main’ and up towards Blandford Hall were relatively quiet…

Seems to have been a poor year for ‘day flying’ moths with only Silver Y, Burnet Companion, Yellow Shell and Jersey Tiger recorded by the AP birders.

The Winners in terms of abundance were Meadow Brown/Gatekeeper, Holly Blues, Speckled Wood and Red Admirals. And the Losers were Small Heath (only 1 or2 recorded), White-letter Hairstreak (main site less viewed this year), Ringlet (only @ 3 sightings v 57 in 2021), and our migrants Painted Lady and Clouded Yellow.

Information compiled by Tony Jakeman, Dee Cullen, Gerry Rawcliffe, Markus Percic, Greg Smith.

Spreadsheet showing Butterflies sighting recorded between 2019 and 2023

Spreadsheet showing Butterflies first and last sightings recorded between 2019 and 2024

Butterfly Conservation Transect sightings by Dee Cullen for AP Park 2024

Butterfly Conservation Transect sightings - just Anthill Meadow by Dee Cullen for AP Park 2024.

The Ant Hill Meadow (ex Butterfly Meadow)

There is an area in the grounds of Alexandra Park, on the South Slope, which we call the Ant Hill Meadow (previously called the Butterfly Meadow).

This area, just north of the lower road, is rich in knapweed and other plants which attract butterflies, but over the past two years brambles and tree saplings have smothered the grassy spaces. This area is also remarkable for the many ant hills that can be seen. These are produced by the Yellow Meadow Ant (Lasius flavus). There is an excellent youtube video going into the ecology of these ants and their ant hills produced by the London Natural History Society. Link to the video.

Butterflies and ants have an inter-dependent (symbiotic) relationship, and ants need warmth (from sunlight) to thrive. To enable the maximum sunlight to fall on this area, the Friends are endeavouring to keep it clear of brambles, overhanging branches of shrubs, and trees.

The larva of the Large Blue butterfly secretes pheromones that induce the red ant Myrmica sabuleti to carry it underground into the ant's nest.

For the rest of it's life, the larva eats ant grubs. The ants obtain a sugary substance from the dorsal "honey gland" of the larva. The larva hibernates, and later pupates in the ant's nest.

The butterfly emerges from the pupa and uses another pheromone to appease the ants, then crawls along the ant tunnels to reach the surface.

Butterfly Walk - July 2022

Butterflies like sunshine, and luckily we had lots of it. Starting in the Upper Main Meadow, our walk leaders Dee Cullen and Gerry Rawcliffe helped us to spot meadow browns and small or Essex skippers (the latter have antenna tips that are entirely black).

In the Lower Main Meadow we saw a large skipper (more heavily marked than the other two) and then marbled whites, with their gliding flight. In the park there are large, small and green-veined whites, and we saw a large white, the least common of the three, in the Anthill Meadow.

We also saw speckled woods, which like coming down onto brambles, and a six-spot burnet moth. We had to look up once we were at Cricket Scrub Corner, for the very small purple hairstreaks and whiteletter hairstreaks, as they like oaks and ashes/elms, respectively, so those of us with binoculars were at an advantage!"

Butterfly Walk July 2021

The weather had us guessing right up to the start of the walk. A few odd spots of rain, but the walk went ahead led by Gerry and Dee. We looked over the meadow areas above the Lower Path and found both Small and Essex Skippers. Gerry explained the difficulty in telling these very small, moth-like butterflies apart and what the difference is between butterflies and moths. In the same meadow we found large numbers of Meadow Browns and the odd Marbled White and Ringlet. Moving into the Butterfly Meadow, we encountered Large Skipper (pictured left), Small White, Marbled White, Ringlet and more Meadow Browns - the most populous butterfly species in the park at present. We kept an eye for the first Gatekeeper of the year, but no luck. We were shown the haunt of the White-letter Hairstreak which didn't oblige, but we did see a Peacock before finishing the walk.

Some more pictures from the walk.

Gerry's Butterflies of the Park article on the Palace website.

Working Party on the Butterfly Meadow, May 2014

A Working Party continued to clear some of the brambles and saplings that are threatening to take over this valuable habitat.

We counted ten different species of trees, all trying to overwhelm the area.

We removed a considerable amount and were very grateful to pause half way through our session for a cool drink.....

Clearing the brambles in March 2014

In mid-March, 2014, about ten Friends of the Park gathered to tackle the growth with secateurs and loppers, and tough gloves. A couple of hours' steady work produced some satisfying clearance, with the debris collected into one of John O'Connor's trailers.

Clearing saplings and brambles in March 2012

Friends of Alexandra Park cleared saplings and brambles in the Butterfly Meadow, in March 2012.