David Element
Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images
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Butterflies 67 – Wall Browns
WALL BROWN BUTTERFLY Lasiommata
megera (f)
WALL BROWN BUTTERFLY Lasiommata
megera (f)
WALL BROWN BUTTERFLY Lasiommata
megera (f)
WALL BROWN BUTTERFLY Lasiommata
megera (f)
WALL BROWN BUTTERFLY Lasiommata
megera (f)
WALL BROWN BUTTERFLY Lasiommata
megera (f)
WALL BROWN
BUTTERFLY Lasiommata megera (f)
·
These photographs of a female Wall Brown
Butterfly Lasiommata megera
were taken in the South of France where this species is quite common. The
availability of Lavender Lavandula sp. was a bonus as it held the
attention of a normally easily disturbed and peripatetic butterfly for long
enough for it to be photographed! When settled on the ground this butterfly
will close its wings, hiding its forewings behind the cryptically patterned hindwings,
and tilt to minimise its shadow. If disturbed the forewings will be raised to
expose the eyespots as a deterrent to would be predators. The UK’s population
of this butterfly has decreased rather alarmingly, disappearing from inland
sites that formerly accommodated strong colonies. However, it may still be
found at coastal sites. More than 80% of the population has been lost since the
mid-1970s, and an interesting and feasible explanation for this has been
published by Professor Hans Van Dyck of Louvain University (see: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/24/wall-brown-butterfly-may-be-a-victim-of-climate-change). The
theory is that warmer summer temperatures have produced an additional
generation of adults by accelerating the life-history. These have emerged too
late in the year to survive, or to have an opportunity to reproduce
successfully. As the habitat has remained unaltered, there is no absence of
foodplants, or of parasitism taking its toll, this would seem to be a logical
explanation for a decline at warmer inland sites without affecting the cooler
coastal habitats. If this is the case, then there is little likelihood of this
butterfly returning to former inland sites unless anthropogenic climate change
is reversed – or unless the autumns become as warm as those on the Continent as
European late brood populations can complete their life cycles. It is highly
likely that many other British invertebrates will also be affected adversely by
climate change and that the reasons may become clearer. Some are already known
about, for example the population crash of the Garden Tiger Moth Arctia caja in
London. However, there are so many insects in decline and so few expert
observers that it is incredibly difficult to monitor these changes,
particularly as the declines may be associated with other human activities, for
example the use of toxins.
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