Butterfly Identification, Vanessids. next pageback to 1st Page

Large, usually brightly coloured above and drab beneath.

 In North Wales you will  see only 5 of these.
 

Vanessids;   (The Nymphalidae family) The five of this group are; Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock and Comma. They are some of the commonest butterflies we see in the garden - often on the Buddleia and Hebe bushes, as well as Ice plant and Michaelmas Daisies in late summer. Also in the Nymphalidae are another group called the Fritillaries. They are some of our rarest butterflies. See the Advanced ID workshop for more about North Wales Fritillaries.	Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) Strong white and black stripes at top of wings, like the pattern on tortoise shells, with orange beneath. The caterpillar feeds on Stinging Nettle and it can have 2 or 3 broods in one season, so it is very common. It is called the 'Small' because there used to be a "Large Tortoiseshell" that became another to go extinct in Britain in about 1987. Please join Butterfly Conservation to help us prevent any more of our butterflies becoming extinct- click here; Membership	Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) Sometimes the Small Tortoiseshell is mistaken for this one, but here you can see the difference clearly - the Red Admiral's  big white 'epaulettes' on black and red wings. The caterpillar also feeds on Stinging Nettle, but can also be found on Pellitory-of the-Wall.   This is not a true native, but a migrant from the Continent. However, with global warming there have been recent reports of them surviving the winter on the south coast of England.
Peacock (Inachis io) Unmistakeable, being our only native species with big circular 'eye' spots. The caterpillar also feeds on Stinging Nettle  and the adults love Buddleia and Eupatoriums like all the other Vanessids. Click here; plantlist to see photos of these plants, and how you can buy them and many others good for butterflies, whilst helping the North Wales Branch to raise funds for its work. (all photos by Janet Graham)	Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) Not a true native as it cannot survive the winter here, this butterfly sometimes flies over from Europe and North Africa in great numbers. Called 'Painted Lady' after the patch of pink, looking like rouge, next to the body on the underwing. The caterpillar can feed on Stinging Nettle, but prefers thistles.	Comma (Polygonum c-album) The Comma is our only butterfly with such a distinctly scalloped outline.Its name comes from the small white shape like a punctuation comma on the underwing.This butterfly has become increasingly common in the 20th. century, while so many of our other natives have declined. Like the other butterflies on this page, the caterpillar of the Comma feeds on plants like Stinging  Nettle which are still common in the countryside.