What Do Butterflies Do In A Drought in Portugal When Their Food-plants Are Dead?

How do Small Coppers and Meadow Browns survive a drought?

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) Photo in Public Domain/Pixabay

As I walk the burning sandy path through local scrub and woodland here in Portugal I often wonder where do the remaining butterfly females lay their eggs? The once lush vegetation has been shrivelled in the heat of the ongoing drought and what is left is tinder-dry and brown. The Meadow Brown and Small Copper are two butterflies confronted with this problem. Earlier in the year the same location was covered in masses of wildflowers, clumps of Rockrose were in bloom, green grass was plentiful, as were other forms of greenery. There were lots of butterfly species to be seen, including, the Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Green Hairstreak, Spanish Festoon, Small White, Bath White, and Small Copper.

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) Photo: Public Domain/Pixabay

Meadow Browns become common in early summer here in the same location. It looks like a paradise for butterflies, and for other forms of wildlife, but as the long days of sun and heat take their toll, all short vegetation dies back to the ground, shrivels up or becomes dead and brown. The butterflies seen flying become less and less as the drought intensifies its hold with no rain at all, or if there are a few scattered showers, the water evaporates as soon as it falls. This year has been particularly bad. Even plants like Echium creticum (Cretan Viper’s Bugloss) failed to bloom successfully and shrivelled in the heat.

Echium creticum in the drought (Photo: Steve Andrews)

One of the only plants that has stood up to the drought conditions is the Rush Skeletonweed, which is an invasive species suited to very arid and semi-desert conditions. On top of this, the local Portuguese authorities have employed teams of workers to clear the land of dry scrub and vegetation in many places. This is a new legal move aimed to be a precaution against wildfires, which have become a new ‘norm’ here.

Land clearance (Photo: Steve Andrews)
In earlier summer I have seen groups of the last of the first emergence of Meadow Browns sheltering under the shade of some old trees here. A few Scabious plants provide nectar and some grass is still alive right under the trees and under bushes. Most other butterflies, such as the Swallowtail and Small White are sustained by the gardens of the town where people water their plants, and some caterpillars can feed on Rue and and plants in the cabbage tribe respectively. But my question remains for the next brood of Meadow Browns and the Small Coppers. As for the Speckled Woods they seem to have vanished. The Meadow Brown female must find grass to lay her eggs on but there is none still green. I wonder, is it possible for the larvae to feed on dried up grass?

The Small Copper I think has an even more difficult, if not impossible task. It has to find any species of Sorrel (Rumex species) or Dock. From what I can tell from my studies in books and online there are no other food-plants. Of course, I do not have as keen a sense of sight and smell as a butterfly, but I am still very able to observe signs of life in any location. As far as I can tell, all Sorrel species have shrivelled away to the ground. I cannot find any. Meanwhile, every time I walk the woodland path here I witness several male Small Coppers in battles and chasing each other. There is an established colony and they don’t seem to mind the heat or intense sunshine. But where can the females find anywhere to lay their eggs? Had I known how bad it was going to get, maybe I could have grown some Sorrel in pots in the garden? If I had taken a pot to the Small Copper territory I am sure the females would have gladly used it for their eggs. There is no Sorrel there as as as I can see. Even flowers of any sort to provide nectar are in very short supply with just a few dried up and struggling Carline Thistles.
A mile or so from this location I was walking down the main road and came upon a single Meadow Brown female fluttering along a dried up and strimmed roadside. She did find a single Scabious in bloom that had missed the strimmer in the land clearance effort but there was no green grass anywhere to be seen. But she had her job to do, she must keep going in search of a few blades of grass on which to lay here eggs. Looking around didn't give a very optimistic outlook for her, and if she was blown or strayed into the traffic she would become another victim of roadkill. Living here in Portugal has shown me graphically one reason that butterfly species are declining: they are unable to find food-plants in good condition because the natural growing seasons have been disrupted and destroyed by the terrible effects of the Climate Crisis. I wonder how many other people here are wondering how the butterflies manage?

Help Butterflies and Moths By Butterfly Gardening and Rearing The Insects

Why we should help butterflies and moths

Small Tortoiseshells on Butterfly Bush (Photo in Public Domain/Pixabay)

Very many butterfly and moth species are suffering very serious declines in numbers due to a combination of pesticides, habitat destruction, modern farming techniques that use herbicides and monoculture, and Climate Change. Moths, which were once commonly seen flying around street lamps, and as casualties on windscreens at night are no longer there. How often do you see moths coming inside where you live at night when a door or window is open? It used to be commonplace for these insects to be attracted by the light.

We can all do our bit in helping these beautiful insects, by growing flowers in our gardens to attract and feed the adults and by cultivating plants their caterpillars need. Butterfly gardening is a great way of doing valuable conservation work. A Buddleia davidii or Butterfly Bush is a wonderful way of attracting butterflies and moths. Leaving Ivy to grow is another help because it is a food-plant for the Holly Blue and the Swallowtail Moth, and its flowers in late autumn provide nectar for the last butterflies and pollinating insects that are still around.

Rearing Moths and Butterflies at Home

Swallowtail (Photo: Steve Andrews)

It is also quite easy to rear many types of butterfly and moth at home. I do this where I live in Portugal and currently have Swallowtail and Monarch butterflies in various stages of metamorphosis, and Death’s Head Hawk Moth caterpillars.

Death's Head Hawk (Photo: Public Domain/Pixabay)

Last year I had four generations of Monarch Butterflies, all reared on Milkweed I grew in the garden here. Swallowtails are fairly common in Portugal. The species here has a caterpillar that will accept many more food-plants than the very rare British variety, which needs Milk Parsley and is only found in the Norfolk Broads. European Swallowtail larvae will eat Rue, Fennel and Carrot. I obtained the Monarchs as young caterpillars from a butterfly farm here, and the hawk moth species I bought as eggs from a company in the UK I can wholeheartedly recommend.

Death's Head Hawk caterpillar (Photo: Public Domain/Pixabay)

Worldwide Butterflies was where I obtained my first stick insects and exotic silk moth species from as a boy, and I am glad to see they are still doing well as a business that provides livestock and valuable information.

Worldwide Butterflies

Worldwide Butterflies stock many rare as well as more common species, as well as providing equipment to help your efforts to rear these insects. They are encouraging the public to buy species they can supply that are no longer common in the UK. The Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly and the Garden Tiger Moth are both in this category. The first of these was once one of our most frequently seen butterflies but this is no longer the case. Yet it is easy to cater for because its caterpillars feed on Stinging Nettles.

Garden Tiger Moth (Photo: Public Domain/Pixabay)

The Garden Tiger is a very large and attractive species with caterpillars nicknamed “Woolly Bears” because of their dense covering of fur. These larvae eat a wide variety of plants, including Dandelions, Nettles, Rhubarb and Cabbage. Why they have disappeared in the UK is still somewhat a mystery.

Worldwide Butterflies also has the beautiful Peacock Butterfly on its current list and the Painted Lady. They even have the Black Veined White, which is extinct in the UK, though surviving in Portugal and parts of Europe. The bright yellow Brimstone is another British butterfly they supply but this species must have either of the two Buckthorn species that grow in Britain for its caterpillars to eat. Worldwide Butterflies can provide various hairstreaks and fritillaries as well, and some of these are rare. The company is offering a wide variety of UK moths, including the Vapourer Moth, the Puss Moth,the Cinnabar Moth, the Emperor Moth, the Blue Underwing Moth, the Eyed Hawk Moth, Lime Hawk Moth and Privet Hawk. Check out their current catalogue. There are many exotic species available too, and whilst these can be very large and colourful, you need to keep them indoors or in greenhouses and must never release them for obvious reasons. This is why, in my opinion, it is much better to stick with butterflies and moths that are native to the country where you live.

Helping species in your area

Helping species of butterfly and moth that are already in your area makes good sense. Take a look around at what insects you see flying where you are and then find out what plants they need for their caterpillars. Growing these plants in your garden will help attract the adult insects and provide somewhere for them to lay their eggs. This is what is happening with Swallowtails here in Portugal. The females of this butterfly lay eggs on rue in the garden. I take the eggs and caterpillars indoors though because wasps eat them if left outside. Female butterflies will return to your garden if they know the plants they need to lay their eggs on are there. This happens where I live with Monarchs and Swallowtails.

A Female Monarch Laying Eggs

If you have Common Blue butterflies where you live, simply allowing clovers and trefoils to grow in your lawn will provide a place for the larvae of these butterflies. A Privet hedge provides food for the caterpillars of several moth species, including the Privet Hawk and the Swallowtail Moth. A Willow or Sallow tree can provide food for Eyed Hawk and Poplar Hawk caterpillars. Currant and Gooseberry bushes are the food of the Magpie Moth caterpillars. They used to be a lot more common than they are today. The popular Nasturtium garden flower provides food for Small and Large White caterpillars, and even these butterflies are not doing as well as they used to.

Rearing butterflies and moths and helping them with our choice of garden plants provides a lot of pleasure, a sense of achievement, and is helping conservation at a time when so many species of wildlife are threatened with extinction.

The Ecological Park Varzea in Quinta Do Conde in Portugal

A lot more to the town of Quinta Do Conde

Map of the Ecological Park (Photo: Steve Andrews)

If you were driving through on the main road through the town of Quinta do Conde in Portugal you might not think there was much to see there. You might think it was merely a typical Portuguese town with plenty of houses, apartment blocks, local businesses, a share of restaurants and bars, as well as shops, roads, and all the usual urban ingredients.  A pleasant enough place if you lived or worked there perhaps, but not a lot else there, and not much to see. However, you would be very wrong. If you are interested in nature, ecology and gardening, Quinta Do Conde has an amazing Ecological Park known as the Parque Ecológico da Várzea da Quinta do Conde. This park is actually right next to the main road, and just minutes from the busy local Continente and Pingo Doce supermarkets, but it is a real haven for wildlife, a wonderful place for relaxing, and it even has an allotment area where local people can grow fruit and vegetables.

Turtle Lake and White Storks

Lagoa Cagados (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The Ecological Park has a lake known as Lagoa Cagados, which means Turtle Lake in Portuguese and presumably refers to freshwater terrapins that can be found there. I didn’t see any any when I visited but I did see a number of frogs jumping into the water. They were Iberian Water Frogs, a species that is common here. There is a large area of swampy meadow where I have seen flocks of White Storks gather. They are easy to see from the main road and I have noticed them on my way to the shops. I expect these large birds are hunting frogs that are plentiful in the park. I saw more of these amphibians in a reedy pool but the creatures were too quick for me to get any photos.

According to an information plaque, Grey Herons also frequent the wetlands provided here. I am not surprised because there are many ponds, water canals and reed-beds. In one part there is a lookout point for birdwatchers.

Swampy Meadow Where Storks Gather (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Walking Areas

There is a system of paths and walking routes around the park, as well as areas with tables and benches where you could relax or enjoy a picnic. I was impressed with the number of small birds I saw and heard in the park, and also there were plenty of honeybees collecting nectar from the catkins of the Sallows, or “Pussy Willows” as I also know them.

Pussy Willow (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I noticed a lot of Fennel sprouting amongst the greenery, and this plant is eaten by the caterpillars of the Swallowtail Butterfly, which breeds in the park. I found a clump of Salad Burnet too, which is another edible herb.

Salad Burnet (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Woodlands

There are plenty of trees and woodland areas in the Ecological Park and many of the trees are labelled. I saw an Alder covered in catkins, and there are also Cork Oaks, Pines, and at least one Strawberry Tree. In one part of woodland I noticed a large pile of rocks. It had been fenced off and I wondered if this was intended as a place for reptiles and amphibians to shelter and hibernate in winter. It would make a great place for this. According to an information board I saw, the Viperine and Ladder Snake can be found there, as can Fire Salamanders and the Common Toad. I would not be at all surprised. It is simply a wonderful location for wildlife of most types.

Fish and amphibians (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The Allotments

Allotment (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Continuing my walk around the grounds of the Varzea Ecological Park of Quinta Do Conde, I had a look at the area given over to allotments. This area is very much for wildlife as well as people, and I noticed nest-boxes were in use to encourage nesting birds.

Nest-box (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Here in the allotment section, local gardeners grow cabbages, kale, onions, leeks and many other vegetables.

Vegetable Plot (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The plants all looked very green and healthy, and the plots of ground are watered with water from the ponds and water channels. These pools and areas of freshwater provide further areas for aquatic life, amphibians and water birds, and I could see thousands of the Mosquito Fish (Gambusia holbrooki) in one of the larger ponds. This is a fish I was used to seeing in Tenerife when I lived there some years ago. Mosquito Fish have become naturalised in many subtropical parts of the world where they were originally brought, as their name suggests, in an effort to control mosquitoes. These little fish are very adaptable and can tolerate high and low temperatures, polluted and brackish water.

Pond with water used in the allotments (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I saw a few dragonflies too and would think the park would have loads of these insects later in the year. I am lucky to have this park near to where I live so will be making many more visits and seeing what goes on there in spring and summer. I imagine the ponds will have a loud chorus of frogs and plenty of tadpoles will be swimming in the water. I love the sound of frogs croaking!

Iberian Water Frog (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Being a Butterfly

The Trials and Tribulations in the Life of a Butterfly

Speckled Wood (Photo: Pixabay)

You may think that a butterfly has an easy life because all it looks like it needs is some sunshine to fly around in and some flowers to feed from. Whilst these are requirements for the insect’s life it actually needs a lot more than that. I watch butterflies in the wild and often wonder about them. Do they manage to find mates? Will they survive the very bad weather?

The most important issue in a butterfly’s short life, which for many species is just a few weeks, is to find a mate. For a mated female, she then has to find the right plants to lay her many eggs on. Both of these seemingly simple needs can become very difficult in the world today. It doesn’t surprise me at all that very many species are experiencing a terrible decline in numbers.

Every day I walk to the local shops and my route takes me through some waste ground and woodland. I get some exercise by walking and I get to check out what is happening in the world of nature. Today I saw only one butterfly. It was a rather ragged Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) that was out and about despite the cold wind. At least it was dry and sunny. Now, this is a very common species still, and my butterfly book for Portugal tells me they can be seen all year round here, but nevertheless, it was the only one of its kind flying in the area I walked through. Imagine if this was a very rare species. What would its chances be like for finding another of its type, and one of the opposite sex?

Spanish Festoon

Last year I saw a Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina). I had never seen one before, apart from in books. If it was a female and if it had already mated its job in life was to find some Birthwort (Aristolochia longa) to lay its eggs on. I have been here nearly four years, have a very good eye for spotting plants, and have not seen any examples of this plant, or any related species in the pipevine family that the butterfly can also use as a foodplant. This Butterfly Corner website about the species says: “Because of the rarity of larval food, the Spanish Festoon is not common.” This doesn’t surprise me at all, and is a very good example showing how dependent butterflies are on having the right plants available for their caterpillars.

3-winged Monarch (Photo: Steve Andrews)

When I lived in Tenerife, I remember seeing how strongly a female butterfly is driven to laying her eggs on the correct plants. My cat had caught a female Monarch (Danaus plexippus) but I was quick enough to rescue it. Only one big problem: it now only had three wings. Nevertheless, once it had recovered it flew away, only to return an hour later to the potted Tropical Milkweed I had now moved up onto the wall. The butterfly was laying her eggs and she came back every day for the next two weeks. She ignored the danger of my cat and she managed to fly despite losing a wing.

Mallow Skipper

Yes, finding the right plants and finding mates can be a real problem. I remember, last year, I saw a Mallow Skipper (Carcharodus alceae) in the garden. I know this is a fairly common species, although I had not seen one before, but what struck me was that we were in hot drought conditions, and any mallow plants had long shrivelled up in the heat. If this was a female butterfly where would she lay her eggs? Certainly not in the garden here or on local waste ground where mallow plants are common earlier in the year.

Red Admiral (Photo: Pixabay)

If you are a male Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), you are driven to look for a female of your species. I watched one last year that appeared to have set up territory in a patch of scrubland that borders on a small forest. Every sunny day I walked through this patch of ground I saw him. I guessed he was waiting patiently in the hope a female Red Admiral would fly into his territory. I am pretty certain it was the same butterfly because it was always in the same location, and there was always only one. Did he ever find a mate, or did he die a failed and lonely batchelor butterfly? I shall never know but it is something I have wondered about.

Everybody’s Talking About American Monarch Butterflies

American Monarchs are in the news

Male Monarch Butterfly, Female Monarch (Photos: Steve Andrews)

Every time the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) makes the news it is the latest on the iconic insect’s struggles in America, where it has migrated in billions from Canada and the northern states down to California and Mexico each autumn. Over the past decade there have been reports of the butterfly’s alarming decline, due to habitat loss, pesticides, herbicides, disease and climate change. Modern farming using the herbicide Roundup (Glyphosate) on maize and soya-bean crops, is eliminating the once common milkweed species that grew in farmlands throughout the United States.  Legal and illegal felling of trees in Mexico in areas where the monarch overwintered is another big problem.

A disease known as “OE,” which is the abbreviation for Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, a protozoan parasite, takes its toll on the butterflies causing severe weakness, and cripples with deformed wings that do not live long. Some butterflies are so weak they fail to be able to emerge from their chrysalises, others that do die shortly after. It appears that OE is widely distributed among all Monarch populations. The microscopic spores are spread from infected adult butterflies onto the leaves of milkweed plants. Caterpillars that eat them become infected. OE is not a threat to other types of butterfly apart from other species in the Danaus genus.

It is very distressing to see how badly Monarch butterflies have been doing in recent years, and there is even talk of the butterfly being threatened with extinction.

Saving the Monarch

Conservationists and concerned citizens of America have been doing all they can to halt the decline in Monarchs and to help the butterfly survive in great numbers again. One of the main methods being used is the cultivation of milkweed (Asclepias) species. Many people have taken to growing these plants and rearing the butterflies in captivity by keeping, eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises indoors or in protective enclosures. The idea is to keep them safe from predators, such as wasps.

Tropical Milkweed (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The problem with these methods is that one of the most commonly grown milkweeds known as Tropical Milkweed (A. curassavica) is a non-native species that is suited to tropical and subtropical areas. With warmer weather due to climate change it is being grown in many places where once it would not have survived. It can cause a very real problem because it can build up large numbers of OE spores and become a source of infection. This happens in places like Florida where it is warm enough for the plant to grow all year around. This also means that Monarchs can continue to breed in such areas and will not have any need to fly elsewhere. Many scientists and Monarch conservation and research groups, such as the Xerces Society, are recommending that only native milkweeds should be grown. This is good advice. There are many species of Asclepias that grow in all zones of North America and right up into Canada. These plants die down for the winter and resume growth again the following year. These native species do not allow the build-up of OE on them. These endemic milkweeds encourage the Monarchs to migrate because it means that late in the year there are no food-plants available for the females to lay their eggs on. It was all working really well until humans interfered by destroying milkweeds with herbicide and then, in an effort to help, by growing a plant not native to the north American states. The Tropical Milkweed is getting a bad name but the reason is due to the very real problems it can cause in America. However, in some places there is no other choice!

Elsewhere in the World

Female Monarch on Balloonplant (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Monarchs live in non-migratory populations in many other parts of the world, including the Canary Islands, Portugal, Spain, New Zealand and Australia. In these countries there are no native milkweeds, and indeed, the butterflies have only been able to colonise large areas due to the prevalence of the introduced Tropical Milkweed and two other plants that were formerly in the Asclepias genus. The Balloonplant (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) and the Swan Milkweed (G. fruticosus) are naturalised in all the places named above and are both used as Monarch caterpillar food-plants.

Female Monarch returns to my garden to lay eggs on Tropical Milkweed

I lived in Tenerife in the Canary islands for nine years, and it was there that I started successfully rearing Monarchs. I fed the caterpillars on Tropical Milkweed, which is the only milkweed found on the island, apart from very occasional specimens of the Gomphocarpus species. It is because the Tropical Milkweed was brought to the island as an ornamental garden flower that Monarchs were able to colonise Tenerife, where it is said they were first seen back in 1887. How they reached the islands is uncertain. Now that Monarchs are on Tenerife, they have no need for migration because, although it gets plenty of snow and ice up on Mt Teide, around the coasts and in the south, the temperatures remain warm enough for Tropical Milkweed to keep growing and the butterflies to keep breeding. The situation is similar in parts of mainland Spain and Portugal where this non-native milkweed has been grown in gardens and where the Gomphocarpus species have become naturalised.

Monarch Butterflies in Portugal

Recently eclosed Monarchs (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I have lived in Portugal for the past four years, and this year I was successful in rearing four generations of Monarchs with the caterpillars feeding on plants of Tropical Milkweed and Balloonplant I managed to grow enough of in the garden here. I had at least 30 butterflies each time. The last lot of adult butterflies emerged in late November but where they went I have no way of knowing. I have cut what was left of the milkweeds down to short stalks so if any females came back they would have found nowhere to lay their eggs. I originally obtained eggs from someone I know who has a butterfly farm up in Aveiro further north. He tells me there are no Monarchs there in winter and he gets his eggs sent up each year from the Algarve. According to As Borboletas De Portugal, a Portuguese butterfly book I have, along with the Algarve, the northern coastal city of Aveiro, is one of the only places that Monarchs can be found in the country. Is this because of the butterfly farmer I know there, or are there naturally occurring wild ones, and how did they get there? I have been told that the butterflies can sometimes be seen in the Lisbon area too. Where did they come from? Did they migrate from the south? I often wonder what happens in winter. Do any Monarchs go south here to the Algarve where there are non-migratory populations or do all the butterflies in central and northern parts, such as the ones I released, simply live short lives and fail to breed due to the cold weather and lack of food-plants. There is very little information available online or in books about the behaviour of Monarchs in Portugal and Spain, and indeed in Europe. Is anyone else studying these butterflies here apart from me? Google for information on Monarchs and most of the results are about those in America.

I have had the idea that the non-migratory resident Monarch populations, wherever they are worldwide, are forming a genetic reservoir of the species. If its migratory populations ever do become extinct, the species could be reintroduced by moving some from the resident colonies elsewhere.

The Wanderer

I have wondered whether as climate change causes milder winters would the butterflies colonise other more northerly countries if the non-native food-plants grew in sufficient numbers there? Would any Monarchs eventually evolve into a migratory form like their American cousins? A very small number of Monarchs reach the UK some years but are unable to breed due to lack of any type of milkweed growing there and are unable to survive the cold winters. But the fact that they got there at all reveals their wandering nature, which is why an alternative name for the Monarch Butterfly is the Wanderer.

Salisbury Wildlife and the Avon Valley Nature Reserve

Visiting Salisbury

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire for a few days and fell in love with the place. I was happy to see that wildlife is thriving here, despite increasing declines in species throughout much of the UK.

Cinnabar Moth caterpillars (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Even in the heart of the city I spotted Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) caterpillars on Ragwort. There were plenty of these brightly-coloured caterpillars on plants growing on the riverbank right by the Waitrose supermarket. These larvae have orange bodies, banded with black rings. The adult moth is also a very pretty creature with red and black wings. It flies by day and could easily be thought to be a butterfly. This moths caterpillars eat various species of Ragwort and Groundsel (Senecio species). Although these plants are classed as weeds they are very important sources of life for many additional species, in addition to the caterpillars of the Cinnabar Moth. The Buglife charity, which is concerned with the conservation of invertebrates, has reported that over 30 other species of insect depend on Ragwort alone.

Avon Valley Local Nature Reserve

King Arthur Pendragon, Kazz and Chris Stone (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I was in Britain for Summer Solstice at Stonehenge and also visiting my friends, author Chris Stone, and Druid and eco-warrior King Arthur Pendragon and his partner Kazz. Arthur and Kazz live locally and they suggested we could go on a walk in the nature reserve that is on the banks of the River Avon. I love nature, so was happy to agree to their suggestion, and was very highly impressed with what I saw.

River Avon (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The River Avon looked really clean and there were very many fish that could easily be seen swimming in the current. I spotted Brown Trout (Salmo trutta), Minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus), and what looked like Dace (Leuciscus leuciscus).

A Shoal of Fish (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Meadowsweet (Photo: Steve Andrews)

There are extensive water meadows bordering the river too, and in the marshy ground was plenty of Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) in bloom. It has a most amazing perfume that reminds of summer meadows and freshly mown grass, and is a most beautiful herb that is actually in the rose family (Rosaceae).

As well as Meadowsweet, there  were plenty of Creeping Thistles (Cirsium arvense) in flower, and also the very poisonous, but attractive to insect pollinators, Hemlock Water Dropwort (Oenanthe crocata). Kazz spotted a colourful moth feeding on the nectar from this dangerous plant, and she asked me what it was. It was a Scarlet Tiger Moth (Callimorpha dominula), a pretty moth that flies by day, and is of interest because it is unusual for being able to feed. Most other species of tiger moths have no mouth-parts and do all their feeding as larvae.

Scarlet Tiger Moth (Photo: Steve Andrews)

On the thistles I saw several Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) butterflies. This was a good sign because this once common species has been declining fast in the UK over the past few years. There were plenty of clumps of Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) growing nearby, and this is its main food-plant for its caterpillars.

Small Tortoiseshell on Thistle (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Water Voles 

Avon Valley Info Board (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Near a bridge over the Avon there was an information board showing species of wildlife that can be found on the reserve. I was happy to see the Water Vole (Arvicola amphibious) included. This is a British mammal that has become increasingly rare, so it was very good news to see that it is holding its own here. Kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) too frequent the area I learned, and I was not surprised, because it is an ideal habitat with plenty of small fish they can hunt.

Elsewhere in Salisbury

Steve Andrews in Salisbury

 I also went for an evening stroll with Chris around Salisbury and around the area outside Salisbury Cathedral. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful and it was a glorious summer evening. I was really impressed with how there was no litter to be seen, no graffiti, and no damage to trees of the city, unlike elsewhere in the UK, where trees are being felled with the support of local councils. How is it that Salisbury doesn’t appear to have the problems other towns and cities have I wondered? “I would love to live in Salisbury,” I told Chris. “I think you will find properties here are very expensive,” he told me. He also pointed out that Salisbury is a Tory stronghold, and suggested that might have something to do with how it is there. He was right that houses and flats in the city are very expensive to buy and rent, and also that the Conservative party is in power there.

In no way do I support the Tories, but it got me thinking about how it seems that it is mostly Labour councils that are behind the destruction of so many city trees in Britain. For example, this is the case in Sheffield, a city that has made world news with regard to the thousands of trees that have been felled there by Amey Plc with the support of Labour politicians. I haven’t done the research yet but I wonder how many cities have lost their street trees due to corrupt Labour councillors?