Butterflies and foodplants

On some of the roadside banks and on the canal banks, you can see the small bright yellow Bird's-foot-trefoil in bloom at this stage of the summer. It's an important foodplant for pollinating insects.

Common Bird's-foot-trefoil (Succisa pratensis)

On our weekly monitoring of butterflies near the Royal Canal both east and west of Baltrasna Bridge we've observed increased numbers of the Common Blue butterfly. They are difficult to photograph as they fly rapidly. Here's an image of one in a bug jar showing the foodplant.

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

Earlier this month, we received a report from Richella Duggan of the local branch of BirdWatch Ireland that she had seen dozens of Marsh Fritillary butterflies at a site east of Baltrasna Bridge. It's main foodplant is Devil's-bit Scabious. Whereas this plant is not uncommon, the butterflies additionally require dense tussock grass in which the larvae overwinter.

Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis)

 We visited the site on Sunday afternoon and counted more than 100 of these butterflies and observed many breeding pairs. This is of national significance. The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland recorded that the range for the butterfly was declining with numbers falling drastically in many European countries due to intensive farming systems.

Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia)