Small Tortoiseshell butterfly
Aglais urticae
family Nymphalidae
The wings of the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly are mainly orange and brown on the top. There are patches of colour along the front edge of the forewing which are dark brown, pale yellow and white. There are also blue marks along the border of the other edges.
Underneath, the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly is mainly dark brown but with a band of light brown.
My personal observations of Small Tortoiseshell butterfly
months seen in my garden: March to November, largest numbers in August to September
garden plants that attract this species:
Aster, Aubrieta, Buddleia, Candytuft, Ceanothus, Cirsium, Clethra, Coneflower, Cotoneaster,Crocus, Dandelion, Escallonia, Field Scabious, Forget-me-not, Hebe, Helichrysum, Heliotrope, Hemp Agrimony, Hydrangea, Hyssop, Lavender, Linum Perenne, Lobelia, Marigold, Mint, Muscari, Pot Marigold, Red Valerian, Sedum, Skimmia, Solidago, Sweet William, Thyme, Toadflax, Verbena, Virginian Stock, Zinnia
Butterfly sightings 2005:
First sighting of Small
Tortoiseshell on Celandine, 18 March
Small Tortoiseshell
on Crocus, 18 March
Small Tortoiseshell
on Forget-me-not, 25 March
Small Tortoiseshell
on Aubrieta, 25 March
Seen in garden, 23 and 26 July, 1 and 17 August
Seen at Whitesheet hill, 21 August
Two on Sedum spectabile, 28 August
3-4 Small Tortoiseshells throughout day, 30 August
One on Verbena bonariensis at Berkeley Castle, 3 September
Several on Hemp agrimony at Coaley Peak, 3 September
On Water Mint at Matara
garden, 4 September
On Sedum spectabile, 9 and 12 September
Feeding on Aster at Upton
House, 2 October
Butterfly sightings 2004:
This butterfly emerges from hibernation in the Spring and goes searching for a mate:-
Small Tortoiseshell on Muscari,
30 March
Small Tortoiseshell on Dandelion,
30 March
Small Tortoiseshell on Skimmia,
2 April
The first generation for the current year then appear in early Summer:
Small Tortoiseshell on Verbena
rigida, 18 June
Small Tortoiseshell on Candytuft,
19 June
Small Tortoiseshell on Escallonia,
22 June
Small Tortoiseshell on Hebe,
22 June
Small Tortoiseshell on Marigold,
25 June
Small Tortoiseshell on Cotoneaster,
28 June
I was admitted to hospital on 15 July for 4 months so there are no photos for the later part of the year.
Top 10 memorable images of 2003:
I had a total of 413 digital images of Small Tortoiseshell saved from my digital camera plus slides from my SLR. It was a hard choice picking 10 from that selection!
Small Tortoiseshell resting
on Pittosporum. August 8. Love the contrast between the foliage and the
butterfly's wings.
Mud-puddling. Side view
of Small Tortoiseshell. July 27. Butterflies don't just like the nectar
from flowers; they like rotting fruit and dung. This Small Tortoiseshell
was extracting nutrients from the track at the entrance to a nearby farm.
See the Proboscis (feeding
tube). August 8. Arguably the best photo of a Small Tortoiseshell from 2003.
Sat on Verbena bonariensis.
Face to face. August 19.
Sat on Sedum spectabile not yet in flower.
4 Small Tortoiseshells
on Buddleia. August 8. Very hot. Two days before the British highest recorded
temperature record was broken. Lots of butterflies in the garden.
8 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies
on Buddleia 'White Profusion'. August 8 early in the morning - later in
the day they folded their wings together to avoid getting too hot. 8 was
the maximum number of butterflies in one photo. in 2003 and sets my record
to beat in 2004. Can you do better?
3 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on
Hebe Josephine. August 30. Saw a maximum of six at any one time on this
shrub.
On blue Hyssop. August
24. Opened the kitchen blind on Saturday 23 August to the amazing sight
of 13 Small Tortoiseshells on this one plant. The plant was covered with
Small Tortoiseshells over the next few days and my maximum number reached
a count of 23 (plus 3 Small Whites). Photography couldn't do justice to
the real life picture - settled for this shot as an example.
Caught. August 30. As summer
ends the garden is criss-crossed with spider's webs and each day 1-2 Small
Tortoiseshells could be found wrapped up as Garden Spider food-parcel. This
one was freed by a friendly human.
4 in a row (with a Painted
Lady) on Zinnia. August 12. Stourhead Gardens (National Trust) Wilts. I
was amused by this line up.
A selection of images from previous years:
5 September 2002 on Coneflower
5 September 2002 on Scabious
September 2002 in my bathroom
6 July 2002 on Candytuft
- top view
6 July 2002 on Candytuft
- side view
26 March 2002 on Muscari
September 2001 on Helichrysum
August 2000 - side view
17 September 1999 on Hebe
16 September 1999 on Kentranthus
observations:
Every summer from 1997 there have been more Small Tortoiseshell butterflies than any other butterfly species in my garden. On Sunday 24 August 2003, I recorded that there were approx. 20 in each of the front & back garden (total 40). They were mainly feeding on Sedum spectabile and Hyssop.
Small Tortoiseshell butterflies have wide-ranging tastes in nectar sources - see the plant list above. The best plants for attracting them are Buddleia, Verbena, Hyssop, Sedum, Hebe and Marigold.
Reference Section
Size: 50-56mm (similar size to Small White - see list of butterflies by size)
First Generation flight period: June-Aug
Second Generation flight period: Aug-May (over-winters as butterfly)
Habitat:
Larval Food Plants: Nettles
Wild Nectar Plants: Celandine, Dandelion, Field Scabious, Hemp Agrimony,
Wild Thyme
Family Group: Nymphalidae - see list of butterflies by family