Glasgow & SW Scotland Butterflies

Female Wall Brown at Pinbain

At Pinbain we saw a total of 20 Wall Browns (mostly females), a single Northern Brown Argus (male), 4 Painted Ladies, 1 Large White, 1 Small White and 7 Green-veined whites. There were also 2 silver Y moths buzzing around, 6 yellow Shell moths and a common marbled carpet.

Northern Brown Argus

Potter Wasp, Pinbain

We then set off for Bennane head, parking just off the old A77. After a quick lunch everyone was keen to get close views of the butterflies that seemed to be everywhere we looked! Painted ladies were very common here. Wall browns and small coppers were busy chasing each other when not basking on rocks or on the tarmac. Large whites, small whites and green-veined whites were all present, which made ID a bit more tricky so there was lots of fun had chasing after all the whites to get a confirmation.

Painted Ladies on Scabioius Bennane Head

A sighting of an male orange tip dipping just out of sight led us to a sheltered little nook that had a small copper, a very fresh looking northern brown argus (male) and a large skipper (male) all within a few meters of each other.

Northern Brown Argus at Bennane head

Large Skipper at Bennane Head

At Bennane Head we saw: 80+ Painted Ladies, 15 Wall Browns (possibly more), 7 Large Whites, 4 Small Whites, 10 Green-veined Whites, 2 Orange-tips, 6 Small Coppers, 1 Large Skipper, 1 Northern Brown Argus and 2 Small Heath. Moths included: Silver-ground carpets, Silver Ys, Mother Shiptons, Yellow shell, a Wood tiger and 2 adult 6-spot Burnets (LOTS of Burnet Caterpillars and their distinctive yellow cocoons everywhere!). One interesting observation was 6-spot burnet caterpillars feeding on wild thyme (as well as the more normal Bird’s-foot trefoil).

6-spot Burnet on Scabious

Wood Tiger at Bennane Head

6-spot Burnet caterpillar

Wall Browns Mating, Bennane Head

Everyone had a great day, with all of the target species seen and lots of first sightings too.

Painted Lady feeding