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Birds, Butterflies and Orchids: June around Beverley

Wet, cool, a bit miserable, but it’s summer, and the wildlife is happy.

Well, maybe not this bedraggled Wood Pigeon fledgling that landed on our garden feeder.

Too big to be prey for this Greater

Spotted Woodpecker that’s been feeding

regularly. I was surprised to read that a

quarter of blue tit nest boxes were

predated by woodies in a recent study

(cited by Richard Shillaker’s posting on

the Hull Nats website news page). They

just drill holes through the front door,

but this can be prevented with wire

netting.

I’ve been seizing every sunny day to

search for butterflies. Skippers can be a

challenge (large, small or even Essex?)

but there are marvellous websites and

helpful groups on Facebook.

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This one above is, I believe, a Small

Skipper, with fairly plain under wings. I

could see the male sex brand on the

upper wing, a fine line at a slight angle to

the edge of the wing. The ones on the

next page are Large Skippers, with more

mottled wings and the male (top) has a

bigger, smudgier sex brand. The female

has none, and also has black antennae.

The antennae on the Large Skippers have

a pronounced hook on the end.

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Above: male Large

Skipper. The sex brands

produce scent

pheromones to attract

the female.

Below: female Large

Skipper.

These Skipper butterflies

feed on the nectar of

many plants but lay their

eggs on grasses. The

favourite larval grasses of

the Small Skippers are

Yorkshire Fog, and of

Large Skippers Cock’s-

foot.

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Chalk Grasslands are great for butterflies. The Marbled White can be seen in large numbers in chalk

quarries like Kiplingcotes Chalk Pit and Wharram Quarry. This one is feeding on an early-flowering

Greater Knapweed which grows at Kiplingcotes. The underwings are also beautifully marked.

The Marbled Whites

love to nectar on purple

flowers so can be found

on scabious and

thistles. They are more

site-specific than most

of our commoner

butterflies so it’s worth

seeking out wildflower-

rich chalk quarries or

wildlife corridors like

the Hudson Way to find

them.

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This is a day-flying

Companion Burnet Moth

which is common in

unimproved chalk grasslands

in early June.

Below is a common Cinnabar

Moth which I also found at

Kiplingcotes, although its

main food larval plant is

Ragwort. The poison ingested

from Ragwort protects the

caterpillars but also the

emergent adults. The bright

colours are warning signs to

hungry birds.

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Also common in these

chalk grasslands is the

Common Blue.

I found the mating ritual

of these two at

Kiplingcotes fascinating.

In the top picture the

male (below) is stroking

the wing of the female

(above). In the bottom

picture they have moved

onto a Bladder Campion

where the mating is

taking place. This time

the female is below.

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This Willow Warbler was singing on a Hawthorn at Kiplingcotes. I also saw these birds feeding on

Cow Parsley by the roadsides before flying back up into the trees.

This tiny Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis

arvensis) likes dry and stony

conditions like those at Kiplingcotes.

Its flowers only open as the sun

comes out.

Also appearing in the quarries are the

Common-spotted and Pyramidal

Orchids (Dactylorhiza fuschii and

Anacamptis pyramidalis), a lovely

sight every year.

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Above: Common

Spotted Orchid at

Wharram Quarry,

with its

characteristic

leaves. It’s growing

with Rattle

(Rhinanthus minor),

an annual hemi-

parasitic plant that

obtains part of its

food from the roots

of grasses, which

allows wildflowers

space to grow.

Left: Pyramidal

Orchid at

Kiplingcotes Chalk

Pit.

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This orchid I saw on Mappleton Cliffs, with a Six-spot Burnet moth on it. Like the Cinnabars, these

moths use chemical weaponry, hydrogen cyanide in this case, which the caterpillars metabolise from

their main food plant, Bird’s-foot Trefoil.

As for the orchid I would say it’s Northern Marsh (Dactylorhiza purpurella), but the Dactylorhiza

species hybridise freely among themselves, and this region is the boundary between the Southern

(Dactylorhiza praetermissa) and Northern Marsh territories. The Dactylorhiza orchids are deceivers.

They attract pollinating insects with their lurid colours but carry no nectar. It’s thought that the

range of colours and marking of this genus of the orchid family are part of their armoury to trick

pollinators into visiting several non-productive plants before they learn they’re wasting energy.

Here on the cliffs at Mappleton in mid-June I saw this summer’s first Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera). It

demonstrates an extraordinary sexual mimicry and deceptiveness. Despite its sophisticated ability

to look like a bee and thus attract pollinators, in fact it’s believed that in our latitudes, bee orchids

have lost their bee partners and are all self-pollinated clones. This would explain why there is so

little variety in patterning among our native bee orchid population compared to that of southern

Europe.

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These cliffs of glacial till

have sported many

Opium Poppies (Papaver

somnifera) this year,

which have appeared

almost everywhere, in

pavement cracks all over

Beverley. I suspect the

hot May was responsible

for this, as it’s originally a

native of the

Mediterranean. These

poppies are the source of

edible seeds, and the

latex in the unripe seed

heads gives us opium.

Below: Bee Orchid

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On Mappleton Cliffs I also saw my first Painted Lady of the summer, probably at least a second-

generation born during the great migration from North Africa. Like all good nomads, the Painted

Lady butterflies leave no trace when they disappear in the autumn. It was only in the late 90s that

researchers realised that they did not die off but made the return journey to North Africa on high-

altitude air currents. So, a generation or two further on, the descendants of this creature might

make that journey.

We don’t know why they make this migration. One theory is around the prevalence of a predatory

wasp in North Africa that attacks the larvae. 2019 was a very good year for these migrants, but I

haven’t seen many this year to date. This Red Clover is one their preferred food plants.

The chalk cliffs of the Flamborough area, the most northerly in the UK, are also rich in wildflowers as

well as their world-famous seabird colonies and glorious scenery.

Here on p. 12 is part of a swarm of Northern Marsh Orchids, possibly hybrids, on the cliffs around

Thornwick Bay, and below, Sea Mayweed (Tripleurospermum maritimum) grows on the clifftop

looking north to Bempton.

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The chalk cliffs here are heavily

faulted, which makes for some

magnificent cave and inlet

formations with a variety of life.

Great fun to be had at low tide.

This is the area where you’ll see

most of the chalk buildings in

East Yorkshire, including what’s

left of Flamborough Castle and

the old lighthouse.

On page 14 , the eroded clifftops

of glacial till above the hard

chalk looking south.

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At the southern end of the chalk is Welton, where quarrying of the clays has left Welton Water as an

amenity. Nearby, on ‘wasteland’ is a lovely wildflower meadow rich in Hedge and Lady’s Bedstraw

(Gallium verum and mollugo), where butterflies romp.

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Above are a pair of mating Meadow

Browns, our commonest butterfly.

The duller male is below.

Left are a pair of Ringlets, both seen

near Welton Water. It’s harder to tell

the sexes apart.

Always look for courting butterflies as

their preoccupation makes them easy

to photograph.

Helen Kitson June 2020