Small Heath
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Gosfield
20 May 2014
Small photograph of a Small Heath
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Canvey Island
23 May 2012
Small photograph of a Small Heath
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Canvey Island
24 May 2012
Small photograph of a Small Heath
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Great Yeldham
1 June 2011
Small photograph of a Small Heath
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Devil's Dyke, Cambs.
26 June 2011
Small photograph of a Small Heath
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Great Yeldham
16 Aug 2009
Small Heath
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Roseland House
25 Aug 2019
Small Heath
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Roseland House
25 Aug 2019
Small photograph of a Small Heath
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Aston Rowant
26 Aug 2012
Small photograph of a Small Heath
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Great Yeldham
1 Sept 2010

The Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

The Small Heath is quite scarce locally, usually with just one or two individuals being seen at a time. I have seen large numbers on Canvey Island and localised colonies at the Devil's Dyke, Newmarket and on Therfield Heath, Royston.
It produces two broods per year, with adults on the wing from May to September with peaks in June and August. The larval foodplants are various grasses, and it over-winters as a larva.

Unlike the Gatekeeper the undersides of the resting wings show only one, not two white spots in the large black fore-wing spot. The arrangement of the spots on the hind-wings is also different from the Gatekeeper and from the Meadow Brown. The upper sides of the wings lack the dark edgings of those two species.

Internal links: Home . Butterfly list . Main Gallery . Aston Rowant . Canvey Island . Devils Dyke

External links to Small Heath pages: British Butterflies by Steven Cheshire . UK Butterflies by Peter Eeles
Search menu at Cockayne database for forms and aberrations

Adults in flight: MOST SEEN on ANY ONE DAY in early, mid and late month thirds.
Small Heath sightings at Roseland House, Great Yeldham.   All species numbers
March April May June July August Sept Oct
2011 - - - - - - - - - 1 1 - - - - - - - 1 - - - - -
2012 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2013 - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - - 1 2 1 - - - - -
2014 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
2015 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - - -
2016 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - 1 - - - - - -
2017 - - - - - - - - - 1 1 - - - - - 1 1 - - - - - -
2018 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - 1 1 2 1 - - - - -
2019 - - - - - - - - - - 1 3 - 1 - - 1 5 2 1 - - - -
2020 - - - - - - - 1 3 3 7 6 - - - 3 4 3 2 - - - -
2021 - - - - - - - - 1 2 3 2 2 1 - - - - - - - - - -
2022 - - - - - - - 2 2 - 1 - - - - 3 2 3 1 - - - - -
2023 - - - - - - - - 3 2 1 1 1 - - 2 2 2 3 1 - - - -

Weather notes:
2011. July - early August very wet.
2012. April - mid July very wet. August to mid September dry.
2013. Winter wet, March and early April, very cold. The rest of the spring was mostly cold. July, mostly very warm. August, warm.
2014. Winter very wet, mild. Spring was early, colder in mid April. Summer to early August, warm without a drought.
2015. Winter normal, March, April - May mostly cold. Sallow flowers opened on March 28 - 29th. Summer, fairly normal.
2016. Winter normal. Sallow flowers opened on April 2 - 3rd. Spring mostly cool and breezy. For a few weeks in late spring there was heavy rainfall and saturated soil and vegetation. Late summer with hot, dry periods.
2017. Winter mildish, hardly any frost. Sallow flowers opened on March 14 - 15th. Warm spells in March. April mostly dry and chilly. First Creeping Thistle flowers open on June 13th, followed by about 7 days of heat wave. Early July was very warm, excellent for counting butterflies. Late summer, autumn normal.
2018. Winter normal with a few days of settled snow. Sallow flowers open on March 26th. March, April mostly cold and wet, May warm. June 11, Bramble flowers opening to greet first Large Skippers. Mid June to early August, very hot and dry. Autumn mostly dry.
2019. Winter normal. Hardly any frost. Sallow flowers seen on March 10th. Spring mostly cool apart from Easter heatwave. May 31, Bramble flowers starting to open. June 1, Buckthorn in full bloom. Dryish summer with some heatwaves.
2020. Mildish winter. Sallow flowers open March 10th. Spring mostly cool. Several warm days in early April and through May. May 28 Bramble flowers opening. Record dry May. June nectar sources mostly Buttercups in the unmown paths, and Brambles.
2021.Winter normal. Very wet, early spring then cold. Sallow flowers opened on March 23rd. Summer with a few hot spells and moderate rain.
2022. Winter, normal. Sallow flowers open on March 18th. Bramble flowers open May 28. Summer, mostly very dry with long hot spells.
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6 June 2013