Small photograph of a Small Tortoiseshell Click on the image to enlarge
Great Yeldham
24 Mar 2012
Small photograph of a Small Tortoiseshell Click on the image to enlarge
Great Yeldham
8 April 2011
Small photograph of a Small Tortoiseshell Click on the image to enlarge
Fleam Dyke, Cambs.
5 May 2013
Small photograph of a Small Tortoiseshell Click on the image to enlarge
Great Yeldham
20 June 2011
Small photograph of a Small Tortoiseshell Click on the image to enlarge
Great Yeldham
24 June 2011
Small photograph of a Small Tortoiseshell Click on the image to enlarge
Great Yeldham
29 June 2011
Small photograph of a Small Tortoiseshell Click on the image to enlarge
Great Yeldham
29 June 2011
Small photograph of a Small Tortoiseshell Click on the image to enlarge
Ouse Washes
12 Aug 2012
Small photograph of a Small Tortoiseshell Click on the image to enlarge
Great Yeldham
1 Sept 2011
Small photograph of a Small Tortoiseshell Click on the image to enlarge
Great Yeldham
15 Sept 2012

The Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae

The Small Tortoiseshell is not very common here. The best recent day was 20th June 2011, with three on the Self Heal on the front lawn and the Nepeta next to it. The lawn had not been cut in the previous month of dry weather.

It is thought that the arrival of a fresh parasitic wasp contributes to its reduced numbers.

The larval food plants are nettles. This species overwinters as adults which hibernate in dry places. The overwintered adults emerge in spring to produce the first of two broods. The adults of the first brood emerge in late June and July to produce the second brood which emerges in August and September.

Internal links: Ouse Washes . Butterfly list . Main Gallery . Daily records

External links: British Butterflies by Steven Cheshire . UK Butterflies by Peter Eeles
B.M. Cockayne database for forms and aberrations.

MOST SEEN ON ANY ONE DAY - Small Tortoiseshell sightings at Roseland House, garden and paddock (from daily counts).
March April May June July August Sept Oct Notes
2011 1 3 0 3 0 1 1 0 July - early Aug v. wet.
2012 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 April - mid July v. wet. Aug - mid Sept dry.
2013 0 3 Winter wet, March and early April, cold.

AVERAGE SEEN PER COUNTING DAY - Small Tortoiseshell sightings at Roseland House, garden and paddock (from daily counts).
March April May June July August Sept Oct Notes
2011 0.3 0.2 0 0.6 0 0.1 0.2 0
2012 0.8 0 0 0 0 0.03 0.2 0
2013 0 0.5
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20 May 2013