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Are there Butterflies in your garden, in April?

Simone_in_WiltshireSimone_in_Wiltshire Posts: 1,073
in Wildlife gardening
Hello gardeners,

I noticed the first butterfly when neighbour's cherry tree flowered around the 26 of March. It was a Peacock butterfly. Since then I have seen Brown Butterflies (or might be Gatekeeper), Common Blue Butterflies, and white butterflies.
As far as I remember, I normally saw the first butterflies around May.
What kind of butterflies do you have seen in your garden so far?

I ♥ my garden.

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Posts

  • joanna65joanna65 Posts: 75
    Speckled woods and small blues here in Essex. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Small Tortoiseshells, and a couple of Peacocks. They're our usual, earliest visitors, although the warmer, drier weather has helped. Usually towards the end of the month before we see them.  There was a little orange tip in the garden later yesterday afternoon when I got home.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    Peacocks and orange tips - all around my Choisya yesterday.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    We’ve had more early butterflies than usual too … I remarked on it the other day … Brimstones, Orange Tips, Small Tortoiseshells, Common Blues and more Peacocks than I’ve seen in a long while. 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • BlueBirderBlueBirder Posts: 212
    edited April 2022
    Are the blues you're seeing @Dovefromabove and @Simone_in_Wiltshire definitely common blues, not Holly blue? It would be very early for common blue I think - flight period normally from mid-may. But Holly blues fly from March.
  • EmptyheadtimeEmptyheadtime Posts: 366
    I spotted a cabbage white butterfly on my veg plot last weekend. There is nothing of interest in there for him just now so he carried on his way.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Holly blues ,speckled wood, brimstone, orange tip. Tortoiseshell , peacock.  There does seem to be a lot of brimstones this year.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I did look for a dark border to the wings @BlueBirder ... we do see Holly Blues in this area because we have a fair bit of old woodland with hollies and a lot of ivy around ... but couldn't see the border so presumed they were Common Blues ... of course it could be that they were just too quick for me ... they wouldn't settle anywhere down lowish where I coud see them properly, of course, so I had to spot them on the wing ... 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Very small and slightly larger blue butterflies, orange tips and a couple of peacocks. As has been said, l remember thinking they seemed to be around much earlier this year.
  • BlueBirderBlueBirder Posts: 212
    @Dovefromabove the best way to tell them apart is to look at the underside- common blues have a mixture of orange, black and white spots and Holly blues have little fine black dots. Holly blues also tend to fly higher than common blues :)
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