Summers never seem long enough here in the UK, and later in June there’ll be the summer solstice, after which the days will begin getting shorter again. So all we can do is make the best of these long days and short nights by being outdoors as much as possible to soak it all up.
Having breakfast outside gives me a chance to see the insects warming up for the day, as I get ready for the day myself. At first there are only bumblebees, which are able to warm their bodies up and so can fly even when it’s cold outside. As the sun gets up the bees are joined by butterflies, and the day really starts then. I’ve noticed that on really hot days many insects seem to have a bit of a siesta, disappearing around noon and coming out again in the afternoon. Then on warm nights I often sit outside until it gets too dark to see, and this can be the best time to discover the moths of the garden.
If you look at butterflies every day you usually notice the first appearance of new species, but the disappearance of others is less noteworthy. By now most of our Orange-tips will be gone for the year, leaving only their caterpillars which will soon pupate and remain inside a chrysalis for almost a year, until they appear next spring. Other white butterflies may have come into our gardens too, and it’s easy to identify the caterpillars of Large White and Small White butterflies on Cabbage and Broccoli plants or Nasturtiums. Whether or not they are welcome depends on how much you like Cabbage!
One of the ways we can attract new species which aren’t typically found in gardens is to have areas of long grass through the summer. All of our brown butterflies lay their eggs on grasses, but unfortunately many gardens are simply too manicured for them so those species are mostly found in the countryside or wilder places. These species include the well-known Ringlet and Meadow Brown, but commonest brown butterfly in gardens is the Speckled Wood.
To attract Speckled Woods it’s essential to have a hedgerow or some trees as this butterfly is always associated with these features. If you’re planting a new hedgerow, it’s best to use a mix of native hedgerow species such as Hawthorn, Hazel and Holly. Then around the hedge or trees, simply let the grass grow long. Speckled Woods mostly lay their eggs on lush, long grass, and use a wide variety of species including Cock’s-foot, Yorkshire-fog and Common Couch grass. If Speckled Woods are in your garden you will soon know it, as the males are territorial and will patrol and chase other insects. But even if you don’t get Speckled Wood, long grass is used by a large number of moth species, as well as providing homes for other insects such as the Common Carder Bee, a bumblebee species which nests on the surface of the ground, often in long grass. Frogs and mammals will also find shelter in it, and it can allow them to move around the garden undetected by predators.
If you’ve already got some long grass and want to have more wildflowers, it’s best to plant tall-growing species which can compete with it. My top recommendations are Knapweed, Meadow Cranesbill and Field Scabious. You can grow or buy these as plug plants and grow them on through the summer, before planting them in the ground in autumn.
It’s best to leave some long grass through the winter, as some caterpillars will remain on the stems. If you need to cut it, put the mower at a high setting so that the caterpillars closer to the ground will survive. In my garden I leave it completely untouched through the winter, and in early spring I rake off all the dead grass and cut back some parts. All of this is so much less work than mowing the grass every two weeks as my neighbours do, and it gives me more time to sit back and watch the wildlife flourishing.
Whatever butterflies you are seeing, you can report your sightings to us using the free iRecord Butterflies or the Butterflies of the New Millennium web page. Even better, get involved in our Garden Butterfly Survey! Details of these can be found on our Recording and Monitoring Webpage.