D - Duke of Burgundy Fritillary
I didn't expect to have trouble so early in the Challenge, 'D' proved harder that I expected until, that is, I found the Duke of Burgundy - the Fritillary that isn't related to the other butterflies with that name.
The Duke of Burgundy, no-one knows how that name came about, is the European representative of a family of tropical butterflies. It's the only member of the genus Hamearis in the family Riodinidae.
Photo Attributions:
I didn't expect to have trouble so early in the Challenge, 'D' proved harder that I expected until, that is, I found the Duke of Burgundy - the Fritillary that isn't related to the other butterflies with that name.
The Duke of Burgundy, no-one knows how that name came about, is the European representative of a family of tropical butterflies. It's the only member of the genus Hamearis in the family Riodinidae.
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| Duke of Burgundy Fritillary |
It is found in Southern England but rare elsewhere with isolated colonies in the Lake District and on the North Yorkshire Moors, close to where I live.
It's a small (1" wingspan) springtime butterfly, frequenting sunny chalk and limestone grasslands, and sunny woody clearings. You may find it in woods where cowslips and primroses grow.
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| Cowslips on a grassy bank in North Yorkshire |
It lays it's eggs on these plant as it's slug like caterpillar only feeds on cowslips and primroses.
The male Duke of Burgundy is brown with tawny (orange) spots, the females slightly paler. The underside of its hind wings have rows of white spots.
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| Duke of Burgundy Fritillary - underside. |
The adults feed on flowers of the bugle, buttercups, hawthorn and wood spurge. I have to confess that I had to look up the bugle and the wood spurge as I would not recognise either of these.
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| Wood Spurge |
I shall have to look out for it.
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| Bugle |
I know where I can find some of these, but I did not know what they were called before.
The Duke of Burgundy Fritillary is one of the most rapidly declining butterflies in the UK. Fortunately conservationists are coming to its rescue as this short video shows.
Love is like a butterfly
As soft and gentle as a sigh
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
As soft and gentle as a sigh
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Photo Attributions:
- Duke of Burgundy Fritillary (Hamearis lucina): April 2007, by Hertonicus - CC BY-SA 3.0
- Duke of Burgundy Fritillary - underside: June 16 2006, by Mnolf - CC BY-SA 3.0
- Wood spurge: 1 May 2006, geograph.org.uk, by Bob Embleton - CC BY-SA 2.0
- Bugle: 17 May 2009, geograph.org.uk, by Glynn Baker - CC BY-SA 2.0
- Video: Rescuing a rarity - National Trust.
