UKButterflies Larval Foodplants website page lists the larval foodplants used by British butterflies. The name of each foodplant links to a Google search. An indication of whether the foodplant is a primary or secondary food source is also given.

Please note that the Butterfly you see for only a short time has grown up on plants as an egg, caterpillar and chrysalis for up to 11 months, before becoming a butterfly. If the plants that they live on during that time are removed, or sprayed with herbicide, then you will not see the butterfly.
 

Plants used by the Butterflies follow the Plants used by the Egg, Caterpillar and Chrysalis as stated in
A Butterfly Book for the Pocket by Edmund Sandars.
Published by Oxford University Press London: Humphrey Milford in 1939.
 

Plant Name

Butterfly Name

Egg/ Caterpillar/ Chrysalis/ Butterfly

Plant Usage

Plant Usage Months

Alder Buckthorn

Brimstone

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg under leaf.

Eats leaves.
---

10 days in May-June
28 days.
12 days.

Aspen

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May
9 days in June.

Black Medic

Common Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats buds and flowers.


Base of food plant.

-
-
Spend winter at the base of the food plant. They resume feeding in March.
2 weeks

Common Birdsfoot Trefoil

Chalk-Hill Blue

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg at base of plant.
Eats leaves.
---

Late August-April
April-June
1 Month

Common Birdsfoot Trefoil

Common Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats buds and flowers.


Base of food plant.

-
-
Spend winter at the base of the food plant. They resume feeding in March.
2 weeks

Common Birdsfoot Trefoil

Wood White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg laid on underside of leaflets or bracts.
Eats leaves.
---

7 days in June.

32 days in June-July.
July-May.

Bitter Vetch

Wood White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg laid on underside of leaflets or bracts.
Eats leaves.
---

7 days in June.

32 days in June-July.
July-May.

Borage

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg laid under the leaf or on top of the flower.
Eats leaves, then before pupating it eats the bloom and leaves of the pansies.
---

7 days in August.

23 days in August-September.

3 weeks in September

Bramble

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Buckthorn

Holly Blue

Egg,


Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---


 

7 days.


28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Buckthorn -
Alder Buckthorn and Common Buckthorn

Brimstone

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg under leaf.

Eats leaves.
---

10 days in May-June.

28 days.
12 days.

Burdocks

Painted Lady

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

2 weeks
7-11days
7-11 days

Cabbages - Large White eats all cruciferous plants, such as cabbages, mustard, turnips, radishes, cresses, nasturtiums, wild mignonette and dyer's weed

Large White
 

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

40-100 eggs on both surfaces of leaf.

Eats leaves.
---
 

May-June and August-Early September. 4.5-17 days.
30-32 days
14 days for May-June eggs, or overwinter till April

Cabbages

Small White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on underside of leaf.

Eats leaves.
---
 

May-June and August. 7 days.
28 days
21 days for May-June eggs, or overwinter till March

Cabbages:-
Charlock,
Cuckoo Flower (Lady's Smock),
Hedge-Mustard,
Garlic-Mustard,
Yellow Rocket (Common Winter-Cress),
Watercress

Green-veined White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis


 

1 egg on underside of leaf.

Eats leaves.
---


 

July or August; hatches in 3 days.
16 days.
14 days in July or for caterpillars of August, they overwinter till May.

Cabbages:-
Charlock,
Creeping Yellow-cress,
Cuckoo Flower (Lady's Smock),
Dame's Violet,
Hedge-Mustard,
Horseradish,
Garlic-Mustard,
Lady's Smock,
Large Bittercress,
Rock-cress (Common Winter-Cress),
Yellow Rocket (Common Winter-Cress),
Watercress,
Wild Turnip

Orange Tip

Egg,

Caterpillar

Chrysalis

1 egg laid in the tight buds and flowers.
Eats leaves, buds, flowers and especially the seed pods.
---

May-June 7 days.

June-July 24 days.

August-May

Cherry with
Wild Cherry,
Morello Cherry and
Bird Cherry

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

Clovers 1, 2, 3

Common Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats buds and flowers.


Base of food plant.

-
-
Spend winter at the base of the food plant. They resume feeding in March.
2 weeks.

Clovers 1, 2, 3

Pale Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.

 

10 days in May-June.
July-August.
17 days in August-September.

Clovers 1, 2, 3

Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
 

6 days in May-June.
30 days.
18 days in July-August.

Cocksfoot is a grass

Large Skipper

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg under leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

11 Months
3 weeks from May

Cow-wheat

(Common CowWheat, Field CowWheat)

Heath Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until end of August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats young leaves until June.
---

Hatches after 16 days in June.
June-April



25 days in June.

Currants
(Red Currant,
Black Currant and Gooseberry)

Comma

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

Devilsbit Scabious

Marsh Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until late August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 20 days in July.
July-May.



15 days in May.

Dog Violet with
Common Dog Violet,
Heath Dog Violet and
Wood Dog Violet

Silver-washed Fritillary

Egg,
Caterpillar



Chrysalis

1 egg on oak or pine tree trunk
Hibernates in a crevice in the bark of the tree trunk.
Moves out of tree to eat Dog Violet leaves.
On rock or twig.

15 days in July.
August-March.

March-May.

Late June-July

Dog Violet with
Common Dog Violet,
Heath Dog Violet and
Wood Dog Violet

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf or stem.

Feeds on leaves until July. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats young leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 15 days in May-June.
July-May.



9 days in June.

Dog Violet with
Common Dog Violet,
Heath Dog Violet and
Wood Dog Violet

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf or stem.

Feeds on leaves until July. Hibernates in dead leaves until March. Eats young leaves until April.
---

Hatches after 10 days in May-June.
June-April



April-June.

Dogwood

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Elm and Wych Elm

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

False Brome is a grass (Wood Brome, Wood False-brome and Slender False-brome)

Large Skipper

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg under leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

...
11 Months
3 weeks from May

Foxglove

Marsh Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until late August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 20 days in July.
July-May



15 days in May.

Fyfield Pea

Wood White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg laid on underside of leaflets or bracts.
Eats leaves.
---

7 days in June.

32 days in June-July.
July-May.

Garden Pansy

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf or stem.
Feeds on leaves until July. Hibernates in dead leaves until March. Eats young leaves until April.
---

Hatches after 10 days in May-June.
June-April


April-June.

Gorse

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Heartsease

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg laid under the leaf or on top of the flower.
Eats leaves, then before pupating it eats the bloom and leaves of the pansies.
---

7 days in August.

23 days in August-September.

3 weeks in September

Hogs's Fennel

Swallowtail

Egg,


Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf. 5 or 6 eggs may be deposited by separate females on one leaf.
Eats leaves, and moves to stems of sedges or other fen plants before pupating.
---

14 days in July-August.


August-September.


September-May.

Holly

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Honesty
(Lunaria biennis)

Orange Tip

Egg,

Caterpillar

Chrysalis

1 egg laid in the tight buds and flowers.
Eats leaves, buds, flowers and especially the seed pods.
---

May-June 7 days.

June-July 24 days.

August-May

Honeysuckle

Marsh Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until late August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 20 days in July.
July-May.



15 days in May.

Hop

Comma

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

Horseshoe vetch

Adonis Blue




Chalk-Hill Blue


Berger's Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar

Chrysalis

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Egg,


Caterpillar

Chrysalis

1 egg under leaf.
Eats leaves.

---

1 egg at base of plant.
Eats leaves.
---

1 egg on leaf.


Eats leaves.

---

1 then
June-March or September to July
3 weeks.

Late August-April.
April-June
1 Month

8-10 days in Late May-June or Middle August-September
June-July or September to October
8-15 days

Ivy

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Kidney Vetch

Chalk-Hill Blue

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis
Butterfly

1 egg at base of plant.
Eats leaves.
---
Eats nectar.

Late August-April.
April-June
1 Month
20 days

Lucerne

Pale Clouded Yellow



Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis


Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.



1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

10 days in May-June.
July-August.
17 days in August-September.

6 days in May-June.
30 days.
18 days in July-August.

Mallows

Painted Lady

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

2 weeks
7-11days
7-11 days

Melilot

Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
 

6 days in May-June.
30 days.
18 days in July-August.

Mignonettes

Small White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on underside of leaf.

Eats leaves.
---
 

May-June and August. 7 days.
28 days
21 days for May-June eggs, or overwinter till March

Milk Parsley

Swallowtail

Egg,


Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf. 5 or 6 eggs may be deposited by separate females on one leaf.
Eats leaves, and moves to stems of sedges or other fen plants before pupating.
---

14 days in July-August.


August-September


September-May

Narrow-leaved Plantain (Ribwort Plantain)

Heath Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until end of August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats young leaves until June.
---

Hatches after 16 days in June.
June-April.



25 days in June.

Narrow-leaved Plantain (Ribwort Plantain)

Glanville Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until middle of August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until April-May.
---

Hatches after 16 days in June.
June-April.



25 days in April-May.

Nasturtium from Gardens

Small White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on underside of leaf.

Eats leaves.
---
 

May-June and August. 7 days.
28 days.
21 days for May-June eggs, or overwinter till March

Oak Tree

Silver-washed Fritillary

Egg,
Caterpillar



Chrysalis

1 egg on tree trunk
Hibernates in a crevice in the bark of the tree trunk.
Moves out of tree to eat Dog Violet leaves.
On rock or twig.

15 days in July.
August-March.

March-May.

Late June-July

Mountain pansy,
Seaside Pansy,
Field Pansy and Cultivated Pansy.
 

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar

 

Chrysalis

1 egg laid under the leaf or on top of the flower.
Eats leaves of borage, sainfoin and heartsease, then before pupating it eats the bloom and leaves of the pansies.
---

7 days in August.

23 days in August-September
 

3 weeks in September

Pine Tree

Silver-washed Fritillary

Egg,
Caterpillar



Chrysalis

1 egg on tree trunk.
Hibernates in a crevice in the bark of the tree trunk.
Moves out of tree to eat Dog Violet leaves.
On rock or twig.

15 days in July.
August-March.

March-May.

Late June-July

Plantains

Marsh Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until late August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 20 days in July.
July-May



15 days in May.

Poplar

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

Restharrow

Common Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats buds and flowers.


Base of food plant.

-
-
Spend winter at the base of the food plant. They resume feeding in March.
2 weeks

Rock-rose

Brown Argus

Egg,
Caterpillar

1 egg under leaf.
Eats leaves.

Sainfoin

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg laid under the leaf or on top of the flower.
Eats leaves, then before pupating it eats the bloom and leaves of the pansies.
---

7 days in August.

23 days in August-September

3 weeks in September

Common Sallow (Willows, Osiers)

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

Sea Plantain

Glanville Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until middle of August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until April-May.
---

Hatches after 16 days in June.
June-April



25 days in April-May.

Snowberry

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---
 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Spindle-tree

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Stinging Nettle

Comma




Painted Lady



Peacock

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Egg
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Egg,


Caterpillar

Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

Dense mass of 450-500 eggs on the under side of leaves over a 2 hour period.
Eats leaves, and moves to another plant before pupating.
---

2 weeks in June.
7-11 days.
7-11 days.

14 days in April-May.


28 days.

13days.

Storksbill

Brown Argus

Egg,
Caterpillar

1 egg under leaf.
Eats leaves.

Thistles

Painted Lady

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

2 weeks
7-11days
7-11 days

Trefoils 1, 2, 3

Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
 

6 days in May-June.
30 days.
18 days in July-August.

Vetches

Common Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats buds and flowers.


Base of food plant.

-
-
Spend winter at the base of the food plant. They resume feeding in March.
2 weeks

Vetches

Wood White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg laid on underside of leaflets or bracts.
Eats leaves.
---

7 days in June.

32 days in June-July.
July-May.

Violets:-
Common Dog Violet,
Hairy Violet,
Heath Dog-violet
Pale Dog violet
Sweet Violet

Dark Green Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg on underside of leaf or on stalk.
Hibernates where it hatches.
Eats leaves.

Base of food plant.

July-August for 17 days.

Spends winter on plant until end of March. Eats leaves until end of May.
4 weeks.

Violets:-
Common Dog Violet,
Hairy Violet,
Heath Dog-violet
Pale Dog violet
Sweet Violet

High Brown Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar

Chrysalis

1 egg on stem or stalk near plant base.
Feed on young leaves, stalks and stems
---

July to hatch in 8 months in March.
9 weeks ending in May.

4 weeks

Vipers Bugloss

Painted Lady

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

2 weeks.
7-11days.
7-11 days

Whitebeam
(White Beam)

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

Wild Angelica

Swallowtail

Egg,


Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf. 5 or 6 eggs may be deposited by separate females on one leaf.
Eats leaves, and moves to stems of sedges or other fen plants before pupating.
---

14 days in July-August.


August-September.


September-May

Willow
(Bay Willow)

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

Wood-Sage

Marsh Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until late August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 20 days in July.
July-May.



15 days in May.

Plant Name

Butterfly Name

Egg/ Caterpillar/ Chrysalis/ Butterfly

Plant Usage

Plant Usage Months

Asters
in gardens

Comma

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

Runner and Broad Beans in fields and gardens

Large White


Small White

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-June or July-September.

March-May or June-September

Aubretia in gardens

Clouded Yellow

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November

Birch

Holly Blue

Butterfly

Eats sap exuding from trunk.

April-Mid June and Mid July-Early September for second generation.

Common Birdsfoot Trefoil

Chalk-Hill Blue

Wood White

Marsh Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

20 days.


May-June.

30 days in May-June.

Bitter Vetch

Wood White

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June

Bluebell

Holly Blue




Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-Mid June and Mid July-Early September for second generation.


June.



June-August.

Bramble

Comma

Silver-washed Fritillary

High Brown Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October.

7 weeks in July-August.



June-August

Buddleias
in gardens

Comma

Peacock

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October.

July-May

Bugle

Wood White

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June.

June.



June-August.



June-July.

Cabbage and cabbages in fields

Large White


Small White


Green-veined White

Orange Tip

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-June or July-September.

March-May or June-September.

A Month during May-June or second flight in late July-August.

May-June for 18 days.

Charlock

Painted Lady

Butterfly

Eats nectar

July-October

Clovers 1, 2, 3

Adonis Blue



Chalk-Hill Blue

Painted Lady

Peacock

Large White


Small White

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

1 Month during Mid-May to Mid-June or during August-September

20 days in August.


July-October.

July-May.

April-June or July-September.

March-May or June-September

Clovers 1, 2, 3

Pale Clouded Yellow


Clouded Yellow


Berger's Clouded Yellow


Queen of Spain Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

1 Month in May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

May-September.

Cow-wheat
(Common CowWheat, Field CowWheat)

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June-July

Cuckoo Flower (Lady's Smock)

Wood White

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June

Dandelion

Holly Blue



Marsh Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-Mid June and Mid July-Early September for second generation.

30 days in May-June.

Fleabanes

Common Blue

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

3 weeks between May and September

Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys - Birdseye Speedwell)

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June-July

Greater Knapweed

Comma

Peacock

Clouded Yellow


Brimstone

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October.

July-May.

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

12 months

Hawkbit

Marsh Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

30 days in May-June.

Heartsease

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-September

Hedge Parsley

Orange Tip

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

May-June for 18 days.

Hemp agrimony

Comma

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October

Horseshoe vetch

Adonis Blue

Chalk-Hill Blue

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

1 Month.

20 days

Ivy

Painted Lady

Brimstone

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

Hibernates during winter months in its foliage.

July-October.

October-July

Lucerne

Painted Lady

Large White


Small White


Pale Clouded Yellow


Clouded Yellow


Berger's Clouded Yellow

Butterfly

Eats nectar

July-October.

April-June or July-September.

March-May or June-September

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

1 Month in May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November

Marigolds in gardens

Clouded Yellow

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November

Marjoram

Adonis Blue



Chalk-Hill Blue

Common Blue

Clouded Yellow

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

1 Month during Mid-May to Mid-June or during August-September.

20 days in August.


3 weeks in May-September.

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November

Michaelmas Daisies
in gardens

Comma

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October

Mignonettes

Large White


Small White

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-June or July-September.

March-May or June-September

Narrow-leaved Plantain (Ribwort Plantain)

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June-July

Nasturtiums in gardens

Large White


Small White

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-June or July-September

March-May or June-September

Oak Tree

Holly Blue

Butterfly

Eats sap exuding from trunk.

April-Mid June and Mid July-Early September for second generation.

Primroses

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June.



June-August.

Ragged Robin

Wood White

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June.

June-July.

Scabious

Painted Lady

Peacock

Butterfly

Eats nectar

July-October.

July-May

Sedum

Peacock

Butterfly

Eats nectar

July-May

Teasels

Silver-washed Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

7 weeks in July-August.

Thistles -
Creeping Thistle, Dwarf Thistle, Marsh Thistle, Meadow Thistle, Melancholy Thistle, Milk Thistle,
Musk Thistle, Seaside Thistle, Scotch Thistle, Spear Thistle, Tuberous Thistle, Welted Thistle, Woolly Thistle

Comma

Painted Lady

Peacock

Swallowtail

Clouded Yellow


Brimstone

Silver-washed Fritillary

High Brown Fritillary

Dark Green Fritillary

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October.

July-October.

July-May.

May-July.

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

12 months.

7 weeks in July-August



June-August.


July-August for 6 weeks.


May-September.



June-August.

Thymes

Common Blue

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

3 weeks between May and September

Trefoils 1, 2, 3

Adonis Blue



Chalk-Hill Blue

Glanville Fritillary

Butterfly

 

Eats nectar.
 

1 Month during Mid-May to Mid-June or during August-September

20 days in August.


June-July

Vetches

Chalk-Hill Blue

Glanville Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

20 days in August.


June-July.

Violets

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June.

June-August.

Wood-Sage

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June-July

Apple/Pear/Cherry/Plum Fruit Tree Blossom in Spring

Peacock

Butterfly

Eats Nectar

April-May

Rotten Fruit

Peacock

Butterfly

Drinks juice

July-September

Tree sap and damaged ripe fruit, which are high in sugar

Large Tortoiseshell

Butterfly

Hibernates inside hollow trees or outhouses until March. Eats sap or fruit juice until April.

10 months in June-April

Wild Flowers

Large Skipper

Brimstone

Silver-washed Fritillary.

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats Nectar

June-August


12 months.

7 weeks in July-August.



May-September

Links to the other Butterflies:-

Black Hairstreak uses Blackthorn, Privet, Guelder Rose, and Wayfaring tree
Brown Hairstreak
Camberwell Beauty
Chequered Skipper
Dingy Skipper
Duke of Burgundy
Essex Skipper
Gatekeeper
Grayling
Green Hairstreak
Grizzled Skipper
Hedge Brown
Large Blue
Large Heath
Long-tailed Blue
Lulworth Skipper
Marbled White
Mazarine Blue
Meadow Brown
Monarch
Northern Brown Argus
Purple Emperor
Purple Hairstreak
Red Admiral
Ringlet
Scotch Argus
Short-tailed Blue
Silver-spotted Skipper
Silver-studded Blue
Small Copper
Small Heath
Small Mountain Ringlet
Small Skipper
Small Tortoiseshell
Speckled Wood
Wall Brown
White Admiral
White-letter Hairstreak

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A FLAILED CORNISH HEDGE
This details that life and death from July 1972 to 2019, with the following result for
UK wildflowers, birds, butterflies and moths:-

• "Of the original 186 flowering species (including sub-species), the 5 colour forms and the 8 unconfirmed species, (193 flowering species in total) only 55 have persisted throughout the 35 years of flailing since 1972. Of these 55 species:-
• 3 species are unchanged.
  11 species have disastrously increased.
  41 species are seriously reduced in number, most by over 90%. Of these, 18 are now increasing under the somewhat lighter flailing regime. 13 are still decreasing, and 35 have only a few specimens (from 1-12 plants) left.
• Of the rest of the original species:-
• 37 species and 3 colour forms have disappeared, then reappeared after varying lengths of time. Of these, 20 have fewer than 6 plants, most of them only 1 or 2, and are liable to disappear again. Only 6 of the recovered species look capable of surviving in the longer term.
• 23 species have reappeared, then disappeared again due to being flailed before they could set seed or to being overcome by rank weeds.
• Only 3 species have reappeared for a second time, and one of these has since disappeared for the third time.
  68 species and 2 colour forms disappeared and have never reappeared to date (2008).
• Of the 83 flowering species (excluding 11 rampant species) and 3 colour forms now present in the survey mile, around 50 are unlikely to survive there in the long term, certainly not in viable numbers, if flailing continues.
  Unless the degradation of habitat, high fertility and spread of ivy and other rampant weeds can be reversed, it appears highly unlikely that more than a dozen or so of the lost floral species can ever safely return or be re-introduced.
• The only birds sighted more than once so far this year along the mile have been magpie, rook, crow and buzzard, and a swallow (probably the same one each time) hunting between the hedges now and then at the sheltered eastern end of the mile. One wren heard June 21st, one blackbird seen June 27th (these also at the eastern end) and one greenfinch today July 31st. On this hot sunny high-summer day counted only 7 hedge brown butterflies (6 of them males), one red admiral and one large white. Half a dozen small bumblebees, two carder bees, half a dozen hoverflies of two common Eristalis species, one flesh fly, one scorpion fly and one dragonfly, Cordulegaster boltonii, not hunting, zooming straight down the road and disappearing into the distance.
• Only 8 butterfly species so far this year, and only one specimen each of five of them (red admiral, speckled wood, large white, ringlet and large skipper, the latter seen only once since 1976). Only small white, hedge brown and speckled wood have managed to appear every year since the flail arrived.
  For some years I have been noticing very small specimens particularly of hedge brown and speckled wood. This year nearly all the hedge browns seen in the mile ('all' being a dozen or so in total) are of this stunted size, some of the males appearing really tiny. I am wondering if this might be a response to general environmental stress, or due to inbreeding as flail-reduced numbers are so low. The hedge brown does not fly far from its hatching place so mating opportunity is now extremely limited. With the few species of insects now seen in the hedges there seems to be a high proportion of males to females, at least five to one.
• So far this year only a single moth has come to the house lights. It was a Drinker, and it killed itself against the bulb before it could be saved.

September 21st. Most of the survey mile closely flailed today along both sides of the road.

End note, June 2008. I hear spring vetch has been officially recorded somewhere in West Cornwall and confirmed as a presence in the county, so perhaps I can be permitted to have seen it pre-1972 in the survey mile. I wonder where they found it? It's gone from hedges where it used to be, along with other scarcities and so-called scarcities that used to flourish in so many hedges unrecorded, before the flail arrived. I have given careful thought to including mention of some of the plants and butterflies. So little seems to be known of the species resident in Cornish hedges pre-flail that I realise some references may invite scepticism. I am a sceptic myself, so sympathise with the reaction; but I have concluded that, with a view to re-establishing vulnerable species, it needs to be known that they can with the right management safely and perpetually thrive in ordinary Cornish hedges. In future this knowledge could solve the increasingly difficult question of sufficient and suitable sites for sustainable wild flower and butterfly conservation - as long as it is a future in which the hedge-flail does not figure.
Times and attitudes have changed since the days when the flail first appeared on the scene. The plight of our once-so-diverse wildlife is officially recognised as a priority; agricultural grants may embrace conservation measures, and perhaps economic strictures will tend more to a live-and-let-live policy in future with less of the expensive, pointless and desecrating "tidying-up". We now have an enthusiastic generation keen to help nature recover its diversity, but often unsure as to how this is best achieved. [Please see CHL "Restoring Biodiversity in Cornish Hedges"] 21st September 2007.
There is still widespread ignorance of the effects of such destructive machinery as the flail-mower and other rotary trimmers and strimmers. Few people but the elderly now remember or understand the life that ought to be abundant in the everyday hedges, verges, field margins and waste places. The simple remedy of returning to the clean-cutting finger-bar scythe used in late winter, trimming alternate sides of the hedge in different years, not trimming green herbaceous growth and leaving the cut material (mainly dead stems and twigs) on or near the hedge, is largely unrealised. This wildlife-friendly type of trimmer is still available from some suppliers.
Cornwall County Council has changed from being (in this instance) the chief offender to employing said-to-be environmentally-aware officers concerned with reconciling conservation and development. In recent years the council has issued instructional leaflets about hedges and their wildlife, including one entitled Cornish Roadside Hedge Management (since altered, perhaps not entirely for the better). This leaflet largely embodied the principles that our petition of 1985 asked for. Ironically, it is no longer the council's employees who are carrying out the work. Although this advice is now available, it does not necessarily reach the farmers and contractors out on the job. The flails are still in destructive action at any time from June onwards, though on the whole the work does seem to be being done later rather than sooner. Some farmers are now correctly leaving it until January and early February, a good time to allot to road work while other farm jobs may have to wait for drier weather. Most farmers, despite the bad publicity they tend to suffer, truly wish to do the best they can for their wildlife. Sadly for all, the flail is still the universally-available tool.
Those ignorant of the flail's real effects may imagine that 'sensitive' use of it is all right, as some common plant and insect species return temporarily and a few others increase when the work is switched to the less damaging time of year and done lightly. In the longer term, this is delusive; even in winter an unacceptable number of individuals are killed at every flailing and the habitat still inexorably degrades. No matter how or when or how seldom the flail is used, species continue to die out.
Until naturalists and environmentalists understand the catastrophic and cumulative effects of the flail they will continue to say they don't know why, despite all well-intentioned efforts, the numbers and diversity of wild flowers, songbirds, bats, butterflies, moths and bumblebees are still falling.
Nature lovers have to stop thinking mainly in terms of schemes to benefit a handful of charismatic species at special sites, and start looking at what the flail and other rotary mowers have done to thousands upon thousands of acres of the British countryside and billions upon billions of its most essential, ordinary inhabitants. It has struck at the major heart of the core existence of our native species, slaughtering them wholesale in that very sanctuary of the hedges and verges. These species had already mostly gone from the rest of the local area; the hedges where they had all taken refuge were their last resort. The remnants of species and their precarious survivors are still being wiped out, smashed to death every time the flail is used. It is the utterly wrong tool for the job and it has to be scrapped.
A brand-new flail-mower operating in February 2008. Right time of year for trimming, wrong kind of trimmer. As long as it is manufactured and turned out into the roads and fields the flail will decimate wild flowers, massacre the small creatures remaining in the hedges and verges, destroy their habitat and ruin the ancient structure of Cornwall's hedges.
Since the last yellowhammer flew across the road in 1980, I have never seen another while walking the survey mile. Since the last grasshopper in July 1981, I have never seen or heard another in these hedges. Since all the other species this diary recorded absent disappeared, they have not been seen again except in the few instances stated in the text. Most of the remaining species are declining. Fewer than half of them are likely to survive in the longer term if present trends continue. The long-vanished flowering species are likely never to return, as repeated flailing before seeding has exhausted their dormant seed stocks. The survey mile is typically representative of a majority of Cornish roadside hedges.
The photographs - in the pdf in their website - illustrating many of the flowering species lost were not taken in the survey hedge,for the obvious reason that they were no longer there. Most were taken in the house's wild garden adjoining, while those that did not grow there were obtained only with extreme difficulty, by searching all over West Penwith in a roughly thirty-mile radius for un-flailed pockets of survival. Along the roadside hedges, in this whole distance I found just one or two plants or patches of only a few of the species sought - common toadflax, field scabious, tufted vetch, scentless mayweed, red clover, self-heal - species that before the flail were so commonly seen along the whole length of hundreds of hedges in West Cornwall, now growing only where for some unusual reason of situation the flail had missed.
Some of the photographs of invertebrate species killed out by the flail in the survey mile were taken in the garden adjoining, where, despite nurturing since pre-flail days, the majority have now disappeared due to over-predation. In the survey mile this year, for the first time since 1992, the hedges remained un-flailed throughout the summer, giving a few common invertebrates the chance to reappear. No adult moth is illustrated because only half a dozen individuals were seen during the whole summer season of 2007, unfortunately at moments when the camera was not in my hand or they were fluttering out of reach. The drinker caterpillar alone was found posing beautifully and goes down to posterity as the only visible surviving moth larva noted in the survey mile this year, illustrating the millions of his kind killed by the flail.
Along this one typical mile of Cornish lane alone my records show that the flail has been the outright death or caused the persisting non-appearance of

• 90 flowering herbaceous species,
• 5 shrub species,
• 20 grass species,
• 60 moss species,
• 40 bird species,
• 23 butterfly species,
• 250 larger moth species,
• many scores of other invertebrate species, and untold thousands of individuals.
• It has condemned the hedge itself to a long-term, silent, living death, wrecked its antique stone construction and destroyed its great beauty. Along the whole of the estimated 30,000 miles of Cornish hedges the deaths of individual plants and creatures from flail-battering and the loss of their generations represent truly astronomical figures. The degradation of habitat resulting from flailing prevents revival in most species even where a few individuals manage to escape the physical impact of the flails. Although the effect in Cornwall with its solid hedge-banks and their more complex ecology may be worse than with the English hedgerow, the flail-induced wildlife crisis is nation-wide - and still almost universally unrecognised or unacknowledged.
• There is no hope of recovery for our countryside wildlife until the flail type of machine is consigned to the black museum of history. To achieve this it will probably have to be banned by law.
• The finger-bar scythe has to be reinstated and any trimming (except where needed for road-junction or access visibility) must be carried out in winter, the later the better between November 1st and February 28th. Trimming must take away the woody scrub growth on the sides of the hedge, leaving the herbaceous growth on the sides and the bushes on the top untouched. Only then can the flail-ruined hedges and verges begin to see a real return to some kind of healthy and abundant life."

CHECK-LIST OF TYPES OF CORNISH HEDGE FLORA by Sarah Carter of Cornish Hedges Library:-
"This check-list is a simple guide to the herbaceous plants typically indicating different habitat types found in the Cornish hedge. The short lists are of typical plants, not complete species lists for the habitat. Many of the plants in the Typical Hedge list also appear in the other types of hedge. Areas of intermediate population where location or physical conditions begin to change and habitats overlap are not included.
Hedge Type:-

• Typical Cornish Hedge (woodland-edge/ heathland mixture)
• Coastal Hedge
• Moorland/ Heathland Hedges
• Woodland Hedge
• Wet Hedge (marsh or ditch)
• Stone Hedge (Earth capping but with stone core)
• Typical garden escapes in Cornish Hedges
• Typical species rampant in flail-damaged hedges

Titles of papers available on www.cornishhedges.co.uk:-

• Advice for Working on Roadside Hedges
• Building Hedges in Cornwall
• Building Turf Hedges
• Building and Repairing Cornish Stone Stiles
• Butterflies, Moths and Other Insects in Cornish Hedges
• Check-list for Inspecting New or Restored Hedges in Cornwall
• Check-list of Types of Cornish Hedge Flora
• Code of Good Practice for Cornish Hedges
• Comments on the © Defra Hedgerow Survey Handbook (1st Edition)
• Comments on the © Defra Hedgerow Survey Handbook (2nd Edition)
• Cornish Hedges in Gardens
• Cornish Hedges on Development and Housing Sites
• Gates and Gateways in Cornish hedges
• Geology and Hedges in Cornwall
• Glossary of some Cornish Words used in the Countryside
• Hedges in the Cornish Landscape
• How to Look After a Cornish Hedge
• How Old is That Cornish Hedge?
• Literature Sources
• Mediaeval Hedges in Cornwall (450AD - 1550)
• Modern Hedges in Cornwall (1840 - present day)
• Mosses, Lichens, Fungi and Ferns in Cornish Hedges
• Pipe-laying and Other Cross-country Works Involving Hedges
• Post-Mediaeval Hedges in Cornwall (1550 - 1840)
• Prehistoric Hedges in Cornwall (5,000BC - 450AD)
• Repairing Cornish Hedges and Stone Hedges
• Repairing Turf Hedges
• Risk Assessment Guidance for working on Cornish Hedges
• Roadside Hedges and Verges in Cornwall
• The Curse of Rabbits in Cornish Hedges
• The Life and Death of a Flailed Cornish Hedge
• Trees on Hedges in Cornwall
• Unusual Old Features in Cornish Hedges
• Who Owns that Cornish Hedge?
• Wildlife and the Cornish Hedge

THE GUILD OF CORNISH HEDGERS is the non-profit-making organisation founded in 2002 to support the concern among traditional hedgers about poor standards of workmanship in Cornish hedging today. The Guild has raised public awareness of Cornwall's unique heritage of hedges and promoted free access to the Cornish Hedges Library, the only existing source of full and reliable written knowledge on Cornish hedges."