The event at New Ferry Butterfly Park to mark National
Insect Week was planned before the exciting discovery of the first brimstone
butterfly caterpillars to be recorded at the park and in the Wirral. It was touch
and go as to whether visitors would see any brimstone caterpillars as the first
ones spotted a week before were already 3 cm long and near to pupation. The
caterpillar stage lasts approximately a month with the caterpillar going
through five instars before becoming a pupa. At the end of each instar the
caterpillar moults its skin so that it can rapidly grow bigger before the skin
hardens up again.
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| Early brimstone instar and shed skin |
Brimstone butterfly
caterpillars were found on a range of alder buckthorn shrubs, some of which had
been planted a decade ago and some which were still in pots yet to be planted!
Now we have the eye for the caterpillars there will be monitoring to see which
buckthorns are preferred for egg laying. It seems they like new fresh growth rather
than the mature leaves that have developed secondary compounds to discourage predators.
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Brimstone caterpillar at the top of an alder buckthorn shrub still in a pot
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National Insect Week is promoted by the Royal Entomological Society to increase interest in insects and to get the public
involved in identifying them. The society provides some basic free spotter
guides and other related insect goodies just to get you started.
The quest to see the new
arrivals was successful with four brimstone caterpillars being seen. The
impressive, more showy and gregarious black peacock butterfly caterpillars were
out in large numbers too.
There were an impressive 11
species of butterfly on the wing. This was remarkable because the event fell in
between the spring and summer butterfly broods and species. The colourful burnet
moths were also out in force. There were 107 visitors, the record for a Sunday,
bar our special open days. In fact every visit to the park is an insect day.
Paul Loughnane
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