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This butterflies food plant is predominantly Bird's foot trefoil. Can you identify it?

Insects and Spiders - Butterflies 1

Butterflies are colourful insects with fascinating life cycles and patterns. Explore how to spot common species, where they live, and why weather and plants matter so much.

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Fascinating Fact:

Warm, sunny weather helps butterflies fly and feed, on cool days they may bask with wings open to absorb heat.

In Specialist Nature, butterflies are a great way to practise identification using wing colour, pattern, and behaviour. Many species prefer particular habitats, such as meadows, woodland rides, hedgerows, or coastal grassland, and their caterpillars often rely on specific food plants. Watching how a butterfly flies, where it lands, and whether it keeps its wings open or closed can all provide useful clues, alongside season and location.

Key Terms

Metamorphosis: The life cycle change from egg to caterpillar, then chrysalis, then adult butterfly.
Nectar: A sugary liquid made by flowers that many butterflies drink for energy.
Host plant: A plant that a butterfly lays eggs on because the caterpillars can feed on it.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do butterflies keep warm enough to fly?

Butterflies rely on the sun to warm their bodies because they cannot produce heat like mammals. They often bask in bright spots, sometimes with wings open, to absorb warmth before flying and feeding.

What do butterflies eat?

Adult butterflies mainly drink nectar from flowers, and some also take minerals from damp soil or puddles. Caterpillars eat plant leaves, and many species need particular host plants to survive and grow.

How can I identify butterflies in the UK?

To identify butterflies in the UK, look at wing colour and markings, the shape of the wings, and where and when you see them. Flight style, favourite flowers, and whether they rest with wings open or closed can also be very helpful clues.

Try These Related Quizzes

To see a larger image, click on the picture.

1 .

Can you identify this butterfly?

Photograph courtesy of Anaxibia

Purple Emperor

Ringlet

Duke of Burgundy

Essex Skipper

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Apatura
Species: A. iris
The male is affectionately known as 'His Majesty'.
A magnificent and elusive butterfly.
Can be seen in deciduous woodland, usually those containing oak trees.
Unlike most butterflies, it does not feed from flowers.

2 .

Can you identify this butterfly?

Photograph courtesy of Olaf Leillinger

Chequered Skipper

White Admiral

Wood White

Common Brimstone

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Leptidea
Species: L. sinapis
A dainty butterfly with a slow and delicate flight.
Adults always rest with their wings closed.
Warm, damp and sheltered is its ideal habitat.
Female lays her eggs on members of the pea family in late May and June.

3 .

Can you identify this butterfly?

Photograph courtesy of http://www.thinkoholic.com/

Northern Brown Angus

Duke of Burgundy

Small Tortoiseshell

Purple Emperor

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Riodinidae
Genus: Hamearis
Species: H. lucina
Found in scattered colonies across southern England.
Adults rarely visit flowers.
Males perch on a prominent leaf at the edge of scrub.
Females are elusive, often flying low to the ground.

4 .

Can you identify this butterfly?

Photograph courtesy of http://ernstvikne.wordpress.com/

Common Brimstone

Chequered Skipper

Holly Blue

Common Blue

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Polyommatus
Species: P. icarus
Is found throughout Britain, even as far north as Orkney.
Food plant is predominantly Bird's foot trefoil.
The habitat includes woodland, coastal dunes, meadows.
Wherever their food plant is, this butterfly is likely to be.

5 .

Can you identify this butterfly?

Photograph courtesy of D. Gordon E. Robertson

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Red Admiral

Essex Skipper

Grayling

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Thymelicus
Species: T. lineola
Found over much of south England.
First recorded in Wales in 2000.
Can be spotted visiting flowers such as thistles and red clover.
This species is expanding rapidly, particularly in northern areas.

6 .

Can you identify this butterfly?

Photograph courtesy of Olaf Leillinger

Wood White

Speckled Wood

Dark Clouded Yellow

Ringlet

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Aphantopus
Species: A. hyperantus
Being a dark colour, this butterfly is able to warm up quickly.
One of the few that flies on overcast days.
Is not typically found in open areas, such as grassland or heathland.
Male and female are almost identical.

7 .

Can you identify this butterfly?

Photograph courtesy of LittleHow

Essex Skipper

Common Blue

Wood White

Swallowtail

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species: P. machaon
The UK's largest native butterfly, and also one of our rarest.
British subspecies confined to the fens of the Norfolk broads.
This is due to milk parsley being the only food plant used by the caterpillars.

8 .

Can you identify this butterfly?

Photograph courtesy of Guido Gerding

Orange Tip

Small Copper

White Admiral

Purple Hairstreak

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Anthocharis
Species: A. cardamines
A true sign of spring, being one of the first species to emerge.
Flies in every direction, wandering amongst woodland margins and headgerows.
Has a wide range of habitats, including gardens.

9 .

Can you identify this butterfly?

Photograph courtesy of Svdmolen

Large Heath

Chequered Skipper

Small Copper

Orange Tip

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Carterocephalus
Species: C. palaemon
Extinct in England, but stable in Scotland.
Distribution centred on Fort William.
Due to being very active, this butterfly needs a lot of nectar and sunshine.
Prefers woodland and even blue woodland flowers!

10 .

Can you identify this butterfly?

Photograph courtesy of www.tintazul.com.pt/julio.reis/

Dingy Skipper

Marsh Fritillary

Small White

Green Hairstreak

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Euphydryas
Species: E. aurinia
Found all over the UK, but scarce.
Restricted to chalk and limestone grassland, damp fields and heaths.
Main foodplant is Devil's-bit Scabious. Will eat Field and Small scabious too.
The bright colours fade after a few days.

Author: Sarah Garratty

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