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The distribution of butterflies around Bingham
is split amongst three different habitats: gardens, hedgerows/roadsides
and the Linear Walk. Familiar garden butterflies include the Brimstone,
Cabbage Whites, Green-veined Whites, Orange Tips, Small Tortoiseshells
and Peacocks together with Red Admirals and Painted Ladies. Two more recently
established species are the ragged winged Comma and the Holly Blue. Brown
butterflies such as Meadow Browns, Hedge Browns, Ringlets and Wall Browns
frequent the hedgerows and roadsides.
Brown argus (Photo: Bill Bacon) |
Comma (Photo: Lincolnshire Wild Life
Trust)
Gatekeeper (Photo: Lincolnshire Wild
Life Trust)
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Some years they appear in large numbers; in others
they are almost absent. All these butterflies inhabit the Linear Walk
with, in addition, Common Blues, Small Coppers and the Brown Argus. Four
Skippers fly along the Walk: the Large Skipper, the Small Skipper, the
migratory Essex Skipper, and the locally rare Grizzled Skipper. Usually
seen here in late May and early June, the Grizzled Skipper is at the very
northern edge of its British distribution. A newcomer to Bingham is the
Speckled Wood, most frequently seen along the Banks near the cemetery.
Finally, the Walk is home to the Four Spotted Moth, a nationally rare
insect most usually seen in the south west of England and increasingly
less common further north. The moth appears in May and June with occasionally
a second generation in August and September. It is active on the wing
in the sunshine but in dull weather it hides under herbage near the small
bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) that provides its food. Adult moths will
eat the bindweed leaves but it prefers the flowers and seeds especially
in infancy.
CLICK HERE
FOR BINGHAM'S RARE INSECTS
Green-veined white (Photo: Lincolnshire
Wild Life Trust) |
Holly blue (Photo: Lincolnshire Wild
Life Trust) |
Painted lady (Photo: Lincolnshire
Wild Life Trust) |
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