Painted ladies can develop from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis and emerge as an adult butterfly in as little as four to six weeks in warm weather, and so bumper generations can swiftly emerge.<\/p>\n
The butterflies have this week been seen in large numbers along the east coast into northern England. At\u00a0Hickling national nature reserve\u00a0close to the Norfolk coast, 253 of the butterflies were spotted feeding on a patch of bramble flowers.<\/p>\n
Many are faded grey \u201cgrandparent\u201d butterflies who may have travelled directly from north Africa or southern Spain, while others are brighter orange short-haul travellers, the French-born offspring of the March and April arrivals into southern Europe.<\/p>\n
The heatwave and southerly winds have also assisted an extremely rare moth, the\u00a0eastern bordered straw, which has been found in moth traps across southern England.\u00a0Striped hawkmoths\u00a0are another rare and unusual arrival to look out for.<\/p>\n The painted ladies delight gardeners and farmers because their caterpillars devour a wide range of thistles.<\/p>\n In five or six weeks, a large British-born generation of painted ladies is likely to emerge \u2013 just in time for the\u00a0world\u2019s largest citizen science insect count, which is undertaken by 100,000 volunteers every July.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like a real butterfly summer, and this big immigration could give us an even bigger brood in time for the\u00a0Big Butterfly Count,\u201d Hoare said.<\/p>\n The painted lady\u2019s arrival en masse may prompt a late surge of voting in Butterfly Conservation\u2019s poll to find\u00a0Britain\u2019s favourite butterfly. The painted lady could yet challenge the peacock butterfly for first place.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the painted lady is your favourite, make sure you\u00a0cast your vote,\u201d Hoare said.<\/p>\n