Small tortoiseshell butterflies with nettle
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Small tortoiseshell butterflies with nettle by Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Small tortoiseshell butterflies with nettle
Image: © Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff Taken: 18 Jun 2010
A pair of Aglais urticae resting beside the larval food plant on which the eggs are laid. Male and female are identically marked although the female tends to be slightly larger so probably the one on the right. These formerly common butterflies have suffered a huge population drop in the past year or so, thought to be the result of a parasitic fly, Sturmia bella, that lays its eggs on nettles where they are eaten by the small tortoiseshell caterpillar. The eggs develop inside the larva, consuming but not killing them until they are ready to emerge. See http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?vernacular_name=Small%20Tortoiseshell
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.962021
Longitude
-4.959345