Butterfly Aber:rations in 2003

seen many butterflies, flowers, birds and animals. Some I have already written about in previous articles and some I have yet to write about. I can highly recommend mountain walking as a way to keep fit, see the countryside and to get to know people and places.

Small Tortiseshell

Ab. Semi-ichnusoides by Jim Foster

Butterfly Aberrations

• in 2003

by Richard Stewart

During 2003 I recorded the Small Copper var.

caeruleopunctata, which has blue spots at the bottom of the hindwings, four times, all in Suffolk: Fynn Valley transect TM 2048 on 6th July, at Bixley TM 2044 on 11th July, then at

Cavenham Heath TL 7572 on 17th August with

the final and most satisfying one in our Westerfield Road garden, TM 169461, on 8th September.

Although I now check every Small Copper this was still a good number and brings my total for this aberrant form to eleven since my first record in 1998. To add to the garden excitement, Marie called me to look at an 'odd' Small Tortoiseshell on our Buddleia and with binoculars we were able to note its main differences compared to normal specimens. The usual border edging the top wings was replaced by a creamy black colour, there were very obvious creamy points to the top corners of the upper wings and just in from these were large areas of black. Thomas and Lewington describe it on page 123 of 'The Butterflies of Britain and Ireland' with an illustration and the information that this aberrant, semi-ichnusoides is a female form produced by high temperatures during the pupal stage. We observed it clearly on 31 st August and the day after, but regrettably weren't able to get a photo.