Habitats.

Part three the butterflies of summer grassland.

Caterpillars that eat grass give rise to some of the most common butterflies. As their food is widespread and green throughout the year, the caterpillars- and hence the butterflies- have a relatively secure future. All Britain's grass-feeding caterpillars belong to the browns or skipper families. The butterflies are on the the wing between June and September and can be seen in the corners of the field, beside country roads and anywhere else which has long grass like waste ground and old railway tracks. Three of the skippers that can be common among long grass, forever chasing each other, are the small, the large and essex skippers. They are found in open areas, like some of the brown butterflies- the small heath, the marbled white and the meadow brown. Other browns live in places sheltered from the wind. Gatekeepers and speckled woods, for example, keep to hedgerows, tracks or grassy woodland glades where they can be seen basking in the summer sun. Woodland edges and corners of fields warm up into sun traps during the summer months. Brown bubutterflies stake out their territories there, basking in the heat. Ringlets are recluses among butterflies, and prefer wet grassy hollows in or beside shady woodland. Rough open grasslands can become very hot and exposed to winds. Skippers fly fast over the grasses, and are still active on windy days . Marbled whites which belong to the brown family, are sometimes plentiful on chalk grasslands.