Butterflies of sunny downlands.

The gently rolling downlands of southern England provide a warm and bountiful home for a multicoloured population of butterflies. On sunny days in summer the grassy hills come alive with bright patches of colour as groups of butterflies flutter around their favourite plants. Clusters of blue butterflies, coppers, green hairstreaks and marbled whites sparkle like jewels in the sunshine. The chalk soil of the downs favours chalk-loving wild flowers such as marjoram,thyme ,vetches, knapweed, scabious and yellow carline thistles. And the butterflies reap a harvest of nectar, particularly in warm hollows and on slopes facing south. A butterfly`s, life in the sun is spent establishing territories and fighting off rivals, having minor tussles with bumble-bees and hoverflies, courting and mating, feeding from flowers and basking in the sun. One active common blue might see off half a dozen other butterflies in a lightning chase over the grasses. Fleabane, with its yellow nectar-rich flowers, attracts common blues, small coppers, small heaths and small skippers, especially where the chalk soil is overlaid with clay and flint. Hawthorn, whitebeam,dogwood and spindle bushes provide vantage points for butterflies, such as green hairstreaks, that seek out territories. Where downland meets woodland, sulphur-coloured brimstones patrol the edge of the trees in search of buckthorn and ivy.

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.