Butterflies of Milton Keynes - A photographic collection of the butterflies that can be found in Milton Keynes

Butterflies of Milton Keynes

I have a number of wildlife passions especially when it comes to photography, Birds (most of my blog posts are about birds in some way), Dragonflies (Odonata), Moths, and Butterflies. This page sets out (like my dragonfly page) to detail and capture, in photograph form only of course, the Butterflies of Milton Keynes. My aim is for at least one photo per species.

Butterflies of Milton Keynes

Unlike my dragonflies page there are a lot more Butterflies (including some endangered species, and those that seldom come down low enough to photograph, which will be a real challenge to get pictures of) to be found in Milton Keynes, but I am prepared in that I have details of where and when the best times are for each species. However a number of them I have yet to see, so we will find out how long this process takes to complete.


The Butterflies (a list):

Common
Name
Scientific Name Common NameScientific Name
Small SkipperThymelicus sylvestris Brown ArgusAricia agestis
Essex SkipperThymelicus lineola Common BluePolyommatus icarus
Large SkipperOchlodes faunus  Chalk Hill BlueLysandra coridon
Dingy SkipperErynnis tages Holly BlueCelastrina argiolus
Grizzled SkipperPyrgus malvae White AdmiralLimenitis camilla
Wood WhiteLeptidea sinapis Red AdmiralVanessa atalanta
Clouded YellowColias croceus Painted LadyVanessa cardui
BrimstoneGonepteryx rhamni Small TortoiseshellAglais urticae
Large WhitePieris brassicae Camberwell BeautyAglais antiopa
Small WhitePieris rapae PeacockInachis io
Green-veined WhitePieris napi CommaPolygonium c-album
Orange-tipAnthocharis cardamines Silver Wash FritillaryArgynnis paphia
Green HairstreakCallophrys rubi Speckled WoodPararge aegeria
Brown HairstreakThecla betulae WallLasiommata megera
Purple HairstreakNeozephyrus quercus Marbled WhiteMelanargia galathea
White-letter HairstreakSatyrium w-album GatekeeperPyronia tithonus
Black HairstreakSatyrium pruni Meadow BrownManiola jurtina
Small CopperLycaena phlaeus Small HeathCoenonympha pamphilus
Small BlueCupido minimus RingletAphantopus hyperantus
Purple EmperorApatura iris 

 

The Butterfly Photographs:

Below are the photos that I have added to my collection so far, as you can see it is going to be an ongoing project, that may take many years to complete as there are many that are left that are tricky to see; let alone get a decent photograph of. And some images will be improved on over time, but here are my images of the Butterflies of Milton Keynes.


Small Skipper

Small Skipper butterfly
Small Skipper – Manor Farm, Milton Keynes (2013)
Small Skipper butterfly
Small Skipper – Loughton Valley Park, Milton Keynes (2014)

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper butterfly - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Essex Skipper – Stony Stratford Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes (2015)
Essex Skipper (female) - Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes, 2022
Essex Skipper (female) – Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes, 2022

Large Skipper

Large Skipper butterfly
Large Skipper – Manor Farm, Milton Keynes (2013)
Large Skipper butterfly
Large Skipper – Stonepit Field Park, Milton Keynes (2012)

Dingy Skipper

None


Grizzled Skipper

None


Wood White

None


Clouded Yellow

Clouded Yellow - Floodplain Forest NR, Milton Keynes *2022)
Clouded Yellow – Floodplain Forest NR, Milton Keynes *2022)

Brimstone

Brimstone butterfly - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Brimstone -Loughton Valley, Milton Keynes (2014)
Brimstone butterfly
Brimstone – Oakhill Wood, Milton Keynes (2017)

Large White

Large White butterfly - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Large White – Loughton Valley Park, Milton Keynes (2013)

Small White

Small White - Grand Union Canal, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes, Bucks - 2022
Small White – Grand Union Canal, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes, Bucks – 2022

Green-veined White

Green Veined White butterfly
Floodplain Forest NR, Milton Keynes (2015)
 Green-veined White - Grand Union Canal, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes - 2022
Green-veined White – Grand Union Canal, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes – 2022
Green-veined white butterfly
Green-veined White – Linford Wood, Milton Keynes (2012)

Orange Tip

Orange Tip - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Orange Tip (Male) – Linford Wood, Milton Keynes (2014)
Orange Tip butterfly
Orange Tip (female) – Loughton Valley Park, Milton Keynes (2013)

Green Hairstreak

None


Brown Hairstreak

None


Purple Hairstreak

None


White Letter Hairstreak

None


Black Hairstreak

None


Small Copper

Small copper butterfly - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Small Copper – Stonepit Fields Park, Milton Keynes (2012)
Small copper butterfly
Small Copper (Autumn so more golden now) – Wolverton Mill (Aqueduct), Milton Keynes (2104)
Small copper butterfly
Small Copper – Oakhill Wood, Milton Keynes (2017)

Small Blue

Small Blue butterfly - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Small Blue – Stonepit Field, Milton Keynes (2017)
Small Blue butterlfy
Small Blue – Stonepit Field, Milton Keynes (2017)

Brown Argus

Brown Argus butterfly - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Brown Argus – Stony Stratford Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes (2015)
Brown Argus - Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes, 2022
Brown Argus – Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes, 2022

Common Blue

Common Blue butterfly
Common Blue – Loughton Valley Park, Milton Keynes (2013)
Common Blue butterfly
Common Blue – Floodplain Forest NR, Milton Keynes (2015)
Common Blue butterfly - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Common Blue – Floodplain Forest NR, Milton Keynes (2015)

Chalk Hill Blue

None


Holly Blue

Holly Blue Butterfly
Holly Blue (Female laying eggs) – Great Holm (my Garden at the time), Milton Keynes (2013)
Holly Blue Butterfly
Holly Blue (Female laying eggs) – Great Holm (my Garden at the time), Milton Keynes (2013)

White Admiral

White Admiral - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
White Admiral – Oakhill Wood, Milton Keynes (2017)

Red Admiral

Red Admiral - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Red Admiral – Wolverton Mill, Milton Keynes (2014)
Red Admiral
Red Admiral (wings closed) – Wolverton Mill, Milton Keynes (2014)

Painted Lady

Painted Lady
Painted Lady – Great Holm, Milton Keynes (2014)
Painted Lady - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Painted Lady on a path – Manor Farm, Milton Keynes (2014)

Small Tortoiseshell

Small Tortoiseshell
Small Tortoiseshell – Loughton Valley Park, Milton Keynes (2012)
Small Tortoiseshell
Small Tortoiseshell – Manor Farm, Milton Keynes (2014)

Camberwell Beauty

Extinct UK


Peacock

Peacock butterfly - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Peacock – Bradwell Village, Milton Keynes (2014)
Peacock butterfly
Peacock – Loughton Valley Park, Milton Keynes (2014)
Peacock - Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes, 2022
Peacock – Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes, 2022

Purple Emperor

Purple Emperor - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Purple Emperor – Oakhill Wood, Milton Keynes (2021)

Comma

Comma butterfly
Comma – Loughton Valley Park, Milton Keynes (2013)
Comma butterfly - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Comma – Oakhill Wood, Milton Keynes (2017)

Silver-Washed Fritillary

Silver Washed Fritillary
Silver-washed Fritillary – Oakhill Wood, Milton Keynes (2021)
Silver Washed Fritillary - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Silver-washed Fritillary – Oakhill Wood, Milton Keynes (2021)

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Speckled Wood – Floodplain Forest NR, Milton Keynes (2014)
Speckled Wood
Speckled Wood – Linford Wood, Milton Keynes (2012)

Wall

None


Marbled White

Marbled White
Marbled White – Stony Stratford Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes (2013)
Marbled White
Marbled White – Howe Park Wood, Milton Keynes (2017)
Marbled White - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Marbled White – Stonepit Field, Milton Keynes (2021)

Gatekeeper

Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes, Bucks (2014)
Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes, Bucks (2014)
Gatekeeper - Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes, Bucks, 2022
Gatekeeper – Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, Milton Keynes, Bucks, 2022

Meadow Brown

Meadow Brown
Meadow Brown – Stonepit Fields Park, Milton Keynes (2012)

Small Heath

None


Ringlet

Ringlet - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Ringlet – Linford Wood, Milton Keynes (2012)
Ringlets
Ringlet – Oakhill Wood, Milton Keynes (2017)
Ringlet with dew - Butterflies of Milton Keynes
Ringlet – Hazeley Wood, Milton Keynes (2021)

Butterflies of Milton Keynes Flight Times:

Different butterflies take to the wing at different times, species like Peacock can be seen all year round (they hibernate in the winter) while some hairstreak have really short flight periods, this is the record I use to know when to look for what and when (the light green is late/early times of second broods, Red is unlikely and Dark Green represents best flight times). It should be noted many have changed over the years, becoming earlier, due to climate change, so it is hard to accurately capture this information now


Butterflies of Milton Keynes Sites:

Butterflies can be found all over Milton Keynes, sometimes in decent numbers, but these are the where I consider to be the best locations, and the species that can be seen there. (All these locations and the species are already in the public domain I would not dream of putting sensitive information out there otherwise). If anyone has information on species I have no locations for, ones I have missed from the listed sites or a site I should be checking out, I’d really appreciate knowing about  them:

You can find more information on Milton Keynes wildlife at MK Natural History website, and more on local butterflies in the Upper Thames branch of the Butterfly Conservation site


As you can see this is similar to my Dragonflies of Milton Keynes page in style and substance, so if you liked Butterflies of Milton Keynes you may like that.

Butterflies of Milton Keynes - A photographic collection of the butterflies that can be found in Milton Keynes
butterflies of Milton Keynes
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