Whilst relatively small, Hob Hey Wood has a range of habitats: woodland; woodland edge; hedgerows; meadow; and orchard. This variety would be expected to host a variety of butterflies (which often have specific requirements). The actual range of butterflies in Hob Hey Wood is surprisingly large with at least 21 species calling this little woodland their home.

Some of the wood's butterflies are shown to the right. If you want to know what the butterfly is, hover over an image.
 

The rarest butterfly in the wood is the white-letter hairstreak. This was once a common butterfly in the UK. In the 1970s, however, Dutch elm disease destroyed around 60 million elm trees in Britain. Elms are the white-letter hairstreak’s only home so, unsurprisingly, the population crashed by 93%, becoming one of the rarest butterflies in Cheshire in the process. Many people don’t realise this, but Dutch elm disease is STILL killing elms today. As young trees mature, their bark becomes rough which allows the elm bark beetle to enter the tree, carrying the deadly disease with it.
 

In 2019, I found several stands of elm in Hob Hey so waited eagerly until the butterfly’s flight season. In late June 2020, I was fortunate enough to spot (and photograph) white-letter hairstreaks on these elms; they’re hanging on in Hob Hey Wood!
 

Another ‘hairstreak’, the purple hairstreak, lives in Hob Hey. These butterflies are also tied to one tree, the oak. Hob Hey is filled with oak trees so it’s no surprise that they still live here. However, as Cheshire is one of the least wooded counties in Britain, the purple hairstreak is a very uncommon butterfly here. We’re fortunate to have this ancient woodland supporting these butterflies, in Frodsham.
 

Another, much more common woodland species lives here, the speckled wood. This can be found all over the woodland between April and September, a beautiful spotted brown butterfly with a very showy nature.

Orange-tip butterflies also live in the wood, flying from April until June. The males are unmistakable with their bright orange wingtips but the females, with their black wingtips can easily be confused with other white butterflies.

The spectacular brimstone butterfly can be seen in Hob Hey Wood. I don't know if they breed here, but they are powerful flyers that range widely and can be seen in any month of the year in suitably warm weather. They are spectacular, especially males, with their vivid yellow wings and large size making them unmistakable (females are a yellow-green colour). The name 'butterfly' is said to originate from the yellow colour of the males' wings.
 

The most butterfly-dense area of the wood is the meadow. This area is left to grow wild and is filled with many different grasses, rushes, thistles, hogweed, willowherb and other flowers that are perfect for butterflies and their young. A visit to the meadow on a sunny summer’s day can give the observer the impression they’ve wandered onto the set of a nature documentary.
 

The common, large butterflies are all here, soaring about looking for food and mates, and occasionally fighting each other. Look for red admiral, peacock, small tortoiseshell, and large white at this time. If we have the right conditions, we get a ‘painted lady year’ and the meadow will be filled with these large, colourful, active butterflies.
 

Look closely, though, and there are many more species to see. The ringlet, a black-looking butterfly is a recent colonist to Cheshire. This small butterfly, once a rarity, occurs in high numbers here. Similar in appearance, but larger and browner is the meadow brown. This is one of the commonest butterflies in Europe and seems to be able to fly in colder conditions than other butterflies so they are often flying about the orchard and meadow even in cooler weather. There are two other white butterflies, the small white and green-veined white, which can be difficult to tell apart.
 

There are six orange butterflies that live here, too. The most spectacular is the comma. This butterfly is a vivid orange, with deeply cut wings that could be mistaken for nothing else. They glow orange, even on dull days, and will brighten up any walk.
 

The gatekeeper, so named as it often occurs near gates is a very active butterfly seen from July to September. They’re small but very fast so getting a good look at them depends on them settling down, which they often do with their wings open showing their two spots on the upper wing.

The small copper has a very descriptive name as it is small and is a very vivid copper colour. Not seen (by me) in the wood before, in August 2020, I found my first one in the meadow, glowing in the sunlight.
 

The other three species are also orange, but very small. The large skipper is actually tiny with a wingspan of only 3cm. It is easily overlooked but once spotted is a joy to watch. The small skipper is (as you’d expect) even smaller with a wingspan of <3cm. As it flies, its wings are a blur; just an orange blob as it moves along. Get a good view of one settled, however, and you can appreciate the gorgeous orange hue of its plumage.

In July 2021, a new resident of Hob Hey Wood's orchard was discovered: the Essex skipper. As the name suggests, this butterfly has historically had a southern distribution in Britain but has been spreading north in recent years.

 

The Essex skipper is very similar to the small skipper, with the main identification feature being that the undersides of its antennae are black rather than orange. A skipper showing this feature was photographed and the sighting verified by Butterfly Conservation's county recorder: this species, not present in Cheshire until 2018 is now living in Frodsham. Clearly, the grassland habitat of the meadow is very suitable for Essex skipper and should get even better as we try to improve this habitat.

 

The final butterfly recorded in Hob Hey is the holly blue. This breeds on holly and ivy of which there are loads in the wood so it is surprising that I only found my first here in August 2021 with one nectaring on thistle flowers in the orchard. Holly blues are absolutely beautiful with a powdery blue colour dotted with black dots. 
 

With the lack of recording, it’s highly likely that other species occur such as the common blue. If you see any new species, why not report them on our website or Facebook page.