Butterflywatch: the orange tip is the true herald of spring

Most of us have a favourite first that signifies the true beginning of spring. For me, it’s the first orange tip. While butterflies that hibernate as adults have been flying for a while, the orange tip is usually the first species to emerge from a chrysalis.

Last spring I complained that I didn’t see my first in Norfolk until 2 April. This year it was 19 April. Other spring butterflies, from the holly blue to the increasingly scarce dingy skipper, are at least a week later than average.

The orange tip is one of our most accessible butterflies because its caterpillars lay their eggs on ubiquitous garlic mustard or cuckoo flower. The latter likes damp places; the former likes hedges. If you inspect these attractive “weeds” you’ll see the female orange tip (without orange tips but with an attractive dappled green underside) laying eggs – bright orange pin-heads.

The camouflaged (and cannibalistic) caterpillars lie along the seed pods of garlic mustard in June. Sadly their chrysalises are too often destroyed by “tidy” gardening. So a friend of mine searches for the chrysalises near their foodplant and stores them in his conservatory to guarantee more joy next spring.