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Monday 20 April 2015

A-Z Challenge 2015 - Butterflies 'Q'

Q - Quercusia quercus, Queen of Spain Fritillary

I thought I was going to be stuck with the Queen of Spain that I mentioned under 'F'

Then I came across Quercusia quercus. I thought initially that this had something to do with the tree on a postage stamp from Great Britain


The English Oak - Quercus robur
It turned out that the place to see Quercusia quercus, aka the Purple Hairstreak, is fluttering in woods round the crowns of the oak and ash.

Purple Hairstreak Butterfly
It has nothing in common with that purple hair rinse that's favoured by some ladies I'm told.

Female Purple Hairstreak
It's the female that has those permanently purple patches; the upperside of the male is brown but may show a purple sheen from some angles in bright sunlight.

My longstop for Q has always been the - 

Queen of Spain Fritillary
It has light spots on its underside that shine like mother of pearl.

The Queen of Spain is a migratory butterfly which flies from Southern Europe to England in favourable years.


Love is like a butterfly
As soft and gentle as a sigh
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing

I feel it when you're with me
It happens when you kiss me
That rare and gentle feeling that I feel inside
Your touch is soft and gentle
Your kiss is warm and tender
Whenever I am with you I think of butterflies

Love is like a butterfly
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing

Photo attributions:
  • Purple Hairstreak: Alners Gorse, Dorset, 3 August 2013, upload by tm, by Ian Kirk - CC BY 2.0
  • Queen of Spain Fritillary: 13 June 2011, by Gail Hampshire - CC BY 2.0


4 comments:

Jo said...

What exactly is the difference between fritillary and butterfly?

Bob Scotney said...

Jo - Fritillary is the name of a species of butterflies. There are 9 differently individually named butterflies in the UK of which the Queen of Spain Butterfly is one.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Bob .. love the Purple Hairstreak and good to know the female has the pretty colour this time .. while the Queen of Spain Fritillary is stunning too .. but I prefer the gently purple hairstreak.

Cheers Hilary

Unknown said...

Love these names, and still marvel that these delicate creatures exist. I must make a note of those I do see this year. So far nothing, but I'm in the Lake District in June and Yorkshire in August, so maybe. I'll keep looking.