Social Distancing Week 9. Holly Blue.
Paul writes: I’ve been watching Holly Blues flitting around my garden for the past few weeks but they have never settled anywhere, until this week. I have a Holly bush in the garden, that I’ve been watching regularly, hoping one of the butterflies would show an interest in it. I was finally rewarded with the sight of two of them chasing around and then landing on the Holly. I hope one of them will have laid her eggs there.
Holly Blues have two generations a year, they are unusual because the caterpillars of each generation have different food plants. The adults that emerge in the spring lay their eggs on Holly, where the caterpillars feed on the flowers and new leaves. The next generation of adults appear in summer and these butterflies lay their eggs on Ivy, which is the new food plant for the caterpillars.
[registration_form]
Hence the song ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ I suppose? Well, it could be, or maybe I’m imagining it?