Yellow is the colour at Stanley Ferry Flash

The colour yellow was certainly in fashion today during my walk around the woodland and waterside edges at Stanley Ferry Flash. Most eye-catching was a number of wandering brimstone butterflies often flying too fast to follow and to get a close view.  However, during a brief cloudy spell one did settle long enough to manage a photo (below).  Happily, this attractive butterfly is becoming more frequent in the district and sometimes visits my own garden on the outskirts of Wakefield where I have planted buckthorn.  Buckthorn is one of the two food plants of the caterpillars of the brimstone butterfly. Next on the wildlife fashion boardwalk during my visit was the marsh marigold; this plant is frequent in open damp woodland and often grows into large clumps.  Botanically the blooms are without petals, but have 5-8 showy and glossy sepals, which are the outer ring of the flower.

brimstone butterfly

brimstone butterfly, now widespread in the distrcit

marsh marigold (Caltha palustris)

marsh marigold (Caltha palustris)

 

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