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.\u00a0 However, during a brief cloudy spell one did settle long enough to manage a photo (below).\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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. \u00a0Botanically the blooms are without petals, but have 5-8 showy and glossy sepals, which are the outer ring of the flower.<\/p>\n
![\"brimstone](\"http:\/\/wakefieldnaturalists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/P5010057.4.brimstone.jpg\")
<\/a>brimstone butterfly, now widespread in the distrcit<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"marsh](\"http:\/\/wakefieldnaturalists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/P5010069.4.marsh-marigold.jpg\")
<\/a>marsh marigold (Caltha palustris)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 … Continue reading