Another rare butterfly seen in Rochdale

A Dark Green Fritillary (Argynnis aglaja), photo: Clive Mountney

Following the sighting of a rare Hummingbird Hawk Moth in the Rochdale area recently, this week there have been two sightings of the Dark Green Fritillary butterfly.

One sighting was in the Piethorne Valley, Newhey and the other was in the valley from Buckley Lane which runs through to Syke.

This fast flying and powerful butterfly can be found in the UK but is usually found in coastal areas. There are no recorded sightings of the butterfly in Rochdale.

It is large in size and gets its name from the underside of its wings which are green with large silver spots. The upper side is orange patterned with black lines and spots.

It is usually seen in open limestone grassland or coastal dunes settling on Creeping Thistle and Knapweeds.

Couples often continue to feed on nectar even whilst they are mating. They typically feed in the early morning and late afternoon moving quickly from flower to flower.

As they prefer full sunshine, they generally emerge in June with population at its highest in July.