Ireland Post has issued the local FDC together the stamp set featuring the species of butterflies , Small Copper / Lycaena phlaeas, Green Hairstreak / Callophrys rubi , Pearl-bordered Fritillary / Boloria euphrosyne , and Painted Lady on May 24, 2005. The issue stamps have designed by Ian Loe Artwork, consist of 4 single postage stamps and one souvenir sheet. Maxi cards also issued and depicted each species in more detail.
Small Copper / Lycaena phlaeas
The Small Copper is a fast flying butterfly that, once settled, is unmistakable with its bright copper-coloured forewings. It is a widespread species and a familiar and welcome sight for many naturalists throughout the summer months.This butterfly occurs in discrete colonies throughout the British Isles. Its distribution becomes more patchy in northern England, Scotland and Ireland.
Most colonies are fairly small, with just a few adults being seen on the wing at any one time. It is absent from mountainous areas, the Outer Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands.In bright sun it is a very active little butterfly with the males setting up small territories which they will defend vigorously against rival males or indeed any unlucky passing insect.
The Small Copper, American Copper, or the Common Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) is a butterfly of the Lycaenids or gossamer-winged butterfly family.It is found in a wide variety range of habitats from chalk downlands, heathland, woodland clearings to churchyards and waste ground in cities.
The upperside forewings are a bright orange with a dark outside edge border and with eight or nine black spots.The black spots on the forewings are outlined in yellow and the dark colouring is replaced by a pale brownish, gray.The hindwings are dark with an orange border.The undersides are patterned in a similar way but are paler.The hindwings are the same brown/grey colour with small black dots and a narrow orange border.
The Small Copper favors open land where nectar sources and foodplant are found. Such habitats include grassland, wasteland, heathland, old quarries, embankments, road verges and woodland rides.This sun-loving butterfly is often found resting on the ground, vegetation or flowers, as it absorbs the sun’s rays.
Green Hairstreak / Callophrys rubi
A small butterfly that is widespread throughout Britain and Ireland. Always rests with wings closed showing bright green undersides with faint line of white spots. Upperwings are brown giving brown appearance in flight. The Green Hairstreak holds its wings closed, except in flight, showing only the green underside with its faint white streak.
This species ranges throughout Europe, parts of North Africa and across Asia to Siberia. It is stable in most of Europe but has declined in several countries.Green Hairstreak colonies may be found on calcareous grassland, woodland rides and clearings, heathland, moorland, bogs, railway cuttings, old quarries, and rough, scrubby grassland. This species occurs on a wide range of soils but is strongly associated with scrub and shrubs, which are usually present at sites where it breeds.
Pearl-bordered Fritillary / Boloria euphrosyne
The pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne) is a pale, orange-brown butterfly with black spots and wingspan 38-46 mm. The underside is paler with reddish-brown hind wings featuring pearly, silver spots. The caterpillar is about 2.5 cm long and has a black body with black, yellow or white spines along the back.
This butterfly gets its name from the series of "pearls" that run along the outside edge of the underside of the hindwing. Males are often seen flying swiftly, low across the breeding site in search of a mate and are extremely difficult to follow, the colouring of the wings providing excellent camouflage against the dead bracken that is often found at these sites.
The pearl-bordered fritillary forms discrete colonies which can be found in isolated pockets in southern and western England, Wales, Scotland and the Burren in western Ireland. Colonies can fluctuate wildly in numbers, from a couple of dozen to over a thousand, this being largely-determined by the availability of suitable habitat. Most colonies contain a few dozen adults.
The pearl-bordered fritillary is typically found in deciduous woodland containing open areas, such as woodland clearings, that provide the right conditions, food-plants and nectar sources for this species to thrive. This butterfly can also be found in conifer plantations and limestone pavements in some areas.
Males start their day by nectaring on various flowers, such as those of Bugle, Dandelion, Bird's-foot Trefoil and Buttercup, before patrolling low over the breeding sites in search of a mate, investigating any reddish brown object encountered. When a virgin female is found, the female will fly to a suitable platform, sometimes at some height, where the two mate, staying together for 30 to 60 minutes.
It has declined rapidly across the UK, and Scotland is now the major stronghold. Once considered common and widespread, the Pearl-bordered Fritillary is now one of our most-threatened species. The cessation of coppicing which resulted in the loss of suitable habitat is believed to be one of the major causes of this drastic decline. Conservation efforts have therefore focused on habitat management and there have been a number of success stories. However, this butterfly is still declining and, as such, continues to be a priority species for conservation efforts.
Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui is a well-known colourful butterfly, known as the Painted Lady, or in North America as the Cosmopolitan. This butterfly has a strange pattern of flying in a sort of screw shape and as one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America.
Vanessa cardui occurs in any temperate zone, including mountains in the tropics. The species is resident only in warmer areas, but migrates in spring, and sometimes again in autumn. The painted lady butterfly travels around 1000 miles in its life. Its wing span is 2 inches. The painted lady caterpillar is black with spiked skin.
Larvae feed on Asteraceae spp., including Cirsium, Carduus,Centaurea, Arctium, Helianthus, and Artemisia spp.
Common and widespread migrant found throughout Britain and Ireland in most years. Orange-brown wings with black and white spots on forewing. Undersides mottled brown with spots.The Painted Lady is a long-distance migrant, which causes the most spectacular butterfly migrations observed in Britain and Ireland.
Each year, it spreads northwards from the desert fringes of North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia, recolonizing mainland Europe and reaching Britain and Ireland.
In some years it is an abundant butterfly, frequenting gardens and other flowery places in late summer.Because it is a wide-ranging migrant, the Painted Lady may be seen in any habitat. Adults tend to congregate in open areas with plenty of thistles, which serve both as larval foodplants and nectar sources for adults.
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