Endemic British butterflies of the Great Ormes Peninsular.

The Great Ormes limestone peninsular above the seaside resort of llandudno in North Wales is home to two British butterfly endemic subspecies. The Silver-studded Blue - Plebejus argus ssp caernensis ( Thompson 1937 ) is smaller than the other British populations and the females have extensive blue scaling unlike the lowland heathland populations, which are mainly brown. The blue scaling may be present to midway on the female wing surface or in some instances cover the entire wing. Either way, this is a very attractive and distinct subspecies. On the limestone where the larvae feed on Rock Rose ( Helianthemum nummularium ), I am happy to say ssp caernensis is plentiful with several extensive colonies. On my visit during two hot days the blues were on the wing between 7.am and 7.30pm and like many of the same family they communally settled down for the evening. They bask in the early morning and late evening sunshine and otherwise fly in an unhurried flight low to the ground, both sexes visiting flowers usually the foodplant for nectar.

The other special butterfly to be found on the limestone of the Great Ormes is a dwarf race of the Grayling - Hipparchia semele ssp thyone ( Thompson 1944 ). This smaller subspecies appears several weeks earlier than the normal form. Again there are strong colonies of ssp thyone present. The butterfly favourite habitat is the bare rocks and cliffs. This is really a hard butterfly to approach and they are sensitive to any movement, probably caused by vibrations in their rocky home. When not resting on the rocks the males chase each other at high speed and any other butterfly that they encounter. They rarely visit flowers but when they do, it is usually the purple flowers of the Wild Thyme ( Thymus serpyllum ).



The limestone of the Great Ormes Peninsular in North Wales.




Plebejus argus ssp caernensis males.








Plebejus argus ssp caernensis females.


Mating Pair of caernensis.