Butterflies sleeping in the garden

A few days ago, I noticed a Holly Blue on a plant stem on the lawn at dusk. Actually, there have been hundreds of this species in the garden this year. But, this one was settled, it was at roost, in its nocturnal torpor state.
Asleep, in other words.
Holly Blue at roost in the middle of the lawn
I put a metal basket over the top of it so that nobody would tread on it if they were mothing around the garden or counting frogs. Once it got properly dark, I took a short stroll around the garden (the only thing possible with a short garden) and shone a torch up at the overhanging ivy, ostensibly I was looking for moths, but there was another Holly Blue roosting under an ivy leaf. Down below roosting on some apple mint, a Green-veined White.
Sleeping Green-veined White
Inspired, I plodded around the rest of the garden peering under bushes and around the potting shed expectantly and was rewards with a Small Tortoiseshell, a Red Admiral, and a European Peacock, all asleep in different spots in the garden.
It was an odd revelation, I’ve been mothing for six summers now and have seen lots of moths flying around the garden, nectaring on the wildflowers and the (un)cultivated flowers, and of course, a lot drawn to the UV light…but I’d never noticed roosting butterflies before.
Has something changed or is it just my level of observation? Last year was particularly hot and dry, it’s likely that lots of gardens, hedgerows, and bushes and wild plants out in the nearby ...

Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - July 19, 2023 Category: Science Authors: David Bradley Tags: Lepidoptera Source Type: blogs