Speckled Wood

admin
, 09 May 2019
Speckled Wood
© Bob Eade

By Charlotte Owen

WildCall Officer

There is a subtle beauty to the speckled wood butterfly, whose wings are patterned to perfectly mimic the gentle dance of dappled sunlight on the woodland floor.  Unlike its brightly-coloured, sun-loving cousins, this butterfly prefers the shade of the tree canopy and will happily fly on a cloudy day, flitting along woodland glades, patrolling hedgerows and venturing into well-vegetated parks and gardens.  In fact, the Speckled Wood is vulnerable to overheating in strong sunlight and will retreat to the shadows to see out the more sweltering summer temperatures.

Males and females look alike but the female tends to have larger creamy wing spots, making her earthy tones appear paler than the male’s.  Both sexes also have a range of darker ‘eye’ spots to deter predators, with one on each forewing and either three or four on the hind wings.  Interestingly, the number of hindwing eye spots seems to determine the strategy employed by the male in his search for a female.  Males with three eye spots tend to fly on active patrol, while those with four tend to sit and wait – presumably because the extra pair of watchful ‘eyes’ provides sufficient extra protection from predators while in this more vulnerable position.  Males are highly territorial and often guard a single sunspot on the woodland floor, moving with it as the sun arcs through the sky.  If another male intrudes, an immediate battle is triggered and the pair will fly up towards the canopy in a spiralling dogfight, with the victor returning to bask in his woodland spotlight.

Females mate soon after emerging but are often bombarded with so much unwanted male attention that they are forced to take a rather drastic measure.  No longer interested in courtship, she will give her unrelenting suitor a very clear message by playing dead – closing her wings, drawing in her legs and keeling over sideways.  Some males are a bit slow on the uptake and may spend several minutes investigating her ‘corpse’ but eventually the tactic pays off, the male takes wing and the female makes a sudden and miraculous recovery to flutter through the woodland in peace.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783330091.29580 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783330091.32050.0247Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783330091.32060.0001Server address: 216.73.216.170
1783330091.32070Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783330091.32070Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/speckled-wood
    [s] => speckled-wood
    [1] => speckled-wood
)
1783330091.3210.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783330091.32210.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783330091.32390.0018 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783330091.32440.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783330091.32620.0018 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22683122
1783330091.32670.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22683122
1783330091.32720.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-06 09:28:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-06 09:28:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783330091.32830.0011 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='speckled-wood')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 09:28:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783330091.33050.0022 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783330091.3310.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1773 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 09:28:00'
1783330091.33170.0007 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783330091.33230.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783330091.33280.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=181 LIMIT 1
1783330091.33320.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=49 LIMIT 1
1783330091.33380.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783330091.3340.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783330091.33480.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 09:28:00' AND postSlug='speckled-wood'
1783330091.35570.0209Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783330091.35630.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783330091.35770.0014Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783330091.3580.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783330091.35890.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783330091.35990.001 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783330091.36270.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783330091.36310.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783330091.3650.0018Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783330091.3650 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783330091.36580.0007 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783330091.36630.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783330091.36860.0024 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783330091.36950.0009 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783330091.37020.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783330091.37260.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783330091.37350.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783330091.37570.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783330091.37620.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783330091.37650.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783330091.37710.0006Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783330091.37750.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='speckled-wood')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 09:28:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783330091.37920.0018 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783330091.37970.0004 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783330091.38270.003Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783330091.38360.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1773 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783330091.43280.0492 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783330091.4330.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783330091.43320.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783330091.4340.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783330091.43480.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783330091.43520.0004 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783330091.43740.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783330091.43790.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783330091.43960.0017 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783330091.44030.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783330091.44090.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783330091.44120.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783330091.44350.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783330091.44390.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783330091.44560.0017 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783330091.4480.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783330091.44870.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783330091.44930.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783330091.45180.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783330091.45220.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783330091.45390.0017 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783330091.45530.0014 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783330091.45580.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783330091.45610.0003 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783330091.45790.0018 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783330091.45830.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783330091.45980.0016 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783330091.46090.0011Request time: 0.1676
1783330091.46090Process time: 0.1675
1783330091.46090Memory: 1.6217