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Many butterflies and moths have courtship displays that are beautiful and complex
Watch how the male finds the female nectaring on bramble flowers then follows her round the carpark all the time circling her with his amazing display
Pheromones
The males have chemical signals or pheromones which they use to excite the females to prepare them for mating. In many, these come from special scent scales visible as bands on the wings which are absent in the females.
In the males of the Silver-washed Fritillary, Large Skipper and Gatekeeper, these bands of scent scales are very easy to see. The males are shown on the left, the females on the right.
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