7. Landscape Science
Heath Fritillary (Mellicta athalia) Butterfly

acrylic on canvas
60cm x 80cm
Iain White, 2009

This work attempts to show the behaviour of local populations of the heath fritillary (Mellicta athalia) butterfly in British coppiced woodlands. This species is dependent on open clearings created by the harvesting of coppices wood in parcels cut on a regular cycle.

Colony numbers decline as the coppice grows up and the canopy closes. Population persistence therefore depends on the gap creation rate by coppice management and the distances between such gaps.

Although more figurative in that the difference between the closed canopy and the open clearing is clearly apparent, overall the work still draws on the West Coast abstract expressionism of Richard Diebenkorn's Ocean Park series.

Heath Fritillary <strong><em>(Mellicta athalia)</em></strong> Butterfly

acrylic on canvas
60cm x 80cm
Iain White, 2009

This work attempts to show the behaviour of local populations of the heath fritillary (Mellicta athalia) butterfly in British coppiced woodlands. This species is dependent on open clearings created by the harvesting of coppices wood in parcels cut on a regular cycle.

Colony numbers decline as the coppice grows up and the canopy closes. Population persistence therefore depends on the gap creation rate by coppice management and the distances between such gaps.

Although more figurative in that the difference between the closed canopy and the open clearing is clearly apparent, overall the work still draws on the West Coast abstract expressionism of Richard Diebenkorn's Ocean Park series.