Just been watching a probable f. Holly Blue on some damp soil in the evening sunlight. I firstly assumed it to be an unknown white; the blue was just the merest hint which made the white brighter. The butterfly struck me as being slightly larger than usual. Do Holly Blues emerge as almost white at t...

When would the French use a lower case f and not introduce themselves as French Students ?

At least Brussels puts something decent on its Christmas Cards.
A Happy Christmas to you all

Pete Eeles wrote: For example, building up a catalogue of most requested IDs would be a start, for the likes of Cinnabar moth and Elephant Hawk-moth larvae, for example
- Pete

I've got some fresh holes in my jerseys, can I send you some photos?

You might get an answer if you contact the only person who I can find for recording London moths and that is Colin Plant, Email: cpauk1 AT ntlworld.com who is the County Recorder for Vice County 20 & VC21 Hertfordshire & Middlesex. His address and phone number are available on-line in the li...

Here is an ongoing research project asking non-collectors to catch common butterflies (Pieris rapae - Small White) and send them on to the researchers. http://www.pierisproject.org/ Some genealogists do the same thing to trace where their ancestors came from but I haven't heard of a case where cous...

Being lazy and not wishing to strip the top couple of inches of my field, I sprayed it with a 360 Glyphosate in the late summer (after cutting and letting it regrow so that there was fresh growth for the herbicide). Rotovated the dead area, sowed a mixture of wildflower seed and extra Rattle, rolled...

Painted Lady (rather faded) S.W. Surrey today

Personally, I think the onus should be on the individual to think ahead and figure out what they're going to do with the resulting adults (and that includes adults of native stock as well) and act accordingly. What's missing is an awareness of the law, the ethics and the practicalities. Many dealer...

First f Orange Tip seen today in SW Surrey, no boys spotted yet!

monet wrote:I am a collector. Do I not have a place in society ?

Not in our society. I recommend stamp collecting, at least some creature doesn't have to die to provide you with a colourful aberration.

I appreciate that it is an emotive subject, but the simple truth is that were you to do such a thing as collect a few Blackbirds and Chaffinches, the effect on the local population would be negligible. Here I must disagree with you. As a lad in Kent I was paid to shoot those pesky Bullfinches that ...

I am a rabid collector ...... of photographs of both butterflies and moths. Some moths need to be killed in order to be identified, the resultant identification goes to the county recorder. I have some butterfly specimens which unfortunately perished in the greenhouse, these go under the microscope ...

Although apparently not specific in detail, high fire risk areas would presumably imply scrub and heathland, for example.... There is nothing said about how the ploughed firebreaks would subsequently be used but it doesn’t need too much imagination. Jack Typical political statement taken out of con...

Late summer and autumn are the times when there is an abundance of pheasants raised and released released for shooting. This is restricted to land used for shoots for the birds are fed to keep them near their release pens. The poults love insects and increasingly keepers are sowing nectar and pollen...

It has to be the Cabbage Whites. They are not welcome, their youngsters are vandals and according to UKButterflies.com "This species is also known to migrate to the British Isles from the continent, augmenting the resident population in the process."

MikeOxon wrote: A diagram might help:
Mike

Please don't publish such a succinct and helpful post which I understood the second I saw the diagram. You deprived me of my human right to think "wot the 'ell is he on about?"

I have the 8.5s and love them for the magnification, mainly because I am old and senile; the only drawback I have is in finding the leaf that I saw some damn insect land on and a wider field of view would probably help. I think I would stick with the pair that I have because decent magnification is ...

Three Brimstone boys on the hunt yesterday.

Hope you weren't responsible for the state of the runway because our undercarriage was damaged on take off and we had to sit in Malta for several days until they flew a new one out from Blighty.