I've been looking at the species list on the front page of the website. In several cases, in the headline row of photos, there is a gap stating "no image available". For example, there is no female Holly Blue topside - and yet there are several good photos lower down the page in the Imago ...

I've just read the following in a Wikipedia article (about Poplar Admiral): quote "An incommon method has been used to attrack the butterfly in putting to the end of a pole a representation in paper of the butterfly. Walking this lure, several butterflies came to see this "colleague",...

Superb MW pic, Zonda!

For myself, the detailed 'taxonomy' of the fora is not an issue because I never explore them systematically Many thanks, Guy, for your measured and thoughtful response. From the silence elsewhere, I assume most are content with things as they are. When I first visited the forums, I was stunned by t...

This is just a 'thread starter' to remind everyone we're into a new month! I found it very useful to see June sightings under a single thread and hope we can continue in a similar way for July. Hopefully, the weather is improving and I'm looking forward to trips for all those gorgeous high-summer bu...

An extra point of interest was an orchid: there are none of any sort anywhere nearby - can anyone I/D from this photo? Your orchid is a Bee Orchid ( Ophrys apifera ) Where was it? They tend to thrive on rough waste grassland on chalk soils, often at the side of paths where the ground gets compresse...

I'd say that they're a 'straight' pair. The undersides are much more similar than the upper wings, where males are blue and females brown (with a variable amount of blue sometimes!) I suspect the one on the left is male and the other female as it has less blue scales and an overall browner colour. M...

That look likes a 'normal' Bee O to me. Despite being such a striking flower, when seen close up, they can be surprisingly difficult to spot, when amongst long grasses, as they often are.

Mike

Tried tempting (with lures) Welsh Clearwing and Large Red Belted Clearwing When I was at Collard on Sunday (26th), my son brought some Clearwing lures. We had good success with Six-belted Clearwing on the slope near the orchids. I only managed rather blurry in-flight shots but it was interesting to...

I've read there's a few Bee Orchid (varieties?) currently on the hill that they've called Wasp Orchid There's a group of about half a dozen Ophrys apifera var Trollii (wasp orchid) on the slope at Collard. The Ranger will point them out to you. When I was there last Sunday (26th) they were beginnin...

Like most Lake District walks, the first pull up from the Honister carpark is very steep but, fortunately, the car has done most of the work in getting to the top of the pass! On a good day, the views from the ridge are superb and it's an easy walk all along to Green Gable in the south and then a di...

Make sure you have tick defences in place if you go to Bentley. The bracken is full of them! I used to go to Bentley often but now tend to head the opposite direction (for me) to Fermyn, which is great for PE. I remember once watching several Purple Hairstreaks rising up from a tree top near the Ben...

celery wrote: Here's a northern brown argus from Arnside taken on Sunday (26th June).

Sounds similar to where I found mine - alongside the path climbing through the woods, rather than on the open summit. Good luck to others!

Mike

Welcome to the forum. I'm fairly new myself and hope you find it as stimulating as I have!

That's a very nice moth and a good reminder that some moths are at least as beautiful as many butterflies. Your technique of photographing on a window is a good way of showing the underside.

Mike

millerd wrote:100% Essex from last year...

Yep - that one really has read the field guides and done an intensive course of dipping its antennae in the ink bottle!

Mike

Thanks for the useful tips here. It seems that the sex brand in the males is the best field marker but Essex girls remain tricky! I have loads of photos where I'm really not sure. It's easy to be misled by the 'black tips' mentioned in all the field guides, since it really is only the underside view...

I knew I was sticking my head above the parapet! I'll hold back and see if anyone else has any thoughts. Just to explain what I meant about confusion: do I post a photograph of a sighting of a species at a site under photos, sightings, species, or sites? I'm possibly being far too analytical and, as...

I can start by confidently stating: definitely not a dragonfly. This insect has only two wings, which places it firmly in the Diptera. I think I can see one of the halteres, which are the little balance weights that hind-wings evolved into in the diptera (true flies). The abdomen shape indicates a f...

Is this photo, taken in June 1983, perhaps the last Marsh Fritillary photo taken in Bernwood (Oakley Wood)? If I remember correctly, I took this photo at the verge of the main ride, close to the entrance gate (where the car-park is now). It is in rather tatty condition and seems to have lost all its...

Having got a ball rolling on the topic of forum structure, I should like to pursue it a little further. The structure of the forum threads is, of course, a taxonomy issue, and anyone who has dabbled with biological nomenclature knows what a minefield that subject conceals! I shall start by noting th...