Good luck with the project, Guy. I'm sure you will entertain your readers with the same mixture of reason and wit that you bring to your audience here .
And I hope that you have scheduled-in some key times to devote to your butterfly exploits too - and to keep us informed.
Enjoy your year
N

Spent the afternoon surrounded by icarus :D Good to see so many in one place. Over 30 in the field I was in, with fresh and old specimens - and I only covered about 1/3rd the area. Lots of blue females too... CB_f_4_low_D'Engaynes_18_06_2013.jpg CB_f_3_low_D'Engaynes_18_06_2013.jpg CB_f_8a_low_D'Eng...

We seem to be in the "June gap", waiting for the next species to emerge. Very windy here the last few days and only 1 old Speckled Wood seen. Most of the ST cats have entered 3rd or 4th instar and are more difficult to spot; there were a few egg sites so varying stages of the cats and thei...

Yes - it is nice to have some idea of their life-span, especially with territorial males that you recognise in your local patch. I once noted a large and brutish male CB that bullied anything that came near him for nearly 3 weeks; I called him Arnie :mrgreen: It brings things onto a much more person...

Nice one, Roger!

A late trip to Totternhoe provided a cloudy and overcast start, with the Small Blue hunkered down in the vegetation, but soon livened up after the sun came out. SB_3c_low_Totternhoe_05_06_2013.jpg Large, Small and GV White, OT, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Small Heath, Brimstone and Dingies; but the Duk...

Some nice pics indeed!

I'd be grateful for some tips, please... Hoping to get down to Bedfordshire in search of Dukes this week and wondered if anyone out there could recommend specific sites to go looking. I'll have the kids in tow so searching time will be limited. :? Totternhoe, Whipsnade/Bison Hill seem the prime can...

Cheers, Pete. About time I nailed one....
My obsession with Blues continues....
icarus next to emerge....

The sun appeared eventually today.....as I passed a holly bush, I found this female HB doing what she has to do... HB_f_4_low_MRC_22_05_2013.jpg She laid a single egg and then retired to rest for a while .... HB_f_1a_low_MRC_22_05_2013.jpg before going out to investigate and lay on a couple more bud...

Wish I was closer to the SPB & PB Frits - be great if I could just pop-out when conditions were right.... As it is, have to make-do with more humble species.....my first PL of the year, right in the centre of Cambridge. PL_2_low_MRC_21_05_2013.jpg PL_3_low_MRC_21_05_2013.jpg It did not look as t...

Ah, yes - the Wet, sorry, West Coast of Scotland; hence, when the sun does shine, the beautiful, lush-green forests and cloud-shrouded mountains make us sigh with pleasure and provides numerous land, sea and cloud scape photo opportunities.... :) It also provides the ideal conditions for many ssp's ...

Before the rain this morning, 4 HB, a couple of Small White and about 8 Speckled Wood, including some females...

Lets try Mike's theory out:

As rare as hen's teeth
comes out as this from Google translate:
Vzácné jako slepice zuby

Pigs might fly
comes out as this from Google translate:
Prasata mohou létat

Glad to hear you are flying around again on the bike.
You certainly earned the beer! I like the idea of English Beers at Altitude; I'm sure Jack would really appreciate such a series, too
Look forward to more pictures & reports....

Yep - a great set of shots....
It is always good when plans work out....
Loved the Maps, too

Jack Harrison wrote:

(and just over the wall is the "Cambridge Blue" - over 3,000 real ales and counting.... )

Lucky sod. See my comment in Guy's diary:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4872&p=70423#p70429
Jack

I'll have one for you, Jack......

When the sun finally came out, I continued in my challenge of Holly Blue... Not yet quite done - a better one is always out there, somewhere..... :D Looks like you live in the Holly Blue capital of Britain - great pics Nick! Cheers, - Pete Cheers - One of the best sites in Cambs for HB I would say....

When the sun finally came out, I continued in my challenge of Holly Blue... Not yet quite done - a better one is always out there, somewhere.....

First good numbers of GV White here too, Jack Holly Blue most abundant species in MRC, and more OT, Speckies too, plus a couple of Peacock and a Comma.
More Large White seen, especially in the City...