Thanks Wurzel, Pauline, David and Charles for your comments. After Sasha Gnasher the Pasha going AWOL from the Strawberry Tree in my garden, now this week my two Painted Lady cats 5th instar 30 mm long wandered off (to pupate no doubt) away from my Mallow nursery. So no photos of Painted Lady pupati...

A late male Adonis?

Good for you, Chris. :D Can't be too common an experience coming from the south of France to England to get a 'lifer'. It was not the main purpose of my visit to the UK, David, but was a big motivator as Leicester is not far from Monks Wood. The same is true for me regarding White Admiral and Purpl...

Hi Charles and David, Sasha the Gnasher has done a bunk, unless he is well hidden !! He's going to find that its a cruel world out there, out of his tree. However, here is an update on the cats on Mallow in my garden. Notice how the colouring of the Painted Lady cats varies although they are the sam...

Not only was this a lifer for me in 2019, the following day someone showed me a pupa which is quite well disguised and could be mistaken for bird droppings. Black Hairstreak in Monks Wood on the 3rd of June. It was the only one seen and given the date, it was likely the first to emerge this year? Th...

Hi David and Charles, Two-tailed Pasha news is arriving quicker than planned. The Two-tailed Pasha egg that I recovered a couple of days ago hatched between the 14th and 15th October. It has consumed its chorion (its egg shell). jasius37 caterpillar 5 mm long on Arbutus unedo 15Oct19 (2).JPG The TTP...

Excellent photo. Exceeds my best blurred attempts. I can acknowledge the combination of skill / opportunity / presence in the field, necessary. Well done Alan Draper. Chris PS Managed to find a photo of a male C. alfacariensis flirting with female C. crocea f. helice in my archives - shame it was bl...

Hi Folks, At the end of the season, Mallow is becoming bit of an obsession. It is one of the places where we can easily find butterfly early-stages. Today I found further Painted Lady caterpillars, one 7 mm long, and these, 12 mm long: cardui27 caterpillar 12 mm long on Mallow 13Oct19 (24).JPG cardu...

Great set of shots Chris - congrats on the rescue mission :D 8) Those weather conditions sound fantastic and as I sit in the drear in the UK they male summer seem sooooooo far away :? :( Have a goodun Wurzel Thanks Wurzel. Yes, its still pleasant down here, and I can still count up to about 7 or 8 ...

Blue skies and 25C? Thanks for that, Chris (I think). Are you going to try to follow that TTP through the caterpillar stages, if it is accessible? Good luck with your Skipper and Painted Lady mission, good work! Hi Essex, Yep ! That's the indian summer down here, although how long it will last I ca...

Hi Pauline, The weather is still holding up in the south of France with a lo of around 12°C rising to 25°C+ in the afternoon mostly with blue skies. This is a Strawberry tree ( Arbutus unedo ) on the outskirts of Marseille today. context jasius35 egg on Arbutus unedo Parc Bruyères 11Oct19.JPG And he...

Hi Charles and David, Here is the caterpillar rescue mission before the council park lawnmowers arrive. I attempted to lift the whole of the Mallow plant containing the Painted Lady cat, but finally it didn't fit into my improvised container. cardui25 7 mm long on Mallow 10Oct19 (6).JPG Instead I to...

Charles Nicol wrote: ... do you have any mallow growing in your jardin ? maybe rescue a few of the caterpillars from the park before they are martyrisées by the council.

Good idea, Charles, so that is what I have done.
Chris

Hi Folks, Down here in the south of France in mid September there was a peak of Painted Lady imagos that lasted 2 weeks. They could be seen in their tens on each buddleia shrub in my local park near work. I believe that some parts of the UK had an influx of Painted Ladies at the exact same time. My ...

Hi David and Charles, Unfortunately the Swallowtail cat crept off and pupated elsewhere other than on the fennel itself. I looked for it but I won't be getting a pupa photo this year. Next year I will plant more fennel in my garden, taken from nearby waste ground. The cat was coming up to 35 mm long...

Ian Pratt wrote:Not strictly UK and I apologise in advance.Blue butterfly seen recently in SW France. Any ideas? Also, scarce swallowtail and Lang's short tailed blue.

P. dorylas running late ? P. escheri, P. thersites, why not ? The intense blue of the uppers makes me think more of dorylas or escheri.
Chris

Great photos Pauline, from the parasited PL cat to the freshly emerged WLH.
Did you get the parasites identified? Could be Cotesia vanessae or Cotesia vestalis.
You set the bar high
Chris

A nice series of seasonal shots, Kip, with the Sage skipper clearly on its host plant, Phlomis herba venti.
That Long-tailed Blue is nice and fresh.
Chris

A great series of LTB hatching shots, Pauline.
Well done.
Did the cat eat the chorion?
Chris

16th September

Swallowtail cat on fennel. I hope pupation is not too far away. I find the cat in the same place morning and evening but I'm not always at home to check on it during the day. 30 / 32 mm long today. Chris