You should have no problem finding the PBFs in Rewell. I have seen them mainly around the southernmost parts of the wood (around the bridleway). Please bear in mind the message issued on Sussex BCs website last year, presumably for the benefit of ground nesting birds: "For those wishing to visi...

I completely agree with Felix, without extensive specimen collecting our knowledge of the natural world would be no where near as rich as it is. Jack, you say that the stamps are hardly in keeping with the conservation/green ethos, but I would disagree. Without the necessary knowledge of our flora a...

To my knowledge, these are the only bee-flies found in GB: Bombylius canescens Bombylius discolor Bombylius major Bombylius minor Thyridanthrax fenestratus Villa cingulata Villa circumdata Villa modesta Villa venusta Phthiria pulicaria with B.major being the most common. Most of the others I think h...

Here's my first shot for the month, and my first butterfly photo with my new camera - using a viewfinder again is going to be difficult! Small Tortoiseshells on April 3rd 2008 along the banks of the River Exe.

To me a bit of photoshop to improve photos is a good thing. When it comes to butterflies I think if you can see that a photo has obviously been sharpened/tinted etc then it instantly loses its appeal. It is very easy to over do it with photoshop and I consider good digital processing to be a skill l...

Thanks for posting that! I got 14 --the only one I genuinely didn't know (but do now!) was the foodplant of the Swallowtail. Must be really hard in the chair_
AH

Hi Mark, here's a site I presume you haven't seen before...
Bear in mind it's by no means complete, and many species can be easily found outside of the shown areas by searching appropriate habitat.

http://www.searchnbn.net/interactive/ma ... 0000156325

Hi Pete, looks like you've been kept busy lately! I'd just like to give my imput on the additions to the site. I think the distribution maps are very good, and I like the way that the front page is split into primary and secondary species, although Am. Painted Lady I'd demote to secondary! Personall...

My entry for camouflage comp:



http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id ... 864&size=l

Here's my entry for this month- a Marbled White under attack from a lurking crab spider.

Ok, another moth I'm afraid. This time Lackey Moths and their larval foodweb. Taken close to Freathy on the Cornish coastpath. 12th May 2007

Here's my entry, a Green Hairstreak taken in May. The behaviour aspect is fairly subtle - I noticed this female pointed her antennae downwards (as shown) before laying an egg. I don't know if this is always the case as it's the only egg-laying butterfly I've seen! http://farm1.static.flickr.com/210/...

Angie, I'm really glad you've got lot's of ladybirds around you - let's just hope they're not harlequins! You can find out about them here: http://www.harlequin-survey.org/ There are lots of different forms of the harlequin, some resembling our British species. Unless you are really very sure of you...

Sooty, you should take the advice from Ham. Enlarging/cropping in a program such as Photoshop will give better results than using digital zoom for those times that you can't get close to the subject.
Like the pictures btw!
Alexander

You're correct on both accounts Denise.

Lucky them!
Hmmm, found in a kitchen....An article in Adastra 2006 from SXBRC (http://www.sxbrc.org.uk) showed a Long-tailed Blue raised from a larva found on Mange Tout by Sarah Patton. Her photo is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8595114@N02/1374052073/

Alexander

Don't forget, there is a really easy way to recognise the Southern Hawker. The spots on the segments furthest from the thorax (segments 8-10) are joined to make a single spot. This is the only British Hawker that shows this.

Regards
Alexander

Pat, to my understanding Norfolk is Britain's top county for this species as they usually fly over from Scandinavia- they're certainly a rarity!
Alexander

Hi Superfly, well done you've got all three species correct. However, the Silver Washed Fritillary is a male (see the horizontal black bars). I couldn't tell you if the Speckled Wood is a male or female.

Alexander

Hi, The description of the butterfly sounds like a Camberwell Beauty to me - about the length of your finger, black, with a pale border. However I can't really imagine picking it up without it flying away either.
Alexander