David,

I ordered a buckthorn sapling from https://3fatpigs.co.uk/ (Beechwood Nurseries) in 2014 so you could try them as well.

ATB

Peter

Well done on finding all those eggs, bugboy.

Where about roughly did you find the BH eggs at the common? I am just curious if any of those you found were at the northern end, in Banks Common.

ATB

Peter

Thanks to Dave, I was able to find this species at Bookham Commons on 23 August - my first ever close-up view of one.

ATB

Peter

In contrast to Dave and David, I was pleased with the numbers of second-brooded Brown Argus this year although its cousin Common Blue did not do so well. Photo below taken at Aston, near Stevenage in late July.

ATB

Peter

Some stunning Brown Hairstreak images you have there, Wurzel. Well worth waiting for

ATB

Peter

Yes, I thought the programme was too long as well. I don't think you missed much, Bertie :) One or two interesting things discussed. I am not yet entirely convinced about the parasitic wasp being a factor in the migration of the Painted Lady from Morocco. I thought it was just climate and availabili...

A couple of shots from my back garden in Stevenage earlier in the year. At one point I counted 16 larvae on the one buckthorn plant. The adult Brimstone probably developed from one of these larvae. ATB Peter Brimstone larvae back garden 4Jun16 resized.jpg Brimstone back garden 12Jul16 cropped.jpg

Neil, good luck with the book.

Although I do not live in Sussex I spent some of my childhood there and mum lived in Worthing in the last 15 years of her life. I look forward to receiving a copy

ATB

Peter

My vote's in.

Good luck, Paul.

ATB

Peter

Many thanks for your response, MrSp0ck - very helpful. I am not surprised to read about some of the harmful effects of summer grazing by sheep so I'll emphasise the point to the authorities. Even Natural England believes it could be a viable plan on my local meadow but the impact probably won't be a...

Apologies for the lateness of this post :) On 22 August, I saw a Brown Argus on my local patch and noticed the black marks on the forewings ringed by white but thought this was natural variation. However, after reading of a similar individual seen in the Therfield Heath area in 2015 I was prompted t...

Pauline,

A fantastic lot of photos - well done on a great year's butterflying and thanks for sharing your experiences with us. The Hairstreaks family is probably my favourite too

ATB

Peter

The website is a mine of information and I learn something from it every day. What I like best is reading about other people's experiences in the field like bugboy's quest to find almost every species and Pauline's notes on rearing the immature stages. My highlights of 2016: - Finding Brimstone eggs...

I am baffled by this behaviour too - I understand that some Peacocks hibernate only one week after emerging. Could it be that they fatten up quickly then enter hibernation to 'save' themselves until the spring? Peacocks in some other parts of Europe are bivoltine or even trivoltine and even in this ...

The best of luck in your quest for a Brownie, Goldie. I am confident you will find one

ATB

Peter

With wonderful weather forecast today I decided to make a go of it at Bookham Commons. I parked by the Hundred Pound Bridge and also like fellow UKB'er Dave Miller I attempted to take the footpath to the west of the bridge. Before I knew it I was at the other end of the common towards the car park a...

Hi! Peter, I'm still in Kent at present so I've not heard any thing about Brown HS's at Gait Barrow, it would really surprise me if some one had seen them, it's not so long since I had an e-mail from the Ranger there when I asked if he knew the where about's of the White Letter HS at GB and he said...

Hi Goldie,

You made a point about having to wait for Brown Hairstreaks until next year but someone saw one at the Gait Barrows NR on Tuesday and Wednesday (iRecord database) - in your neck of the woods? Can this really be true?
ATB

Peter

There is a planning application for a small local meadow to be fenced to allow Herdwick sheep to graze either during the autumn and/or 8 weeks in the summer. I understand Herdwicks graze closely and eat scrubs like bramble but does anyone know how beneficial these sheep are for butterfly conservatio...

I was lucky to find a Clouded Yellow on my local patch - what a surprise. It wouldn't stop to pose for long hence I could manage only one photo

ATB

Peter