Working on the edge of Carrington Moss yesterday. Warm and sunny, causing the butterflies to wake up. I only had my phone with me so the photos are poor, but managed to get the Comma and one of the 3 Brimstones. 20230323_092644.jpg 20230323_092556.jpg The Brimstone had unusual dark marks on his wings.

Working in Birch Moss Covert today, clearing the bracken from the heather patch and disturbed this lovely Brown Silverline

Saw my first Painted Lady for 2 years last Friday - I felt honoured that she had possibly come all the way from Africa to our local bit of greenery, which over the last two years we have been rescuing from the scourge of Himalayan Balsam. The field is now full of Comfrey, with Golden Rod and Rosebay...

Hello Goldie, I've just woken up and discovered you have moved to Kent ! And already sighted a Painted Lady! I didn't see any at all last year here up north. I hope you have a really good year Goldie - Janet

I was actually surveying for Willow tits yesterday - no luck there as far as the bird was concerned but it turned out to be my first good day this year for butterflies. 20220416 Comma.jpg 20220416 holly blue.jpg 20220416 peacock.jpg 20220416 small tort.jpg 20220416 Small white.jpg 20220416 speckled ...

I believe your beetle might be the longhorn beetle Stenurella melanura and your lichen is Cladonia cristatella , commonly called British Soldier , as it's red fruiting bodies ressemble the ' red coats ' of the British soldiers in times past . Sorry unable to help with your moth . Greenie Hi Greenie...

I tied wool on the buckthorn twigs with brimstone eggs but the wool either blew away or the birds appropriated it, for there were not many left. Nor were there many eggs to be found and I wondered if they had been eaten. The eggs which remained did not hatch so I assumed they were infertile. Then te...

Hello Max - I've just jumped in to this amazing conversation - can I ask a silly question? Does UV light hunting have to be done in the dark or does it work in twilight?
Best wishes, Janet

Thank you Katrina and Wurzel! Carrington Moss is 3 miles away and has a lot of buckthorn - I didn't think my solitary twig stood much chance!
Later I took a walk there and spotted this courting couple

Delighted to catch Mrs Brimstone investigating the alder buckthorn I planted as a whip in autumn 2019!

My first butterfly of the year spotted through the kitchen window! It was brown.. guessing a Peacock. Rushed to where I thought it settled but couldn't find it. Thermometer registering 11.5 C, the highest it has been so far this year.

Today I was out walking with a friend at Styal, which is close to Manchester airport. We had watched an Emirates plane take off and then, casually walking through the long grass I kicked up a Small Copper - the only butterfly I had seen on this walk. It settled on a seeding Himalayan Balsam and clos...

Thank you both, Dave M and Neil - so they were just warming up! Another sign of autumn's approach. The Speckled Woods here are doing very well and when I visited Rixton Claypits last week they were happily mating away. I took dozens of photos and not one was in focus :roll: However, there were sever...

Another go at the video. This time I've uploaded it to YouTube.https://youtu.be/4W-pK0BCFKo[/video]

David M wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:01 pm
Not working for me, Janet. I'm getting a '404' error.

Oh - is it possible to upload MP4s here?

Still a good number of Small Torts to be seen around here. Today I came across one in the garden, enjoying a quiet snooze on the Bowles Mauve. Then it started quivering its wings - I haven't seen this behaviour before, so I shall attempt to upload a short video.[video]https://photos.google.com/photo...

Six types of Grayling!!
Janet

.. I'd twelve in the front garden and I counted ten in the back Garden.. That's amazing, Goldie! It really has been a good year for them, they must have emerged just after the dry spell ended. I've never had more than 3 at any one time in my garden though - I have left a big thistle to go to seed (...

11th August: a walk along the Mersey. I was pleased to see a Brimstone interested in a patch of common vetch. With the devant jour lighting, it was doing a Lady Diana impression! Today, passing a field full of thistles which were going to seed, we noticed a great many Small Tortoiseshells among the ...

They're lovely shots Ernie, and I can't see the damage you speak of!
Janet