Longmoor - 8th July 2018 Scenery.jpg Buoyed by my success with Grayling at Folly Hill the other day I decided to pay Longmoor a visit. Another heath I have seen them at in past years but I found none today. Instead there were the masses of S&L White, M Brown and Gatekeeper (but surprisingly no R...

Pete - Thanks for the information on Grayling courtship, its fascinating. I shall go back to my pics and zoom in to see if I can interpret them in this new light. I could not access your video though. How do I do that? Bugboy - I am thinking it might be a good year for Grayling. I saw seven at Folly...

Hi, Matzukaze - love those pics of the Blue Spot Hairstreak.

Incidentally - did you notice if they did a wing-roll? As you are probably aware - my current obsession.

I shall join the queue congratulating you on the Valezina, especially that underside shot.

Andrew - Of all the fantastic shots you took there, the one of the mating Grizzlies is the one I envy, never having seen this yet.

Magdalen Hill - 7th July 2018 My target species today was Chalkhill Blue. I had heard from the Butterfly Conservation website that they were flying already at Magdalen Hill. Rosebay and Guelda Rose.JPG I found five males, all in one area of the reserve, here are two of them. DSCF8544 (2).JPG DSCF856...

Two of the five Chalkhill Blues I saw today at Magdalen Hill were wing-rolling. Last year I scrutinised many from the thousand or so at peak flying time at Old Winchester Hill and only found one that gave a hint that he might do so if there was a good reason to. He seemed to do just one stilted roll...

A while ago in this thread I mentioned that I had never seen an aged butterfly do a wing roll and suggested it might therefore be something only the newly emerged ones did. I now know this is an incorrect idea as I have recently seen an aged Silver-studded Blue female do a wing-roll.

Thanks, Wurzel. An interesting read. Here are my thoughts... I have recently seen butterflies after days of sunshine and heat do wing-rolls during this heat-wave, so its not to assist the shedding of water at the time, but may be a preening exercise to roughen scales should the need to shed water be...

Folly Hill - 6th July 2018 The site I call Folly Hill in Farnham is actually named Tuxbury Hill on old OS maps. It was once an Iron Age Hillfort (aka Caesar's Camp) begun in the Late Bronze Age but was converted into a park in medieval times when it was annexed by Farnham Castle and some of the eart...

Under my PD, Wurzel suggested in jest that the SSBs do wing-rolls in my presence as a greeting to me. :D Since I am running all suggestions as an open brainstorm - I am going to add butterfly "greeting" to the list. At some point I shall write up a summary report collating all these ideas ...

Odiham Common - 5th July 2018 There were hundreds of butterflies flitting about over the common today, you almost did not know where to look for the best. There was S & L & GV & M White, S & L & E Skipper, MB & Rs, Gatekeepers were on the up, a few SW Frits, 2 Commas, 6 new P...

Thanks for the beetle ID confirmation, Wurzel.
Also, I know you meant it as a joke but since I am taking all wing-roll ideas in the spirit of a brainstorm, I shall add the "greeting" idea to my list.

Thursley Common - 4th July 2018 Today was not primarily a butterfly day for me although I was on the look-out for Grayling which I have seen here in the past. It was a general wildlife day really. Thursley is a reasonably large heathland. Bits are acid bog, bits are dry heath, bits are grassland, bi...

Goldie - Thanks. Gatekeepers always mean the onset of high summer to me. I feel its the turning point in the butterfly season when they come on-stream.

Thanks, Janet. The Arboretum is an interesting place at any time of the year and there is no entrance fee. It is not publicised and there is no signpost from the road. Its really just another forest enclosure which has been planted up with some foreign trees. I have a special affinity for it because...

What a fantastic garden centre you have there, Mike. Amazing how close you were able to get to the grounded purplestreak. I have never seen mud-puddling. Thank you for introducing me to this. I wonder if it has anything to do with the long spell of dry weather we are having. Perhaps the butterflies ...

Bugboy

Fantastic. So you've done it. I only came on board right at the end but I am glad I did otherwise I would have missed it.

So now what for the future?. Any other missions to tackle? Or is it too soon to ask?

I was as surprised as you about the Marshies in the eastern clearing. I was lucky enough to be there when they were flying too. But you got some shots that I did not. I particularly like the backlit individual. I am a sucker for these stained-glass window shots. And the Greenstreak... How odd that i...

What a fantastic start to your diary, Old Wolf. I look forward to seeing and reading more. The Black Squirrel is amazing - it has a velvety-like fur. I know Red Squirrels have a melanistic variety but I never knew greys did - but of course now it becomes obvious. Love the badger, too. Not an easy sh...