It’s clear how much time you’re dedicating to field studies of immature stages Max, and it really does make for excellent reading. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with next……

Hi Ian -

On a trip so nothing to hand to check but initial thoughts are Freyer’s for the Bulgarian one and Heath and Meadow for the French. Two pics are of the same Heath Frit I think?

Hopefully some others will weigh in…..

Cheers -

Super report David - always a pleasure to keep up with your doings both home and abroad. I know how tiring these trips can be, mentally as much as physically, so am always in awe of your energy reserves! You keep in touch with a truly incredible array of species on an annual basis, but you earn ever...

Oooo - that’s a beauty Trevor. A great photo of a really lovely butterfly. Looking forward to more…..

Nice video Philip - I do love watching egg laying!

Echoing others I hope things are improving with Magnet and I must congratulate you on your superb emerging sequence photos! I can’t imagine anyone more deserving of such success after the effort you have put into the project over the years. There’s always something of interest in your diary - a grea...

Excellent returns for what was no doubt a lot of effort Richard - super stuff.

Super report Pete! So glad you found your targets and really enjoyed your account - thanks for sharing!

I’ve been monitoring WLH closely over the last couple of years. UV torch surveys enable a detailed distribution map to be built up with relatively little investment of time - just a few long night time walks each year when the majority of larvae are in their final instar. The conclusion is perhaps n...

Great to see you’re off to a flying start David. There are many spring species I’ve not yet caught up with so I’m sure I will particularly enjoy reading your spring reports.

…….and actually remembering back to some i collected last year it’s clear that they remain very variable in all instars. This is an L4 perfectly matched to the seed clusters I found him hiding amongst. His tree was late to leaf.

Thanks Guy - reassuring to know you’re on the same page. WLH instars seem quite tricky - especially distinguishing between L2 and L3. I think both L2 and L3 can be very variable in terms of colouring, and no doubt this is linked to diet. I’ve managed to follow this one very closely though, so having...

Some great shots of spring species recently Trevor. I try to deal with the frustration of a slow spring by convincing myself that all we’re really doing is condensing all the fun into a mega few weeks when we finally get some warmth. The only problem with that though, is that when it does all explod...

Just a thought - I’m sure you are already aware of the use of UV torches to survey for immature stages? This has been discussed in my own PD recently and some of us have used the method for a good few years now. It’s really fascinating to go out at night and discover what fluoresces under UV light. ...

Your diary continues to be a great pleasure to dip into. Wonderful to see the variety of species but also fascinating to hear of how you engage with them. In terms of tracking down immature stages I don’t think I can suggest anything you don’t already know. Finding favoured breeding sites will invol...

This post is an attempt to detail my current thinking with regards the fluorescence of immature stages and how this phenomenon relates to their ecology. I’ve made the mistake previously of assuming that if larvae/pupae are fluorescing under UV light then this will make them MORE visible to predators...

And to complete this quick-fire attempt to update my diary, I should just mention WLH. I’ve only been monitoring a couple of cats from eggs but as soon as they start feeding on leaves I will find many more very easily with UV searches. This one is L2 and has now started to fluoresce under UV. Intere...

The April 24th series goes on for another year: 18C103FA-E3F0-4362-B5D7-482041698DE1.jpeg C94DAF8B-1326-460C-A37D-DADDC0680EFF.jpeg Each year so far I have wished that I’d placed some kind of mark on the floor to direct me to the identical spot to take the photo. I still haven’t done it and as a res...

Many thanks Pauline and David. I popped back a few days ago to see how things were progressing and unfortunately a further two cats have been lost. Leatherlips predated and Agnes Naismith shrivelled/predated. Agnes certainly died waiting by a bud. Whether she ran out of reserves or was attacked by s...

I’ve struggled to find time to check on the PE cats recently, but I did finally manage it yesterday. 7 have made it through and all 7 are now feeding. CE51A3AA-B0BF-4573-9146-3DE9E120A1A1.jpeg 19/20: 14/47 - 29.8% 20/21: 13/35 - 37.1% 21/22: 12/44 - 27.3% 22/23: 7/20 - 35% With a relatively small st...