What has happened to the Long-tailed Blues? Has the bad weather killed them off or are they trying to migrate south?

David M wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 11:24 am

Matsukaze wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 8:22 pmRed Admiral in the garden today, basking in the sun, nectaring on hebe and flying energetically.

Aah, the magic of hebe, eh Chris?

Yes indeed - another one, seemingly freshly emerged, nectaring on the same shrub this morning, until disturbed by a blackbird.

Red Admiral in the garden today, basking in the sun, nectaring on hebe and flying energetically.

Attacked by a butterfly on the sea front at Exmouth today, probably a Small Tortoiseshell. Looked for Mallow Skipper larvae on the abundant foodplant, but predictably without success. Maybe one day...

April 2023 - the Orange-tip class of 2023 starts to think about taking to the air, with a Small White in the mix too.

I'm hoping to do some nocturnal caterpillar-searching next year - can anyone recommend good makes of UVA torches?

It occurs on the islands - https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.cks6rf - but whether it is abundant enough there to support a butterfly population or not I have no idea.

3 species today in N Somerset - Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, and a white/Brimstone glimpsed at a distance.

This species gets increasingly restricted to the banks of hill-forts the further south-west you go. Here is one in such a habitat at White Sheet Hill in early September.

I didn't see too many of these this year, but this one roosting on a Provençal hillside in late April was the easiest to photograph.

That open-winged LTB is a lovely butterfly.

At least 7 Red Admirals nectaring up on ivy, amidst clouds of honey bees, in central Glasgow today.

..I was not expecting the latter this far north. I think they're even on Orkney, Chris. It's ssp oblita if I'm not mistaken? Speckled Wood must be very localised on Orkney as the open terrain looks thoroughly unsuitable for the species. There are Vanessids about here, presumably Red Admirals.

Golspie, Sutherland, 12 September. 1 Red Admiral, 2 Speckled Woods. I was not expecting the latter this far north.

Linlithgow, West Lothian, 9 September - 1 Red Admiral giving a good display of gliding above head height, its wings lit brilliantly from above. 3 Speckled Woods, dallying at woodland edge.

White Sheet Hill (Wiltshire), 2 September 2023 Still life in the season yet... P1050551.jpg Meadow Brown the most numerous species, joined by Small Heath (bright examples, looking fresh), Brown Argus (worn), Common Blue, Adonis Blue (males worn, females fresh) and Small White. Surprising to see how ...

Some of the arguments the conspiracy theorists use are quite hysterically ludicrous. The main one that seems to crop up over and over again is that the western immigrants (Sussex, Hampshire etc) can't be natural due to the distance across the channel unlike the Kent ones, suggesting that once they ...

Allan - aren't the hindwings on that Meadow Brown also aberrant?

I give it three years before someone claims that the Long-tailed Blues themselves are part of the conspiracy.

One of the grass-moths - Agriphila tristella.

A. curassavica couldn't grow quickly enough to cope with even the unusually good summer of 2022 here, failing to flower before autumn kicked in, and (hardly unexpectedly) died off over winter. The other two have at least proved hardy but are very vulnerable to slugs, and have taken considerable los...