I wondered about this too Pete, and as the ova were sleeved out of doors (rather than taken from the refrigerator at a time deemed 'right' by me), I assume that the newly hatched larvae have the ability (much like their black, brown, and purple kindred) to bore into the swelling leaf buds and commen...

Excellent work Liz. As an aside, this year I again reared around 30 WLH from ova through to imagines on non flowering elm with practically no losses. The ova were adhered by me to elm suckers and sleeved during the winter of 2010/2011 and followed right through to pupation and beyond. The stock was ...

Gibster wrote:Anybody have any thoughts as to why certain species habitually rest head down? I'm thinking Silver-studded Blues and Brown Argus in particular.

Often they have reversed by dawn and can be found sitting head up.

Piers.

I am sure many of you have seen male butterflies trying to mate with recently emerged male butterflies who can't escape because they are unable to fly. Fascinating Susie, in years and years of observing butterflies I have never witnessed this. Amazing stuff. I watched silver studded blues egg layin...

Seriously though, the number of males to females on display was hugely disproportionate even taking into account the females more 'secretive' behaviour. Celery, Your visit was at the start of the season. The emergence of SSB's is a protracted affair, and males certainly tend to emerge first. Any SS...

Sounds good Dave

I look forward to photographs of your new garden as well as some of your local wildlife sightings.

Let us know how you get on with the Bilberry...

Piers.

Hi Dave, Copied from somewhere or other: The normal mode of propagation is through seeds. Bilberry seeds are sown in late winter in a lime free potting mixture within a greenhouse - the seeds must be lightly covered with soil and not buried in the seed bed. A time period of upwards of three months m...

Essex Bertie wrote:Disappointed to see several 'desecrated' anthills

Desecrated anthills



Piers.

Willrow wrote:I've read there's a few Bee Orchid (varieties?) currently on the hill that they've called Wasp Orchid

It's var. trollii of the bee orchid, and you're right - it's commonly known as the wasp orchid. That would certainly be worth getting a pic of if you're able.

Piers.

/\ /\ /\That slug! Chris that is kwality footage to capture! Well done fella.

As Paul said, Lymes is unlikely unless the tic has had the opportunity to become engorged. But there are other ailments carried by tics. Interestingly, tic bites have recently been linked to a nasty allergy to proteins contained in red meat. Of course, that won't be at all relevant to Guy... :D Like...

Fascinating stuff. They look so vulnerable just lying there on the ground. As indeed they are, presenting a succulent and nutritious delicacy for many insectivorous beasts from shrews to carabid beetles. Brown hairstreaks are also notable among their kin for not showing the least tendency towards c...

Ab. virgata, Michael.

Piers.

Since offering PE advice is the order of the day...

...the best days for a good flush of males down to the rides are almost certainly those hot and humid mornings after an early rain shower, when everything seems to be steaming, not just the bait.

Piers.

It varies from species to species David, but seems to be consistant for each species. For example red admiral meconium is invariably a delightlful(?) rich bloody-crimson colour, whereas other species such as the blues are often a pale peachy colour, even a chalky hue.

Piers.

The 'waste' fluid looks very much like meconium Bill, indicating that your specimen was freshly emerged (and she certainly looks like she was as well judging from her immaculate condition (probably in all senses of the word)). Meconium is a discharge of waste material which is redundant from the lar...

She seems to have more blue on her than I would expect but I imagine this is within normal variation. Here she is with a friend. 252459_10150279674456972_584286971_9035215_6947056_n.jpg You're right Sooze. In fact, the Dorset heath/New Forest populations are the only ones where females with (often ...

I really like your compositions Bill, especially one to four above...

Piers.

Hi P.J. It has long been known to amateur 'aurelians' that extremes of temperature during the late larval/early pupal stages of certain families of butterflies can produce extreme aberrations. Some aberrations are specific to either heat or cold shock and some (such as ab. nigrina in the white admir...

That's very interesting Dave, I thought that broad bordered bee hawks were limited to honeysuckle, snowberrry, etc.