Zonda wrote:Today, i took to the hills again. I gave the lower slopes of the Cerne Giant, about an hour and a half. They proved to be butterfly rich with:
Speckled Wood
Orange-tip
Holly Blue
Small Copper
Grizzled Skipper (thanks Felix, another lifer.)

Tip-top!

What's next?

Sorry to hear that you have experienced poor health of late Dave, I hope that you return to full steam soon.

Felix.

Wot Guy and Neil sez. Freshly emerged grizzled skippers are frequently heavily dusted with white scales (particularly males, of which yours is one) which are gradually lost as the insect ages. Although your specimen is striking, the white markings are not enlarged or extended (as Guy says) in the ma...

RESULT - good man..!

Great pics too.

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended 2007). Species other than birds specially protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981(as amended): Schedule 5 (Animals). Maculinea arion amended in 2007, currently 9(4)(b)and (c) and (5) only. According to THIS THREAD you amended the page on t...

Soon??! :lol: Scales can be 'defective' if, for some unknown reason, the processes by which the scales form and/or become pigmented are disrupted, disturbed, interrupted or corrupted. This could (for example) be due to physical damage to the larva or pupa, or a pathological condition from which the ...

Indeed he does.

However, some fine colonies exist along the Purbeck Ridge, and in good numbers around any 'gorsey' heath...

Paul wrote: I thought the blown up pic seemed to show scales

As indeed it does...

Pete Eeles wrote:Neither have I and could be a new ab.

Or a scale defect.

Or Cerne Abbas; which is within striking distance of Castle Zonda.

Felix.

Hi Jack - my iris were captive bred. The situation regarding the law is summarised here: http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/reports_law.php Pete, Should the site not be revised to show the down grading of the Large Blue's status under schedule 5 in the last quinquennial review? (Please delete this from...

I've been looking for a season and a half Nicola. I'm not convinced they even exist. I think that all the photos of sightings are Green veined Whites, altered in Photoshop. Every time i see a GH sighting from anywhere, i fume with frustration. Please don't take me too seriously. Frank in Dorset. :(...

Hi Susie , Yes, male butterflies have claspers at the end of the abdomen with which they grip the end of the female's abdomen. The claspers also assist in the accurate location of the sexual organs. It is possible that after emergence and the expansion of the wings this 'flexing' process ensures th...

I am with Paul Wetton on this, with the reservation that looking at the condition it is equally feasible that this is a freshly emerged specimen simply 'stretching' it's claspers. I have observed this with captive bred lycaenids which will wriggle their abdomen and appear to exercise the claspers. U...

We applaud you for trying though Rog.

padfield wrote:For the record, all the elms I saw WLH caterpillars on last year are non-flowering.

Regardless of what the accepted literature will have you believe, this is (as Tom Jones might say) not unusual.

Felix.

I have used a similar technique Paul, but with Evostick* rather than wire, just for the sake of speed when applying a large number of ova.

*Other adhesives are available.

You could try one of the Dorset heathland sites Zonda, GH abound on the scrubby heathland (around the gorse or course) and somewhere like Wareham Forest would be less petrol and much more accessible for those of a (ahem) less athletic disposition.

Hi Zonda, Fontmell is poor for GH, almost pointless since the scrub was removed. Instead, park in the Spreadeagle Hill car park (I assume you would be parking here anyway) and head down the bridleway in the bottom right hand corner of the car park. Head down the bridleway, passing a small chalk pit ...

Guy. Put the paper underneath the box, rather than in it. This makes it easier for you to see the fellow rather than loose sight of him when he crawls under the paper after emergence from the egg. He may hatch surprisingly quickly depending upon the temperature. Enough humidity can be provided merel...