.... and yesterday had this Brown Argus at Levin Down and Duke of Burgundy on a private site. 5 of the freshly emerged Dukes had wandered some distance from the colony, to take on mineral salts from a muddy track.
Neil

PBF.jpg Green Hair.jpg intermedia.jpg Things have really started to happen at last here in Sussex. Over the last few days I've snapped this PBF in Rewell Wood, Green Hairstreak at Devil's Dyke and aberrant intermedia Grizzled Skipper at Beckley Wood. I spent a couple of very enjoyable days with UK ...

Hi Paul and Dave,
That'll be three of us better than Keats then!
Neil

Two male Pearl-bordered Fritillaries at Rewell Wood and my first Sussex 'Duke' of the year (private site) made for a 'Happy Monday'
Neil

Hi Martin, Neil

Hi Guy, My brother can confirm your observations regarding the Lesser Purple Emperor's penchant for 'cottaging' around French autoroute conveniences. Here is a shot he took last summer. These are not the first cases of a French Emperor hiding 'dans le pissoir'; I believe the trend was initiated on t...

Hi Marc/all, First PBF (singleton) out in Abbott's Wood (E. Sussex) yesterday. The numbers should build over the next few days with the predicted improvement in weather. A visit this coming weekend should time things nicely. The first PBFs (5) were also seen in Rewell Wood. Same timing applies for a...

Hi Paul, A friend of mine who is a VERY keen birder, told me an amusing tale of his rather similar experiences! His 'patch' is very close to a famous school for young ladies, on the coast in East Sussex. He does a lot of 'sea-watching' and digi-scoping, so is always carrying the tools of his trade. ...

The boy stood on the burning deck,
His trousers were a-flicker,
The greatest poet of them all,
Is clearly Sussex Kipper.

Hi Polly,
I'm glad you found them today. They may be small, they may not be colourful, but they have bags of personality and when fresh, a subtle beauty. One or two Dingy Skipper also now on the wing there.
Neil

Hi Jack, That officious notice was courtesy of myself, with my BC committee hat on. There had been one or two problems with people 'rampaging', and later in the PBF flight season there are nightjars to consider - but as you know, they happily come out onto the bridleway edges to nectar on the bugle....

Hi Marc, No sightings yet. This species has only just emerged down in the West and we are usually a little later than them. When they do emerge in force there should be no problem in locating them. A strong colony resulting from a remarkably successful re-introduction program. Will keep you posted. ...

P1030341_edited-1.jpg Grizzled Skipper, Mill Hill, Shoreham, April 13th 2008. As a 'forum newbie' I've only just got round to looking at previous competition entries. The standard really is very high and there are some of the best butterfly shots I've ever seen here. This month I like Gwenhwyfar's ...

Hi Jack, Trev, Guy, The evolution of butterfly eyespots undoubtedly works as a 'diversionary tactic' and a great many insects must escape as the result. Obviously it won't always work. On the 29th June 2005, my first Purple Emperor of the year was a dismembered female, found on a thrush anvil (surro...

Hi Polly,
Thanks for your comments. Grid Ref: TQ 178292. A lovely riverside walk with all the 'trimmings' such as Kingfishers. Try to be there when there's patchy cloud/hazy sunshine, as this slows them down a bit. Full sun and they just do that usual weak but seemingly endless flight thing!
Neil

Hi all, As Angie's 'April Butterflies' thread has become so long that my 'mouse' is suffering unreasonable wear and tear in scrolling to the bottom, and is now beginning to squeak, I thought I'd start a fresh one. We still have a week to go before my favourite month of May and I suspect a heap of ne...

Hi Guy, It's on a very small site, where (in a good year like 2006) I see the females on a daily basis (2-3 pm), visiting the single sallow on which they lay. Found a total of six caterpillars on it last spring! I've actually been 'inside' the sallow watching them lay at very close quarters. I've al...

When it comes to butterflies I'm unashamedly a royalist. The Duke of Burgundy and Purple Emperor are joint 'tops' for me. The Duke has sooo much character for a little'un - extreme 'Napoleon complex'. In 2006 I saw a 'very late' male on the 20th June, which was so worn and tattered that it was barel...

Just for a moment I thought we had gone all 'highbrow', until Guy dropped the coprophagia 'bombshell'! :shock: Matsukaze's point about gardening for Dukes had me thinking. In it's scrubby grassland habitat association, the key point for the species is the provision of cowslips in the correct growth ...

Hi all, Following an Email from a BC Sussex member, I took a walk along Ferring Rife (a small stream at its seaward end) in West Sussex yesterday afternoon. I counted sixteen Small Tortoiseshells spread along about 1/4 mile of bankside path - more than I've seen in one place for many a year. Whether...