Does anyone fancy a bit of egg 'photostacking'? My egg finding days are sadly over and I would like to sell my photostacking kit. It consists of a couple of Fotomate tracks on a homemade base as per photograph. There is a high quality micrometer track at one end and I use a Sony A65 with a Sigma 105...

I saw my first OT (male) in Stafford today. Spring has really sprung.

Tony M.

Brings back happy memories - many thanks for the link.

Tony M.

PH is very easy to rear if the egg is put close to an Oak twig with some nice plump buds in March/April. Make sure the twig is in a cool place or the larvae will develop and pupate too fast, and emerge early. Don't try and move the larvae yourself - if they are placed near a food source, they will f...

I thought 2020 brilliant - I was still here!

Tony M.

Wherever they came from it is great news. When I first started looking for European butterflies, it was high on my wish list. I'm sure everyone who has seen it remembers their first time with its wonderful 'mirrors' and unique 'hopping' flight. UK next?

Tony M.

Done. Good luck!

Tony M.

Azure Sapphire ( Heliophorus moorei -no relation... Bhutan. Azure Sapphire (Heliophorus moorei).jpg Eastern Dappled White ( Euchloe ausonia . Northern Greece. Easter Dappled White (Euchloe ausonia).jpg Gulf Fritillary ( Agraulis vanillae . Tobago. Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae).jpg Tony Moore.

Thanks for the link, Mark, I shall certainly look at it.

Pete, we are aiming at a similar time, so may even manage to meet up, depending on how the dreaded Covid pans out.

Tony M.

Like Pete Smith, we are also just back from Greece - a non-butterfly week on the east coast of Corfu. No camera (shame...) - just R&R and lots of beer (lovely...) Still managed to see 12 species within the Hotel grounds : Swallowtail; Scarce Swallowtail; Large and Small Whites; Eastern Dappled W...

Agree top one is Angle Shades. The lines on the thorax are diagnostic.

Tony M.

And double wow from me! Great find .

Tony M.

Chimney Sweeper moth (Odezia atrata).

Tony M.

Hi, Jack, I'm the same age, and similarly afflicted although not as badly as you are by the sound of it. I have spent many hours with ear guys and tried various aids; none was the remotest use, simply magnifying the extraneous noise, which I didn't want to hear anyway. The problem with audiologists ...

Terrific find, David.

Tony M.

Starling. Song Thrush is a slightly different shape and slightly darker blue. It almost always has varying numbers of black spots around the blunt end.

My Robin has hatched three out of four and the pair is now full time feeding (see 'a needle in an haystack').

Tony M.

Many years ago on a moor above Inverness, I watched a couple of Blackbirds mobbing a Buzzard in the distance. As the raptor got nearer, I realised that I had the scale wrong and that it was, in fact, my first Golden Eagle being harassed by a couple of Ravens .

Tony M.

Not in the same league, but my first Purple Emperor sat on my monopod...

Tony M.

A little avian light relief in these troubled times... Robins have taken up residence in a hole in the wall right outside my back door. 2020 03 24_0286_edited-1.jpg Both doors are in frequent use, which seems to faze the Robin not a bit! 2020 03 25_0284_edited-1.jpg She is now sitting hard and I hop...

Pete's trick with the frass is spot on. You will see frass before larva. Forgive the basic stuff, but do not try to move the larva yourself as it is difficult to tell if they are about to moult - they will find fresh food themselves if it is in the vicinity. If possible move the twig outside or some...