In Lancing again today. Whilst checking for Painted Ladies on a clump of Verbena, a blue butterfly caught my attention. It turned out to be a male Long-tailed Blue in quite good condition. It was around for about 5 minutes, but I only managed 3 photos before I lost track of it. Time was 14.37, tempe...

I was at Lancing on the Sussex coast at the weekend and so on Sunday 1st October, I took some time to follow-up on whether Red Admirals were on their reverse-migration. I saw seven flying east and west along the seafront, but none actually going out to sea. The wind at the time was south westerly. T...

I had a report from Rachel Bicker, the ecologist at Gatwick Airport, that she observed a number Red Admirals flying south this afternoon. I then went down to the local playing field, which is a known butterfly migration corridor and saw 11 Red Admirals in total over the course of an hour. Eight were...

I'm pleased to report that my copy arrived today. It looks superb and it only takes a few pages to appreciate the vast amount of research that went into its production. Congratulations Pete, I hope you can now have a well-earned rest .

Vince

Hi Dave, the mystery plant looks like Hoary Cress to me, but it's worth getting a second opinion.

Vince

Hi Kev, that's a Small White larva.

Vince

Thanks David, Pete and Allan. To be fair, I get a few Brown Hairstreak in the garden every year, but this year has been particularly good, with 4 sightings so far. Sometimes I also get a few eggs on my front hedge (Cherry Plum). Whilst I'm beginning to appreciate the significance of the Gypsy Moth a...

August sightings from Crawley:- I was quite pleased to get 9 species in the garden on 7th August. Minimum counts were: 3 Large White, 2 Small White, 1 Brimstone, 2 Red Admiral, 1 Peacock, 5 Gatekeeper, 2 Speckled Wood, 4 Holly Blue and 1 Small Copper. IMG_0019-01G.JPG Later in the month I also had v...

Matsukaze wrote: ↑Mon Aug 07, 2023 12:15 pm The sun is a hoax.

Thanks, you've just ruined my hoax holiday now!

Thanks Guy for adding your thoughts and observations. I hope that others will come in as well. Jack, I have decided that some context is required before I come to my conclusion, so apologies for the length of my response. The Red Admiral is primarily a migrant to our shores, although sightings of in...

I completely agree with Guy's advice on how to treat the chrysalis, however I would be inclined to identify it as a Red Admiral which has a much broader chrysalis than a Small Tortoiseshell. It looks to be in quite an exposed position, so my concern would be more about possible predation than storms...

I have mentioned before that I get the odd Skipper but today there were 3 Large Skippers in the garden (and now I know where they come from!) - 1 male and 2 female. The most exciting thing for me was watching the female Skippers egg lay in some stuff growing around my pond. (Don't know what it is -...

Hi Pauline, that pupa doesn't look right to me either. The last time I saw one that colour, it was parasitised, but I hope I'm wrong.
There is more detail at the end of my report here:
https://ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewt ... =37&t=6382

Vince

Swallowtail update: After the sighting in my Lancing garden on 7th July, I have seen reports of two Sussex hill-topping individuals near the coast on 10th and 17th, plus an egg-layer in Brighton on 18th. Of the two eggs laid in my garden, one was found to have hatched by 19th July, but the larva se...

This year seems to be amazing for Small/Essex Skipper. I have recorded more on the Malling Down, Lewes, East Sussex transect since 1987! Small Essex.jpg Are others recording larger than normal numbers os Small/Essex? Hi Crispin, you are not alone. The Gatwick North-west zone transect has only been ...

It would seem like a very good year for gorganus in the UK what with the many sightings down in Kent which I believe to be a mixture of immigrants and homegrown. I imagine you'll try and follow these when they wander off to pupate if they get that far :) Thanks Charles, Paul and Pete. It was a drea...

Some people may be aware that I have a very small seaside garden in Lancing on the Sussex coast in addition to my home garden in Crawley. Today was a very productive day with 12 Small White, 2 Large White, 5 Red Admiral, 1 Painted Lady, 1 Peacock, 2 Comma, 1 Gatekeeper, 1 Meadow Brown, 1 Marbled Whi...

Hi Pauline, you are not imagining things, those are the embryonic wing cells developing. The first three segments of a larva behind the head each has a pair of true legs and will become the thorax of the adult butterfly. Segments 2 and 3 are where the wings are attached, which corresponds to the two...

I think we have narrowed this down. Here is an image by Paul Chapman from our aberrations album showing an individual with the same forewing markings taken in Kent in 2020.
Vince

News from Crawley: On Sunday morning I did a quick check of my Brimstone larvae and counted approximately 45. IMG_9143-01G.JPG In the afternoon a small group of Sparrows discovered the larvae and before I could stop them, cleared the whole plant. On a happier note, Sunday morning also produced a sig...