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...

I'm pretty sure that's a Painted Lady larva and the plant looks more like thistle than holly to me, so would serve to support the ID. The nearest similar-looking species of larvae are Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell, but they differ from this individual which has a much hairier head than the oth...

Great stuff, Max
Could you check your private messages next time you log in please. I am after some site information for the Species Albums.

Cheers,
Vince

Latest notes from the garden. A Brimstone laid approximately 50 eggs on my potted Alder Buckthorn on 21st May and these started to hatch on 30th May. The young larvae would otherwise be easily overlooked, but give themselves away by the feeding damage they cause. IMG_9005-01G.JPG This morning our re...

A couple of hours at Mill Hill, Sussex in the early afternoon produced: 12 Dingy Skipper, 3 Grizzled Skipper, 8 Small White (some may have been Green-veined, but there were no confirmed sightings), 4 Large White, 6 Brimstone, 1 Clouded Yellow, 34 Common Blue, 29 Adonis Blue, 1 Holly Blue, 3 Brown Ar...

Great larval images, Richard . Could you check your personal messages next time you log in please, as I have requested some site information form you.

Many thanks,
Vince

A surprising Green Hairstreak sighting on the Gatwick North-West zone transect today in marginal conditions.
1 Orange-tip, 2 Peacock and 1 Speckled Wood were also seen.

Vince

My overall favourite was taken through the kitchen window and features a Comma and our resident vixen.
Vince

I only got one shot last year, which was on one of the Gatwick transects.
Vince

Every year at the start of the 3rd week of March, I go to a sunny spot in my local woods and that is when I usually get my first Speckled Wood of the season.
Vince

In early April I found a freshly emerged female in the garden.
Vince

No adults photographed in 2022, but managed to watch a few eggs being laid on one of the Gatwick transects.
Vince

I didn't manage to get any photos of an adult Small Tortoiseshell last year for some reason, but did get a nice egg batch.
Vince

The first destination today was the butterfly hot-spot in Tilgate Park, Crawley, where there were four Red Admirals on, or around the Daphne bush between 12 noon and 12.30. Two of them looked very fresh. IMG_8097-01G R2.JPG IMG_8112-01G R3-4.JPG Another was seen later a mile away. Ifield Meadows was...

Another Red Admiral caterpillar update... Here are a couple of shots of the same larval shelter as before, one taken on 26th January where the caterpillar can be seen.....and another taken today (30th) where it has apparently carefully closed all openings with silk. The leaf itself is getting small...

Off the mark today with a Red Admiral at a local hot-spot in Tilgate Park, Crawley. It appeared at 11.50 and was still basking and nectaring on Daphne when I left the site at 12.25. IMG_7806-01G.JPG The air temperature at the time was only 5C, but the sun had been shining all morning and the wind wa...