Nick, I think they must have come from elsewhere, not necessarily from overseas. They were not in pristine condition and I'm sure I would have seen them earlier if they had emerged locally.

Misha

Colias-crocea_70778.jpg At last some Clouded Yellows. First one a female feeding on Michaelmas Daisies just west of the Manor Steps zigzag, Boscombe, then another apparently male also near Manor Steps. Then a male patrolling midway between Gordon's zigzag and the Bistro on the Beach, Southbourne. O...

The skipper is the Sage Skipper, Muschampia proto. It's very common in southern Spain in the autumn.

Zonda

In ideal conditions today I walked the Boscombe and Southbourne undercliff and saw NO CLOUDED YELLOWS.


Misha

He or she is an Elephant Hawk-moth and wants to get underground for pupation.

Misha

Andy I find it very interesting that you report no comparable decline of Chalkhill Blues on a north-facing site. There has been a spectacular decline of the Chalkhill Blue on the south-facing Purbeck chalk downs, and the species has shown no sign of a recovery for many years. About three years ago I...

I agree with Jack that the word brood is misused by some people, but I really don't think that the continental literature can be accused of this. Lafranchis (Les Papilions de Jour de France etc) writes ... juin-octobre (novembre) en 1 à 2 générations selon les regions; vraisemblablement 3 génération...

Felix, I beg to differ. The Peacock is certainly double brooded over most of Central and Southern Europe. All my books testify to this. According to Lafranchis and my Swiss book it may even produce three generations in a year in favourable places and years.

Misha

Now don't all rush. A Long-tailed Blue female was seen at Cheyne Weares, Portland yesterday. Photos can be accessed via http://www.portlandbirdobs.org.uk.

Misha

Zonda. There were a few Clouded Yellows on the Bournemouth cliffs in April and May in the usual breeding locations, and it looks as though there may have been successful overwintering in spite of the cold winter. In the Kaiserstuhl area of Germany caterpillars have been reported to survive temperatu...

It's a moth alright, a Pyralid (micro), on which I am not a great expert. However it could be Pyralis farinalis the Meal moth. Its larvae feed on stored grain. Take a look at http://www.leps.it and from the list of families select Pyralidae and scroll down to P.farinalis . The resting position is wh...

It's a Scorched Carpet Ligdia adustata.

Misha

I have successfully overwintered Convolvulus Hawk-moth pupae in an unheated room, the moths emerging in April/May. I'm not sure whether Death's Head pupae can be overwintered: Porter states that the pupal stage lasts 4 to 6 weeks. If kept warm in an airing cupboard (not too dry) they should emerge w...

Vince, glad to see you were impressed by some of the orthoptera! Your first bush-cricket is a Poecilimon species, a very difficult genus that cannot usually be identified to species from photos. Fer Willemse lists 34 species for Greece in his Catalogue. The second one is a species of Eupholidoptera ...

I'm pretty certain your swallowtail larva is machaon , despite Guy's suggestion. It has been hard to find images of early instar Southern Swallowtail larvae, but I finally succeeded at http://www.euroleps.ch/seiten/s_art.php?art=pap.alexanor . They are very different. Your larva has less black on it...

I think it may be a strongly aberrant Marsh Fritillary.

Misha

You don't say what size it was, but it has the look of a Swallowtail, possibly 3rd instar machaon.

Misha

I can vouch for the excellence of these tours, having been on two previously and having booked for the June tour this year. See some of the photos I have taken on these tours are in my overseas album.

Misha

Most interesting. I was well aware that the Spanish Festoon pupa had the silken girdle at the head, but had no idea how it got there. Your observations may well be original. Apparently the Southern Festoon does not perform the same trick, but has the girdle in the usual place. See http://www.lepinet...

Guy, many hairstreak eggs are parasitised by Trichogramma wasps. They are the likely culprits.

Misha