Went to Lardon chase, Berkshire looking for adonis blues unsuccessfully, but i met a woman doing a butterfly transect who kindly showed me where to find them. There must have been 50+ on a very small area of south facing chalkland at the Holies, and it was magical. P1010188.JPG _MG_5029.JPG _MG_502...

Hello, 12 May 2010 The expanse of Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa, was only just beginning on the lower slopes of Mill Hill, visited by 13 Dingy Skippers and my first four male Adonis Blues of the year. Mill Hill and its Butterflies http://www.glaucus.org.uk/MillHill2009Article.htm First Adur Bu...

Hello, Land Restoration and Reclamation James A Harris, Paul Birch, John Palmer Longman ISBN 0-582-243130 Reclamation of Calcareous Grassland, page 194 Extract: Legumes will thrice on calcareous grassland and should be encouraged by the addition of phosphate Counter claim; Research into the history ...

Hello, 9 November 2009 As expected it was almost a complete miss for butterflies on Mill Hill, but in the north-west corner of Mill Hill Nature Reserve I almost stumbled over a Clouded Yellow Butterfly which fluttered on to the Old Erringham pasture and when I almost trod on it it flew over the Hawt...

This has been identified as the ordinary Clouded Yellow. I would appreciate confirmation, if possible, from the photograph, or otherwise? Yes it is - and a male to boot. But what's more interesting is your shot of a mating pair, which looks like the helice form of the female to me! Cheers, - Pete H...

This has been identified as the ordinary Clouded Yellow. I would appreciate confirmation, if possible, from the photograph, or otherwise?




http://www.glaucus.org.uk/CY8344.jpg

http://www.glaucus.org.uk/CYx2-8372.jpg This is the mating couple. The third butterfly in the sequence is a different one altogether, discovered hundreds of metres away and not over Horseshoe Vetch. The lower slopes of Mill Hill is dominated by Horseshoe Vetch. http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Hippocrepis...

Hello, Addenda Question: How do you tell the difference between Clouded Yellow and Berger's Clouded Yellow? The copulation took place over Horseshoe Vetch. NB: The only previous record of probably breeding in the Adur Valley occurred when a Clouded Yellow rose from a continental-type Bird's Foot Tre...

Female Clouded Yellows that open their wings when courted are certainly rejecting the male's overtures. When a male finds a virgin female they couple immediately without any visible preliminaries. I have seen males courting females persistently on many occasions, always without success. Misha In my...

Thanks for the post and pics. What is a considerable time in butterfly language? My observation was for one second. Yours I surmise/assume was several seconds, under a minute.

Hello, Duplicate Post http://www.glaucus.org.uk/CY8345.jpg On Mill Hill, two Clouded Yellows courted and then mated and this was also the first time that this has been seen locally. Addenda: The Clouded Yellow Butterflies usually appear with their wings closed, but it has been reported that the wing...

Perseus re Clouded Yellow: I surmise pre-mating sequence of about a second, that the wings open and close at a slower rate. Brimstone opens wings when courting but I cannot recall whether it’s the male or female (I think male but not sure) Jack Clouded Yellows never seem to rest with their wings op...

Hello, 4 November 2009 Another white butterfly flew near St. Michael's Church, Southwick, but again it was too far away to determine which out of three possible species (it wasn't large enough for a female Brimstone). Later there was just the one Clouded Yellow was seen at the northern end of the lo...

Addenda: The Clouded Yellow Butterflies usually appear with their wings closed, but it has been reported that the wings actually open and close faster than the human eye can observe, and in the photograph above, I surmise pre-mating sequence of about a second, that the wings open and close at a slow...

Hello, 2 November 2009 When the sun emerged from from behind the frequent clouds a Peacock Butterfly emerged from hibernation by the Ivy on the edge of the Pixie Path, looking slightly tatty. Four Common Blue Butterflies were seen at the northern end of the lower slopes of Mill Hill; both these reco...

Hello, 26 October 2009 My walk along the Pixie Path found the identical Holly Blue Butterfly of the previous day. This was followed by a very pale Clouded Yellow and a bright yellow one. I thought I was going to draw a complete blank on the lower slopes of Mill Hill, when a pure white black lined Cl...

Hello, 23 October 2009 With the first mushrooms after the rain and an autumnal feel under a cloudy sky, I was already looking for the last butterfly of the year, and one was not found until the very last Ivy bush next to the Pixie Path bordering on Mill Hill Road before the bridge over the A27. It w...

Thanks Guy Like you, I tend to agree with current wisdom; so until we are presented with evidence otherwise I think we should accept that we are unlikely to get over-wintering Painted Ladies, nice though that would be! An event like this year does put these theories to the test however, so it will ...

Ecology of Butterflies in Europe

Edited by Josef Settele, Tim Shreeve, Martin Konvicka and Hans van Dyck
513 pages, 37 b/w illus, 24 col illus, 27 tabs.
Cambridge University Press £45

http://www.nhbs.com/title.php?bkfno=181075&ad_id=652

Cornish contacts report 'many' red admiral flying south, with numbers building on Lands End and the Isle of Scilly. This follows reports from recent days when they've been heading in a westerly direction. Also on Scilly a 'notable' increase in Painted Lady numbers in recent days. Possible evidence ...