It makes it all worthwhile hearing these wonderful reports of the Duke's success in so many places. I'll remember this on a cold mid-winters day when I think "do I really want to hike up Heyshott escarpment today."! Oh, and the bottle is chilling in the fridge ready to toast "The Duke...

that is a fabulous photo of Mia with the OT, that's what I like to see, youngsters with the butterfly bug...

Andy, Your longhorn looks like Stictoleptura cordigera (aka Leptura cordigera)

Guy, your splendid bug looks like 1st instar Carpocoris pudicus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpocoris_pudicus

I see lots of good shots in the diaries but this one is exceptional. It is worthy of an entry in next year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/wpy/index.html . The last butterfly photo I recall in the exhibition was an Apollo a couple of years ago which had...

Happy Birthday Susie, you'll start feeling younger from now on...

seconded, that is a fabulous shot!

Neil, so sorry to hear of your loss. Parents are so important to us, fortunately we have our memories to keep them close. The beauty of the natural world and the sharing of it with others is a blessing in difficult times.
Colin

Fascinating, I'd have attended had I known about it.

Pauline, Sorry to hear about your avian problem, hope to see you out enjoying the butterflies now that season is starting to look good.
best wishes
Colin

Well done, great shots. I understand the pain of resuming a normal position!

Yes, thanks for a fascinating article Mark. It motivated me to inquire into other ways that Lepidoptera obtain supplementary nutrients: Vampire moths drink vertebrate blood (including human according to one report). Their proboscis is divided into two halves, a rocking motion drills into the skin an...

Mark, great to meet you again on Wednesday, thanks for all your hard work, especially staying on with Neil to clear the yew. I look forward to seeing you again on site during the flight period.
Colin

Wurzel, I have had the pleasure of joining Mark at Wisley and Earnley the past couple of years and finding ids for some of the tropicals has been a challenge! We have managed to id all we have photographed, sometimes after hours of web searching. Wisley has an id chart of many of their species and t...

Here is a Plumbago Blue with identical markings "Taken in Brisbane on an introduced plumbago plant":

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58356728@N07/6437809495/

good photos as usual Pauline. I gather these WLHs are all from last year. Where were they taken?

Well done Gothic Dreams! Wish my early butterfly shots had been as good as these. I particularly like your Grizzled Skipper. Keep posting please.

Great photos Pauline!

I was there for 4 hours today and saw 1 Speckled Wood and 1 Meadow Brown! Nigel Kemp saw 2 SPBFs in Rowland Wood just the other side of the stream from the PCH reserve. None seen by Joquim Sunday.

Great shot, I found one about on April 28 on the south side of the triangle, just over the ditch.