Alpine habitats and their weather can be a real eye opener. Last Butterfly expedition to Swtzerland for me was in 1981. Mid August camping at high elevation with both Apollos and Small Apollos flying all around. Tucked up on my airbed which from memory was the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in...

Thanks for those details Guy. I developed the ability to approach butterflies without disturbing them at a very early age. I practiced the technique on my Father's Dahlias when lots of Red Admirals came visiting. That was during the last days of WWII in my family's London East End garden. As a three...

Guy, quick question. How close was your camera to the subjects in your 7:43 posting today? TIA.

I find Padfield's thread a must see and no doubt do others. I hope my occasional off-topic asides I sometimes add here do not spoil folks enjoyment of Padfield's personal diary thread. Here's another one. Beautiful sunny day here in Gloucestershire today so decided to again visit my local Car Disman...

Superbly sunny Autumn day here in Gloucestershire. Several Red Admirals about in the garden and a couple seen flying strongly in a Scrapyard near Cheltenham. With Buzzards circling overhead. Nice to combine a tad of Natural History observations whilst indulging in my other passion, old British cars....

Seen one or two "fresh" Red Admirals about in my garden today and prior to the prolonged rain over the past few days. The many flowers on my Strawberry Tree ( Arbutus unedo ) are starting to fill out and grow large. They will open up soon when fully expanded. The Red Admirals like to feed ...

Yes Guy, reared throughout on P candicans aurora. I had a range of Salix and Populus species growing in pots and in my garden. They were attractive to Poplar Hawk Moths and also the impressive Puss Moth with its unusual larvae. Lombardy Poplar was a very useful foodplant as it was so easy to grow fr...

Back in the days when I would search the woodlands for hibernating larvae in winter, including cold rainy Januarys, I would observe wave after wave of insectivorous flocks of birds systematically working through the trees, shrubs and bushes. It's a wonder any larvae survive this winter onslaught but...

Memory not all it was but, the HBF overwinters as a fully developed larva inside the egg shell.

Yes an interesting question. It may help shed light on this puzzle by capturing a local female and setting up a laying cage for her. If ova are produced with the "spring" brood, care of those ova could provide some answers. Back in the 1970s, for several seasons, I raised numerous Silver W...

Five years ago, I searched/googled :~ "Alder buckthorn rooted saplings" Have just searched again and that produced a nice selection of options. I bought mine and they arrived in winter when the plants are dormant. First search result showed 10-49 plants @ £1.38p. I paid about £25 for twent...

I have two potted plants of Alder Buckthorn in my garden. Two months ago, I counted at least a dozen freshly laid ova on the plants. Meantime, strong winds and heavy rain several days, bit like today locally, blew both potted plants over. A check of what remained on the plants showed losses of ova a...

A month ago, I counted at least a dozen Brimstone ova on my two potted Alder Buckthorn plants. Two weeks ago five half grown larvae one, blackened no doubt a spider bite. I think some of the ova were consumed by Harlequin LadyBird Larvae I removed from the plants. A week ago, three larvae located on...

A month ago I counted at least a dozen Brimstone Ova on my two potted Alder Buckthorns in my garden. Following some heavy rain and strong winds shortly after that count, both my potted plants were blown over. The winds were that strong. Whilst laying on their sides, the plants were open to all manne...

Over the years in Gloucestershire, based on my own observations, the Brimstone prefers Alder Buckthorn locally despite both plants not difficult to find in the Vale of Gloucester or up on the Limestone Hills. Maybe they are easier to find on those "Alder" plants. Today I counted five very ...

Two weeks ago I counted a dozen what appeared to be Brimstone Ova on my two potted Alder Buckthorns in my garden. Soon after, following heavy rain and strong winds I found both 1.5 metre high plants on their side having been blown over during that period of poor weather. These ova appeared much smal...

Over the years have seen this happen many times. Within a few years of shut down enclosure, the habitat degrades in many ways and thus becomes far less suitable to supporting a wide range of wildlife. Problem is, few land owners are Natural History enthusiasts. Not all of course, but, too many are. ...

Always a joy to see one of this fine moths in the garden most years. Working on my car in yesterday's warm sunshine, this caught my eye in my garden :~ View My Video Apologies for image quality. I quickly grabbed my Canon Compact, switched on and set full zoom hand held. The Moth had obviously had i...

Working on my car in yesterday's warm sunshine, this caught my eye in my garden :~ View My Video Apologies for image quality. I quickly grabbed my Canon Compact, switched on and set full zoom hand held. The Moth had obviously had its fill and when it flew away, it did so at great speed up and over t...

Guy, fascinating stuff. I blame the late Sir Patrick Moore for my interest in the night sky. Mind boggling stuff since my schoolboy days in the 1950s. Is that Mars I see low in the South Western clear Skies after midnight? Even to my aged minces ( note CC content I did there ... ;) ), it sometimes a...