OK, not sure whether I should say this here, but I would like some help. My websites very near completion and I am doing a page or so on conservation. I want people to see how to help preserve the areas and places where butterflies and moths are found. If anyone has advice that I could use, could y...

Hmmm ... unusual picture...

That looks like they are just about at the point of separation.

Look for Teasels in your local woods where the butterfly occurs. In many of Gloucestershire's woodlands, at this time of year, both sexes can be seen in some numbers feeding almost incessantly on the spikes of Teasel flowers in their quest to build up body reserves for the long winter hibernation se...

Wonderful shots, especially the dark female! Well worth all that frustration and anguish... In the second picture, the female looks heavily pregnant already, unless it's just an illusion. Guy That was my initial thought. Second thoughts ~ possibly a very freshly emerged female which has not ejected...

Nice pictures. I particularly like the first picture of the Female Holly Blue with its wings open ~ a high standard shot to my eyes.

One final thought ~ is there a Wye Valley in Derbyshire?

@Pete: maybe cause I have seen so many around, I got bored with them? like the ringlets, so common that I get fed up with seeing them so much. Other species like DG Fratillary or skippers would excite me more as I don't get to see them much. Bored and fed up with common ... Hmmm. I get as much plea...

Some truly fine shots here ... going to be hard to vote this month. The dew covered individual just shades it for me at the moment but that Peacock all in sharp focus .... Hmmmm ... decisions ....

As you have observed, butterflies like most animals can vary in size. This can be as a result of conditions or other factors are involved such as heritage origins. Same is true of its close relative the Painted Lady. Some years the females are huge. Have not seen a Red Admiral in my Gloucester garde...

thank you matsukaze for the information and any one of these butterflies would be great. cheers If neither are flying ( between broods) look for the ova or larvae on their foodplants. Charaxes jasius uses Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo) and I.podalirius uses ornamental cherries on some of the Med-I...

I believe the Oxford Ragwort contains cyanide. My own little 'Nature Reserve' I maintain has a good population of them...but I cut down lots of the foodplant as it grows and spreads much too fast ... hard work that! Years ago, when rearing some Adonis Blues, I transferred a number of near fully grow...

I got Droitwich .... that's nearby the West Midlands ... Hot Babes ... Hmmm .. my lucky day I reckon.... :D Regarding the Chalkhill Blue, I clearly remember the very first one I ever saw. It was in 1952 and I was ten years old. Location Painswick Beacon in Gloucestershire. A kind Aunt took me and my...

Here's one I shot in my garden yesterday. http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c89/lurkalot/th_peacock9571.jpg Click on image to enlarge. Handheld Camera Model Canon EOS 30D Tamron SP 90mm F/2.8 Di Macro lens Shooting Date/Time 18/07/2007 09:15:21 Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE Tv( Shutter Speed )...

Hi, I've just signed up to this forum and thought I'd enter this competition. Here goes! http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1364/838274233_1b2aee6222.jpg Taken on 17th July, Binsted Wood, Sussex. Camera: Acer CI-6330, F2.8, 1/166s. Alexander In praise of the common species: http://www.bath.ac.uk/~pyssc...

Location: Abbeydale, Glos. Today: I'll start it off ~ two Red Admirals, one Speckled Wood ( found their pupae on my fence in the past ); two Gatekeepers and one Holly Blue. Weather poorish with heavy showers interspersed with warm sunshine. My back garden is a modest size and further reduced since b...

They most certainly do. Without water, these slight creatures would quickly dehydrate and perish. There was a beautiful little moth on the curtains in my garage the other day. I coaxed it onto my finger and took it into the garden gently waving my hand so that it could take flight. It did not and it...

I tried "arty" in last months competition and got "Luxembourg Votes", so this month it's going to be "unusual". Not the sharpest of photos, but its a hand-held shot, taken in a hurry, just before the little devil disappeared off looking for a fight. http://upload9.post...

For nearly 40 years, I have used a pair of Zeiss (West) 10 x 50 Binoculars. They are ideal for all my various interests including identifying things high in the trees. Something with a magnification of up to x30 would be impossible to hand hold effectively and many subjects would be gone by the time...

For most species, whatever time of year they fly is the time of year for mating. Adult humans enjoy the privilege of being able to eat and reproduce, though not necessarily at exactly the same time. Butterflies split these two vital functions into entirely separate parts of their life cycles. Cater...

jackharr wrote:Still struggling. Were you an accountant working at Gloucester? With a big motor bike? Or am I mixing you up with someone else? Do get in touch.

Jack

Hi Jack... please check your emails ... all should be revealed.
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Its a shame about the elm trees as a I was suprised when I first saw a mature tree how large they can be as most only get to 15' They are splendid trees. and were once a very common sight in most counties. Martin, there's a superb Elm near the front entrance to Gloucester Royal Hospital in Great We...