Bugboys mission

[bugboy]

East Blean Wood, 16th June

This was another one of my trips organised weeks in advance with the help of another work colleague. She lives in Kent and when she heard I was trying to see and photograph every UK species she asked if I wanted to see ‘those butterflies in Blean Wood’. Well I was hardly likely to turn that offer down! Just like the build up to Wurzels Wiltshire Hillside trip I was keeping a close eye on the forecast and when the day arrived I was very pleased to find the weather seemed perfect.

A half hour train ride to my friends home town and then an hour and half drive across Kent got us to the wood at 10.30. Armed with Kevlings ...edit Philzoids directions, within 5 minutes we found the clearing and I found myself surrounded by pretty little orange and black butterflies. This year they are centred a short walk from the car park in an area of coppiced Sweet Chestnut. The car had told us it was around 19 degrees with the sun flitting in and out of the cloud as much as the butterflies were flitting around me. My first impression of Heath Fritillaries is one of a rather carefree butterfly, not too bothered by your presence and constantly investigating each other. Unlike some species (whites in particular), the males seem to get the message ‘NO means NO’ from the females rather quickly!

The only nectar source here was Bramble flowers and you only had to stand and focus on a flower for a short time for one or two to appear in frame.

I probably saw similar numbers as Kevling edit again.. Philzoid and Wurzel two days before (unsurprisingly), around 40 or so. Whilst prowling I found the same little Micro Moth Kevling... no Philzoid saw, I wonder if it was the same individual?

Dasycera oliviella

I also saw a rather spiffing yellow-legged Clearwing moth, both these species are lifers for me.

I did a little bit of research on both when I got home and they are both species which benefit from a managed coppiced woodland which just shows the benefit of focusing on a ‘flagship species’ such as the Heath Fritillary to maintain a species rich ecosystem.

The floor of the area was alive with Wood Ants but as long as you don’t lay down too long or stand on an actual nest they don’t bother you too much, I never got bitten.

I am curious as to what prevents the Fritillary eggs and larvae from being eaten by the ants, are they distastful to them?

I stayed in the glade for an hour and half, which literally flew by before taking a break for lunch back at the car park. As we left a couple came by asking for directions to the Heaths so we happily pointed them to the clearing. Whilst eating a female Holly Blue made a brief appearance.

The only other species of Butterfly I saw was a fleeting sighting of a male Meadow Brown.

15 minutes later I was back, we had to leave by 1 due to some commitments my friend had, so I was determined to make the most of my time here. The couple were still there and had found a mating pair, the only mating pair I saw, so we all took turns getting some snaps of them.

I carefully moved them onto a rotten log to get some different shots (the butterflies, not the couple). Initially side on to the sun but they quickly turned so they were head on to the sun, probably to avoid overheating whilst in their somewhat compromised situation.

There was quite a variety of markings, some very dark and some very orange and this one doing a pretty good impression of a Marsh Fritillary (I think Neil Freeman found a similar looking one on his Cornish hols).

It was very hard to tear myself away when 1pm approached, it had warmed up considerably and as I walked back to the car park the Fritillaries seemed to be dispersing, several were now flying up and down the paths. So ended yet another wonderful butterflying day

Playing hide and seek :)

[bugboy]

16th June cont.

Just a little addendum to the day.

Since it was still early my friend dropped me off at Sevenoaks Nature Reserve to kill a few hours before setting off home. The sun had mostly vanished behind clouds now and I only saw one butterfly, a female Speckled Wood but in the few sunny spells there were a lot of Damselflies took to the air, Blue-tailed and Common Blue and a gorgeous Cardinal Beetle sat quietly whilst I shoved my camera into his face! A nice end to a wonderful day

[bugboy]

17th June, Walthamstow Marshes

Another warm day predicted and my last day off before a run of 5 days at work so I figured relaxed strole around my local patch was in order. Well it turned out very warm but also very muggy, not as sunny as I was hoping for but on arriving I was pleased to find that the Common Blues had at last appeared, although judging by the condition of some, they have been around for a week or two

A Blue damselfly caught my eye, it looked different to the normal ones I see (Common Blue and Azure). I managed to get some pics good enough to highlight some distinguishing features and when I got back home it turned out to be a blue form female of the Common Blue Damselfly, never seen that form before....knowingly at any rate.

A little further on I came across another brownish blue fluttering around, my first instinct was a Small Blue due to it's size but I quickly came to my senses and plumped (correctly) for a rather small female Common Blue. When she settled I could see just how tiny she was, barely larger than an averaged sized Small Blue.

Also buzzing around were a couple of Large Skippers but only managed one long distance snap.

I didn't see anything else for sometime, not even a white or Meadow Brown. Lots of these noisy buggers shouting at the top of their lungs though!

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Whilst watching the sedge Warblers a flash of bright orange flew by and settled on the walkway. A very fresh Small Tortoieshell . So fresh it was still confused as to what it was to be a butterfly, trying to feed from the dry wood and only landing to bask in the shade.

The only reason I caught it in the sun was because the breeze blew the reeds out the way!

With not much more happening I decided to take the short walk over to Abney Park Cemetary. It was rather quiet here too, an hours walk only throwing up 5 Speckled Wood, none of whome were in the mood to be photographed but I did get my first sighting of a hutchinsoni Comma.

Back at the Marshes I had another look at the Blue site and found a few more individuals, at least 7, 5M and 2F.

Just as I was leaving I caught a glimpse of something on some Hogweed. On closer inspection I saw a very pretty little micro moth.

Nemophora fasciella

Nemophora fasciella

Turns out it is a rather localised species. No idea if its been recorded here before but I sent of the pictures to my local BC branch

Fingers crossed the 'June gap' ends soon and things have livened up again next time I find time for a local wander

[trevor]

HI Bugboy,
Your day at East Blean turned out to be as good as ours a couple of weeks ago They used to fly in the
car park, but that area has become overgrown.
You have certainly been busy lately,well done .

All the best,
TREVOR.

[Philzoid]

Hi Bugboy

Whilst prowling I found the same little Micro Moth Kevling saw, I wonder if it was the same individual?

Hi Bugboy. Did "Kevling" see the same moth as the one I reported on the June sightings page two days earlier

[bugboy]

Hi Bugboy

Whilst prowling I found the same little Micro Moth Kevling saw, I wonder if it was the same individual?

Hi Bugboy. Did "Kevling" see the same moth as the one I reported on the June sightings page two days earlier

hahahahahaha in my excitement I've gone completely mad! Sorry Phil for not crediting you and ummm sorry Kevling but you get no credit for my trip...... oh this is really awkward now......

[kevling]

Buggie,

You at least gave me a few hours of recognition

In the immortal words of poet Brendan Behan "All publicity is good, except an obituary notice"

Regards Kev

[Wurzel]

Cracking Heaths Buggy Only 8 posts to go and then I'll be posting mine

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Willrow]

Your leading a hectic life now your into critters big time Buggy... I'm enjoying your reports.

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[bugboy]

Thanks Bill, I've always been into my little critters, it's just that grown up things took over in recent years. I'm glad I'm making time to rediscover my long lost childhood passions again and with the added bonus of having this outlet to share my obsessions

Have to say though, this being my first full summer on this site, keeping up with everyone’s diaries is a job in itself, I’m way behind most of you but I will make time to sit down and catch up on what everyone’s been up to
Anyway, back to me!

Epping Forest, 23rd June.
I’ve not been here since April when I was after the overwintering adults but today I was after some Browns. I’ve only had a few fleeting encounters with Meadow Browns and I was also hoping for an early Ringlet or two. The weather seemed questionable but I ventured out anyway.

After running a few errands I hopped on the train and got to the site at around 11.30. It was cloudy but brightening up now which seemed perfect for Browns and 10 minutes of searching I saw my first butterflies centred around a patch of bramble in a clearing. A meadow Brown settled high up but a Speckled Wood and Large Skipper both posed for me.

It was a while before I saw anything else. Heading for a meadow seemed like the best course of action and it proved quite fruitful. The first butterflies I saw where Small Heaths, several individuals all females and all looking very freshly emerged. The bright cloudy light really brought out the colours in them.

So fluffy :)

After chasing these around for a while a couple of male Meadow Browns joined the party. Again these looked very fresh. The supple way the wings bent when they crawled through the grass indicated they were probably less than 24 hours old. They weren’t overly approachable, being normal Meadow Browns, but I managed to sneak up a couple of times after they ‘flopped’ down into the grass. They were obviously still learning how to use their new wings!

There were also quite a few Common Blue Damselflies flitting around (there’s a lake not far away).

Leaving them to get on with whatever they were up to I moved on into the wood and in another clearing I found a Large Skipper slowly climbing up a grass stem. It too looked very fresh but before I could get a snap it took flight and landed high up in some Sallow. A long distant snap revealed my first female Large Skipper of the year, almost certainly having just taken her maiden flight.

A short walk over to the nearby lake, Connaught Water, to see what was there revealed blue clouds of Damselflies whenever the clouds parted to allow a chink of sunshine through. They were mostly Common Blue Damselflies. I did flush up a Red Admiral, no chance for a photo though. This area is popular with dog walkers and even on a week day it can be quite busy in good weather so it’s not the best place to try for butterfly pictures but I am also partial to dragonflies and damselflies . There was a male Black-tailed Skimmer living up to his name, skimming back and forth over the water. There was also a Common Tern, lazily flying around, very graceful birds. I tried (and failed) to get some shots as he dipped into the water for some morsel of food several times.

So close yet soout of focus!

A little further on a pair of Red Eyed Damselflies in tandem got swept past me in a gust of wind and settled in the grass allowing me plenty of time to get some nice shots.

I moved them onto a tree trunk after so they didn’t get squished

Anyway, back to butterflies!
With sun beginning to make brief appearances things were livening up a bit, Large Skippers and Meadow browns popping up often now, usually in the vicinity of bramble. As a bit of variety a gorgeous Small Tortoiseshell also showed up and a bit further on from this a Painted Lady was seen but didn’t settle long enough for a photo.

Making the return journey, the blue sky now dominated and the Skippers and Browns were much more common and active.

A rather attarctive Hoverfly caught my eye

Chrysotoxum sp.

I found several Emperor Dragonflies hawking over a meadow, a female settled briefly a few times but flew up when I got too close so I only managed a couple of distant shots.

Back at the first meadow I visited, Small Heaths were very common, easily into double figures and I was lucky enough to catch sight of this pair nestled low down in the grass.

They turned out to be very amenable to being moved to a more photogenic location but always moved out of position when I was about to take that ‘perfect snap’ so I settled with what I had and left them too it.

Lots of large Skippers bounded over the grass, including another lovely female.

Then a smaller brighter orange one appeared. I presumed it to be a Small Skipper and tracked it for some time as I waited for it to land. When it did I approached it slowly then quickly took a couple of record snaps before moving in closer to get more. Unfortunately a passing Large Skipper scuppered that plan and it vanished in a blur of orange. Looking at the pics on my camera the tips of the antennae looked very dark, Essex Skip dark but then getting home and looking at it properly I was further confused by the scent mark which looked very Small Skip. I did manage to convince myself it was an Essex Skipper but I left it up to the experts on here to have the final say, he was a Small Skipper!

Species #31 for the year

So no Ringlets but I can't really complain, it was still a lovely day and there’s always tomorrow

[Willrow]

Very comprehensive and interesting report Buggy, its incredible how we seem to return to childhood passions, even when other passions interrupt

BW's

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[bugboy]

Isn't it just Bill

Box Hill, 24th June. (Part 1)

Box Hill had been calling me for a few days and with a good forecast for my day off this week an early start was the order of the day. Hopping on the train to Box Hill I arrived at 9 and followed my usual route by starting at Burford Meadow at the base of the Hill. It didn’t take long for one of my target species of the day to welcome me, when I say welcome I mean completely ignore me and sit on the top of a huge bank of bramble having breakfast, well out of reach of even a record shot but a minute or so later another large orange butterfly flew past me. This Dark Green Fritillary did allow a few record shots but refused to allow me to get closer and neither did the next two or three.

A few male Meadow Browns were flitting around but it was the Fritillaries I was after today. The forth (or maybe it was the fifth) one I saw was a lot more welcoming to me. After a few more distant shots I carefully crept up closer until I was up under his nose. He even allowed me to move those few annoying bits of grass between me and him and after 10 minutes I got shots from nearly every angle before he finally decided to go on his way. This was my first proper view of a fresh DGF and very impressive they are too!

I find it very difficult to walk past a Banded Demoiselle without feeling the need to take a snap....

It was now time for what has become a familiar climb up the side of the Hill. Let’s say it’s very ‘invigorating’, it certainly gets the blood pumping that’s for sure. It’s always worth it though, the view across the downs and over to Dorking on a clear day is wonderful. Welcoming me onto the first steep south facing down was a Marbled White lazily fluttering by, my first of the year and my second target species of the day. As I looked down several more appeared and walking down I noticed they were very attracted to a Privet in full flower. I’m so used to seeing them on thistles and Knapweeds in a grassy setting they looked quite odd settled on it. They were quite approachable though.

Another DGF was racing around like a mad thing and a Small Tortoiseshell very nearly took my head off on its mission to get somewhere yesterday! Meadow Browns were the only other butterflies flying here but they weren't playing.

I moved onto to ‘The Whites’, the ridge of chalk which is the backbone of Box Hill. More Meadow Browns were the first I saw here, with a sprinkling of Large Skippers and then More Marbled Whites, in a more familiar setting.

Also zooming around were several more DGF, at least 4, all males again. These ones were more flighty than my friend earlier but I managed a few when they settled as a cloud passed over. This one was busy vibrating its wings to stay warm in readiness for a quick getaway.

A quick experiment with flash produced an interesting comparison.

and then he was gone again!

After filling up on these I moved on towards the meadow where the Silver Spotted Skippers will be seen later in the year, next to zigzag road. Stepping out of the hedge and walking down the steps several dark browns were flitting around, initially I took them for more Meadow Browns but very quickly I worked out I was seeing my first Ringlets of the year. I only managed a few pics when they settled as a passing cloud darkened the sky.

More DGF were bombing around like loons. Again four or five males, not a sniff of a female yet and I'm sure if there was one these fellas would have sniffed her out long before I found her! I was luckily enough to have another close encounter, thisone obviously been around for a day or two.

So thats the first 2 1/2 hours covered, more later

[Wurzel]

Great DGFs Bugboy , hopefully I'll be able to pick some up this weekend weather permitting.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Great shots, Buggy - I wonder why I didn't bump into you yesterday as I covered a fair bit of the same ground during early afternoon. I noticed how the Marbled Whites were going for the privet flowers more than usual too. That didn't stop every knapweed having one perched on it of course!

Dave

[bugboy]

cheears guys, yea we must have only just missed each other Dave.

It must be that the Knapweeds are only just coming into flower so not enough to go around yet.

Anyway

Box Hill, 24th June. (Part 2)

I wandered further down the hill, towards the road, stopping occasionally to admire the relentless DGF's in their ongoing search for an emerging female. I found my first female Meadow Brown of the year, hiding from male attention no doubt!

I thought I’d check on the Brimstone larvae on the Buckthorn and walking over to it a large dark butterfly practically dropped out the sky right in front of me. I managed just a couple of quick shots of the pristine Red Admiral before she took off and vanished with a few flaps of her wings.

At the Buckthorn there were lots of visible eating damage and a few small cats. I had a search for some pupae but no sign, obviously that doesn’t mean I wasn’t looking at several in plain sight!

Something else caught my eye whilst searching. It looked like a bird dropping but on closer inspection it had a caterpillars head. The fact it’s sitting on a silk pad on the centre rib strongly suggests it used to be a Brimstone. Now it is a pupal case for a parasitic wasp. It’s very interesting that the wasps silk cocoon is patterned to resemble a bird dropping.

Just a few steps on and a tiny butterfly rose from around my feet. It settled quickly again and saw that it was an aged Small Blue, still clinging onto life.

Two more flitted around, close to the road.

Walking further on a very old male Common Blue appeared and vanished just as quickly, numbers of species were piling up today!

Passing a few more DGF and lots more MW...

...I planned to try my luck and head to the Silver Washed Frit hotspot I found last year.
There were at least three Fritillaries flying around, but to ‘flappy’ to be SWF and some closer inspection confirmed they too were DGF. A haggard Peacock showed for a time and a couple of Brimstones were still flying. Another Red admiral was feeding on some dry poo!

and some Rose Chafers were having a little party on a privet flower head

I made my way back through the woods, hoping for an early White Admiral but no sign, maybe a week or two.

Coming out onto the meadow above zigzag road were more MW feeding on brambles who happily posed and Ringlets who didn’t.

Then a pair of Brimstones appeared, the female quite obviously not in the least bit interested in the male’s desperate advances.

She even managed to multitask by feeding whilst giving him the cold shoulder

She was obviously well practised at ignoring males!
I left them to it after getting a few in-flight action shots, I got the feeling she was in for a long afternoon!

The DGF were still shooting about, even more active now it was early afternoon and MW, Ringlets and Meadow Browns flitted over the meadow and I found a mating pair who did everything possible to avoid being photographed!

Having had a very good day so far I decided to leave early, hoping to miss the hideousness that is the London rush hour but one last butterfly caught my eye walking up towards the visitor centre, a gorgeously marked female Speckled Wood

12 species in one day,I think we can safely say the June gap has passed!

I'll leave you with my fav pics of DGF and MW

[millerd]

That's a nice female MW to finish, Buggy. I don't think I managed to track a female down all day.

Dave

[bugboy]

Thanks Dave, yes they were mostly males but I did find a few females lurking.With all the males it's no wonder they were a little reluctant to be more obvious!

[bugboy]

Walthamstow Marshes 26th June

An early finish from work today meant I was able to sneak an hour on my local patch. I turned up at the top meadow, where the Common Blues hang out and was greeted by many small orange things buzzing around. The large Skippers were quite approachable

but the smaller brighter ones weren't playing ball at all. they didn't settle for longer than a few seconds even to feed and when I did manage a photo I couldn't get an angle for a poistive ID

Small or Essex?

Small or Essex?

I was pretty sure I was seeing both Small and Essex not only from the brief glimpses I was getting but also the behaviour. Sometimes when two met they would zoom off as Skippers do, either battling or courting but other times they would briefly circle each other before going their seperate ways, presumably these were an Essex/Small meeting.

I finally got my chance at a positive ID with a courting pair

Small Skippers

Following another one for sometime it finally landed long enough for another positive ID, confirming my suspicions

male Essex

male Essex

No confusion this time as to what species I was looking at!

I followed this one some more and watched as it briefly met another one before landing again, except I had unknowingly switched Skippers

Female Small

Further confirming my suspcions on the behaviour I was seeing. There's no way on Gods green earth a male skipper would have virtually ignored a female if it were the same species!

So Essex Skipper, species #35 for the year

[Wurzel]

Essex Skippers now things are moving along nicely, but it'll be about a week until they turn up over my way. Nice shots by the way

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel

Chiltons 27th June

Today I planned to go hunting for Duke larvae, and to see what was flying on the way. So a half hour train ride to tring and then a browse around Aldbury Nowers Nature Reserve to see how that had evolved since I last visited. Last time I was here it was alive with Dingy and Grizzled Skippers, Common Blues, Brown Argus and other springtime inhabitants. Now there were clouds of Marbled White and Ringlets, probably over a 100 of each species with plenty of Meadow Brown and a smattering of Skippers.

Having had a bit of a lay in I got here late morning so everything was very much awake and very active making photography a bit difficult, especially for the hyperactive Ringlets and Meadow Browns

Large Skippers and Small Skippers were bounding around in the sun, no Essex were seen though but there were a few fresh Small Heath, the site must be well into it's second brood.

Also 1 DGF was bombing around but he did settle for a quick sup of nectar on a thistle for a short time

And plenty of Common Blue Damselflies

Other things flying here were a few aged Common Blues and my very first Chimney Sweeper moth.

plus a nice female Speckled Wood,taking a short break from looking for somewhere to lay her eggs.

I spent about an hour here before starting a slow wander over to Ivinghoe Beacon. A couple of detours got me sightings of Small Tortoiseshells, a Red Admiral and a Painted Lady... who saw me before I saw it

and a mating pair of Meadow Brown.

Once at Ivinghoe Beacon I was now tasked with the job of locating where I saw the Duchess laying a month ago (didn't realise at the time but it was exactly a month to the day!)

The scrubby area behind the main car park looked very different now, thick carpets of Yellow Rattle, helping to keep the grass under control, was interspersed with colourful spikes of Orchids. I noted 4 species, Common Spotted, Fragrant, Pyramidal and Twayblade.

I wandered over to the general area of where I watched the Duchess lay her 3 eggs, a shallow dry ditch, picking my way through the Orchids and began my search for Cowslip leaves with windows. I found a few but the culprits proved rather elusive, hiding or predated, who knows . Then I found this, a leaf looking somewhat swiss cheese like:

I carefully turned it over but saw nothing, the second leaf was also empty. One more leaf had a few holes and turning this over I found the culprit:

My very first Duke cat
Here's one with my fat thumb for scale

I carefully placed the leaf back how I found it and moved off to look for more. I didn't find anymore but that really didn't matter. Finding one was plenty for me

I left Ivinghoe Beacon to the sound of Skylarks doing their inflight vocal battling. Well mostly, this particular one was taking it easier and shouting at the top of his little lungs from a fence post!

The clouds had begun to shade out the sun on the return trip and with the shadier and slightly cooler conditions the Browns and Skippers were much easier to stalk and capture on my camera. I completely lost track of time, Nearly 3 hours passed in what seemed like 5 minutes, it was 6pm before I realised just how long I had been out! But I used the time wisely