Hoggers

[Hoggers]

Many thanks for your kind comments. The Coppers do seem to be continuously present at Dungeness from April until October/November although numbers fluctuate of course.

I had today off work so with the sun shining I headed back to Dungeness to see some more and immediately found a mating pair

As well as getting a photo

or two!

I mostly like to watch them and see what they get up to. Well, today I was treated to a couple of interesting examples of Small Copper behaviour. The first was watching a female deal with the unwanted attentions of an amorous male.

I saw the female quickly walking along with the male toddling along close behind

She would vigorously shake her wings at him and then adopt a pose that if it reminded me of anything it like a displaying Turkey! You can hopefully get an idea of what I mean from this next photo

And she assumed this pose on a number of occasions throughout the pursuit

Which ended with her flying to a bush and disappearing inside leaving the male on his own

The other way Small Coppers behave is to have punch-ups

And it's these I enjoy the most!

[David M]

Great sequence, Hoggers. Your first specimen is striking because it is so dark - very like the ones I see in France.

Love the aerial skirmish photos - that's no mean feat to pull off with such a small insect.

[Willrow]

Superb images of your small friends Hoggers - I'm sure they do as you request

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Allan.W.]

Hi ,Hoggers.
Fantastic Small Copper shots as usual Hoggers ,particularly liked your second shot ,Have a look on "Cockayne" ,I wonder if that's Ab: Magnipuncta 'if not it's very similar,i had a few visits for the First brood,seeing your pictures makes me keen for a weekend trip.
Regards Allan.W.

[Hoggers]

Thanks for your comments,much appreciated as always.

Hi Allan, I counted 43 there yesterday so you'll have no difficulty finding them this weekend. And thanks for reminding me about the Cockayne Collection - the one I saw certainly does look like the specimen shown. That's one of the attractions of Small Coppers: there's such a variation in wing markings.

Best wishes

Hoggers

[Hoggers]

I spent a couple of hours wandering around Dungeness this morning. The weather was fabulous, the flowers were fabulous and the Small Coppers were even better than Fabulous!

I saw 43 on wednesday

Today I counted 81

There were even some other butterflies about!

And in addition to the Brown Argus I saw my first Marbled White of the season.

But I must admit to being distracted from these other butterflies

I watched two affrays

And again saw a female adopt a displaying Turkey pose when rebuffing a male

But mostly I was able to enjoy Small Coppers perching

And nectaring

Another grand day with the Small Coppers

A Fair Cop(per)!

[Willrow]

I do believe spending lots of time with a particular species is the only way to find out more, now that might sound obvious, but how many of us do that, not too many, we're all busy trying to pack in as many species as possible into our all too brief butterfly season...so good on you Hoggers for your concentrated efforts with the delightful Small Copper

BW's

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Hoggers]

How very kind of you, Bill, and much appreciated.

And it just so happens that this very morning...

I couldn't resist a visit to see my favourite butterfly

I'd been itching to go back to Dungeness all week whilst at work, so when Saturday came off I went

There were Large and Small Whites everywhere and Small Coppers aplenty

I counted 118 of them including this interesting individual

I wish I had managed better and unobstructed photos of him

But when he flew up I couldn't find him again

But you can see how different his markings are.

Some have reduced wing marks and are to my eye very attractive for it

And look at this brave little warrior

He's had a fight with a bird and survived!

I was keen to see some Small Copper behaviour and luckily came upon to examples of males courting reluctant females.

Here you see our Romeo and Juliet

He was constantly bending his abdomen in an attempt to mate. They flew off so I didn't see whether he was successful. I noted that she did NOT behave in the way I've seen other females refuse males, ie, by walking away and posing like a Turkey displaying its wings.

However, this morning I later found a male who was courting TWO females

One of these ladies DID adopt the Turkey pose, walked away then flew off. The other female did NOT act in this way and I thought they were going to mate

Again you can see him raising his abdomen in an attempt to mate. Which again I missed ( if it happened at all!) because they went whizzing off.

They are fascinating and beautiful creatures

[bugboy]

I didn't know this many Small Coppers even existed!

[Hoggers]

118 was a good total, Buggy, but there were certainly many more - I covered only a small part of the territory!

Rained out today! I know it's good for the garden but surely it could have fallen overnight? Or on a weekday when I'm at work?

I was over the fields with the hounds at 7 this morning ahead of the rain and although cloudy it was very warm.

We saw many Meadow Browns stirred up out of the tall grass as we crossed the meadows. Up at the wood it was very quiet.

Has anyone-else noticed the lack of Willow Warblers this year? I haven't heard a single one. Chiff-Chaffs, yes ; but no Willow Warblers.

Maybe it's just down here in Kent that they've been scarce this year?

I will not usually permit any butterfly that isn't a Small Copper to appear in my diary but a wet sunday has tipped the balance in favour of another species, an Essex Skipper, my first of the season, which I bumped into on my early morning walk

And the first Marbled White on my patch this year also gets a mention due to rain having stopped play

They are smart butterflies but I can't help somehow thinking that as a species they could do with something extra? Maybe a dash of coppery tint..? Just to add a little dash of class?

Rainy Sunday thoughts.. but worth considering...

It was nice over the fields this morning before the rains came down

[Goldie M]

I love all your photos Hogger's ,you've wet my appetite for Kent but I can't get there until the first week in August worse luck.Goldie

[bugboy]

Has anyone-else noticed the lack of Willow Warblers this year? I haven't heard a single one. Chiff-Chaffs, yes ; but no Willow Warblers.

I've heard a fair few in my travels this year

[Wurzel]

I thought you could just about get away with Essex Skippers as they're 'golden' but the Marbled White is definitely pushing it Hoggers Great hpotos btw

Have a goodun
Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

I didn't know this many Small Coppers even existed!

Nor me...

I love reading your diary Hoggers and seeing all those Small Coppers, especially the behaviour shots

I can't agree with you about the Marbled Whites lacking something though They are my wifes and sons favourite butterflies, they both say it is because of the simple contrast of black and white.

Cheers,

Neil

[millerd]

Staggering numbers of Small Coppers - more than I've seen in my life, I should think. I reckon all those from round here have migrated south-east... great shots of what they get up to, as well.

Dave

[Hoggers]

Hello and thanks for your kind comments, they are greatly appreciated.

I made my way down to Dungeness today and began counting Small Coppers! I reached 86 with no trouble but when I came across number 87 my mind went BLANK

A radiata!

This is only the second I've ever found

He was very pugnacious indeed and would do battle with just about anything that moved. I noticed that he had a very settled territory and would always return to roughly the exact same place. Indeed, I left him for 90 minutes and when I came back he was there still.

I'd like others to go and see him but I'm wary of collectors so what I did was to go and find the Observatory Warden, David ( who as some of you might know is a very nice man indeed ) and I introduced him to radiata, so if anyone wants to see the butterfly they only have to ask David

I've lots more to report but as I'm experiencing Internet Dis-connection Syndrome again I'd better post this now before I lose it all!

But I'm delighted to have found such a fascinating and rewarding butterfly

Fan-Copper-Tastic!

[Hoggers]

Today's entry continued:

I noticed a few of this second brood now looking tired

But this is not surprising given how very active the males are: I began watching them at 8am and by 9am I'd seen battle after battle with Coppers taking on Meadow Browns, Small and Large Whites, Small Tortoiseshells and Small Skippers (as well as other Coppers!) So if they're like this early in the morning it's easy to see how they become battered.

But most are in good condition. I found a nice dusky individual

And this brilliant jewel

As well as many others

I got to see a number of courtships and I think I've finally figured out what goes on.The male approaches the female from behind. If she isn't interested she will flutter her hind wings rapidly whilst keeping her fore wings together held straight up. This is the "Displaying Turkey" pose that I've mentioned before. It's as if she is wafting some kind of chemical equivalent of The Cold Shoulder at the male because when she does this he will almost always simply stop and turn his attentions elsewhere. I've now seen this many times. Today I watched it on 5 separate occasions, as here (sorry for rubbish photos )

However, sometimes the female does not flutter her hind wings at the male: she just sits still and on these occasions matters proceeds further

Fascinating to watch.

I managed to find a Copper I'd seen five days ago, still on the same patch but now rather more knocked about (I'm able to identify him because of his unusual hind wing orange bar)

So he at least has maintained the same territory for at least 5 days.

Wonderful creatures

[Hoggers]

Today's entry continued further!

I forgot to mention that I also found this Brown Argus at Dungeness today ( yes, I do sometimes look at other butterflies!! )

It's almost got a white spot on the wings!

[Allan.W.]

Nice one Hoggers !!
Well found! (re- Radiata) and a good point made concerning collectors,never really thought about this before..........food for thought!
I,ve got the week off next week ,so shall hopefully be trying for Purple Emperor,and of course a few hours at Dungeness,never know I may get lucky
again ....heres hoping! Regards Allan W.

[Hoggers]

Thanks Allan, send me a message if you'd like directions on where to find the radiata ( I know you're not a collector! )

And good luck with PE !

Cheers

Hoggers