Pauline

[Pauline]

This afternoon I thought I would kill 2 birds with 1 stone - check Abbots Wood for PE and have some fun with the Essex Skippers. Still nothing doing round here Trevor but loads of other stuff tho' I focused mainly on the Skippers. Large, Small and Essex all flying together. I appreciate the Essex are identified by their sex brand and antennae but seeing them all together, and not for the first time, the behaviour and flight of the Essex, for me, seems another way to separate these two. A few shots from earlier:

[Katrina]

Super photos Pauline. The last one is really fun!

[MikeOxon]

no ID problems with that last shot - very clever

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots as usual Pauline, Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you Katrina, Mike and Goldie. I was really just killing time and amusing myself with the Skippers whilst always keeping one eye on the oaks for PE. He was seen in Abbots Wood apparently but earlier in the day. Such was the case at Botany Bay today. An Emperor had been seen before I arrived so I spent some time with this gorgeous fresh Painted Lady who was quite obliging but a bit fidgety and with a tendency to stay down amongst the clover and grass.

I tried Wurzel but it was deep in the canopy and wouldn't turn round so I couldn't get the full monty for you

and a close up of the funny little face

As I patrolled the rides, scanning the trees, scanning the ground, I noticed this newly emerged female SWF. As if I didn't have enough shots of them already .....

It was nice meeting you all again, Trevor, Doug, John, Pete

[MikeOxon]

Good to see your Painted Lady undersides. I always feel that their topsides are a little 'dull', especially when put alongside relatives such as Small Tortoiseshell, but the undersides more than make up for any such shortcomings I'm glad they are about as I didn't see any last year and haven't managed to get any photos, yet, this year.

[Goldie M]

I love the Painted Lady shots Pauline, it's a lovely Butterfly when caught the way you've done. Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you Mike. I've heard a lot about this predicted invasion so hopefully you will see some soon. Me? Well, I'll just settle for that invasion of 1 which was as fresh as a daisy and delightful to watch

Thank you too Goldie - it sure is a lovely butterfly especially when fresh but I do like the underside

The plan today was to spend some time working in the garden - which I did actually do at the same time as keeping an eye on the 2 Emperor moth cats I 'borrowed' from Bramshott. On 27 June I had seen and photographed one of them shedding its skin and for the last 2 days they had both adopted a 'prayer' position (you will have to consult Guy's diary if you need that clarified ). Whilst sheltering from a shower I noticed one of them had virtually shed his skin (again) and by the time I got the camera it was all over. What a spectacular cat! I had now seen him in 3 different coats:

What great camouflage amongst the heather for a brand new cat....

... and what a cracking cat it is

Well, about 10 mins later it was obvious that the 2nd cat was about to do the same thing. I took a load of shots but the wind had picked up, the sun was harsh and I couldn't get in the right position without disturbing the heather. Nevertheless, I did my best to capture the moment whilst watching events unfold. You will know by now that I love this stuff, find it fascinating. I watched as the head emerged first and then there was a load of wriggling and writhing as the back end came out. For quite a little while it seemed the old skin was still attached to the cat, somewhere in the middle. Where is Martin when you need him? Should I try to intervene? In between each struggle to be free from the old skin, both cats took time out to rest, before writhing again to get completely free. After their mammoth struggle they hung motionless, recovering from their ordeal. Amazing!!

The same 'catherine wheel' pose adopted in the earlier moult.

I can't wait for the next version of this cat!

[Maximus]

Lovely photos of the Small and Essex Skippers Pauline, nice Painted Lady too but the shots of the moulting Emperor Moth cats you 'borrowed' from Bramshot, are superb

[Wurzel]

Great Painted Lady shots Pauline - they haven't arrived in the numbers hinted at so you've done well to get one

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Pauline, lovely Painted Lady photos

I saw quiet a few down in Cornwall when I was there but they seem to have fizzled out since then.

Love the Emperor cat shots, one of my favourite moths

All the best,

Neil.

[Pauline]

Not a great day for me yesterday Mike but your comment cheered me up no end, so thank you for that. These cats are amazing and I can't wait to see how they look after their next moult.

Wurzel, thank you. You should know that you were being missed, and your photographs praised, by various folk today at BB.

Thank you too Neil. Not many Painted Lady around at the moment so I guess I got lucky . Just the one will do me fine

It was good to see you again Bob ( was it really 4 years ago???!!!) and Philip, and great to meet you eventually Katrina (it had to happen sometime ). Also nice to meet and chat to the birder from Putney but doubt he will read this as we didn't exchange names.

I guess I was lucky to even see any PE flying today but in the end saw 4 or 5. Mostly reluctant to come down (at least whilst I was there! ) One I did see grounded was in an awkward place and was accidentally spooked before any better shots were achieved, so just for the record:

[bugboy]

More great shots pauline, liking your Essex Skipper shots from earlier, playing peek-a-boo with them, fun times

and here's a for that Purple One! I'm still waiting to see one grounded and todays tube strike put an end to any possible plans of seeing one today...tomorrow though, up and early, third time lucky!

[badgerbob]

Good to see you today Pauline. It was 21st June 2011 when we met up before!!

[Pauline]

Thanks Buggy - here's wishing you the very best of luck and looking forward to the results.

Wow! Am I really that memorable Bob?

I just couldn't resist the temptation today with thanks to Katrina

I tried to get the pavilion in the background but the butterfly wasn't playing that game so chimneys was the best it would give me

[Padfield]

From the age of 7, the idea of seeing a milkweed butterfly (as it was always known, before everyone started talking American) in the UK has been a distant dream for me. You have realised the dream. Your life is now complete.

Guy

[Pauline]

I hope it isn't Guy! - I still have a lot of things to see and do first Seriously, thank you; it was an incredible sight.

Having examined my shots more closely this morning it is clear that I was watching 2 different butterflies! I mentioned yesterday in Katrina's diary that one of the butterflies seemed to have sustained more damage during the day but looking at the shots (and the timings when they were taken) it is clear that there were 2 individuals present, given the position and shape of the nicks on the wings. A couple of photos for comparison only:

The left fore wing has a nick that wasn't there later in the morning and the nick in the hind wing is a different shape, as well as the amount of general wear and tear. Clearly 2 different butterflies!

[Pauline]

On my way back today I thought I'd check Chalton to see if the Chalkhills were out - they were!

[Pauline]

So excited about the Monarch I almost forgot to post some shots of the WLH - more than I have ever seen in any one place and so low down - on thistle, on budleia, on the grass, just about everywhere!!!

Obviously the focus was on the Monarch(s) but the helpful gent with the bicycle pointed one out on the grass. It must have scuttled around various grass stems for the best part of 30 mins, flying short distances only to repeat the behaviour of scraping his abdomen along grass stems. Had it been a female I would have suspected egg-laying but it was clearly male, albeit with quite a large abdomen:

If anyone can throw any light on this behaviour I'd be very interested having only seen them in trees before yesterday.

[David M]

They're regular visitors to thistles/bramble/ragwort, Pauline, but I've never seen them on the ground before and can't quite understand what they're doing.