July 2015

[Steve Babbs]

Well we now have a few places with purple emperor in Suffolk. This was taken near Needham Market today.

[A_T]

Silver-washed Fritillaries in good numbers on Llynclys Hill

[sahikmet]

Friday last on Bold Hill lots of butterflies. Dark Green fritillary, large number of small skipper and Marbled white. Large White and Common Blue and speckled wood. Small Tortoiseshell. Cheers Sezar

[Philzoid]

A lovely sunny day and a chance to get some butterflying in. Earlier I'd seen a female Sparrowhawk sat on my house roof, some Large Whites; Peacocks and a Comma all visiting the garden (the Comma appears to have taken up residence) and all this served to whet my appetite for what lay ahead on a visit to Denbies .

On arrival, (armed with my Burnet moth lures for a Surrey Moth Group survey on the 5-spot and narrow-bordered 5-spot), I avoided the path down through Steers field (as always) and made towards the woods to link up to a lightly trodden path that runs down the woods edge. This area usually throws up more butterflies than the standard route and also the bordering bushes gave me somewhere to hang my lures.

Whilst making my way down through the long grass I got my first sighting: fellow UKB'er Dave Millerd no less (had to be someone in the know taking this path ). We were both out for Chalkhill Blues and other down-land butterflies but I was also hoping for Dark Green Fritillary and Dave told me they were some about on the zig-zag over at Box Hill.

Chalkhill Blue males were about but not in great numbers, too early (perhaps) for the clouds of this butterfly that can occur on this site. Apart from Chalkhills there were Marbled Whites; Meadow Browns; Gatekeepers and Small Skippers. Also seen was a Brown Argus and Large Skipper.

Lots of orchid pollenia on this one's proboscis

Eventually we had to move on. Dave needed to get back to his boys in the car who like most youngsters these days, had nothing but their mobile phones to keep them amused . I needed to get on to Box Hill but first of all pick up my lures. In the 5 spot trap there were two moths but they were well worn and I wasn't sure whether they were the six spot variety. Whilst doing this I met a chap with his camera who proceeded to show me his “Dark Greens” which turned out to be Silver-washed (he was well chuffed about that ).

The slopes on the zig-zag turned out to be the spot for Dark greens. Most were a bit worn and were flying low before dropping down in the short grass to nectar on Dwarf Thistle or clover. Getting an uncluttered shot was impossible but the final female at the end saved the day.

Other butterflies seen were common Blue; Silver-washed Fritillary (car park) and Ringlet. With the Large White; Peacock and Comma this made a not bad 12 species for he day In addition I got myself a moth lifer, a lovely oncocera semirubella, a very flashy looking Pyralid grass moth .

A cracking day and another tip from Dave:- Grayling out at Dawney's. Will visit there tomorrow while I'm on a roll.

Phil

[ChrisC]

not been on much but have been looking in. a first outing with a new fz200 today

and if i hadn't been dumbstruck by these two i could have done better

gonna take a bit of getting used to.

[David M]

Double valezina!!

Very nice.

[jenks]

18 and 19/7/15.
had a great day at Bentley Wood,18/7/15 with 22 species seen, as follows. Ringlet, Gatekeeper,Meadow Brown, Small Skipper,Silver washed Fritillary (incl 1 valezina type) , all in profusion. Marbled White 9, Small White 5, Large White 3, Comma 7,Essex Skipper 7,Large Skipper 5, Purple Hairstreak 8-10, White letter Hairstreak 5 ( at the favoured elms but all around the tops, none came down), Brimstone 6, White Admiral 5, Speckled Wood 4, Peacock 2, Red Admiral 2,Small Tortoiseshell 1, Green veined White 1, Painted Lady 1. And, the prize..... Purple Emperor 5 possibly 6, 3 at New Berryfield Copse and 2 or 3 at the oaks at the entrance to the flower meadow. This was a new area of the wood for me, I was told of it by a local and his local knowledge proved invaluable. All the PE`s however were at the tops of the oaks and sallows, flying or jousting with each other, none came down lower than 8 to 10 feet. Never mind, I was happy with the sightings. Odonata seen were Southern Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly, Common Darter, Common Blue, Azure and Emerald Dragonflies.
After an over-night stay I returned to South Wales on 10 July, stopping at Allners Gorse on the way. In order of profusion were Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Small Skipper, Small Heath, with single figures seen of Large Skipper, Small White, Large White, Small Tortoiseshell and Comma. The prize sightings here were Purple Hairstreak, at least 10 seen along the hedge and the tops of the Oaks but also 4 low down in the Alder Buckthorn. 2 White letter H`streaks seen but again high up. And then more local knowledge passed to me by photographer Martin, who led me to a field at the end of the reserve and butting onto Lydlynch common. The hedge alongside the field held huge numbers of Silver washed Fritillary, a conservative estimate being 80 to 100. 1 valezina type gave Martin plenty of photos. Also 1 White Admiral.
Sorry for the lack of photos but as I have previously said in messages I am no photographer. I admire the images posted by others. However, I hope this report proves valuable in letting people know what is about and where.
Jenks.

[Willrow]

Excellent report Gareth, very comprehensive with your species count, I'm glad your visit went well

Sorry for the lack of photos but as I have previously said in messages I am no photographer

You should seriously consider getting some pics though, it add's so much more to the all-round butterflying experience...!!!

BW's

Bill

"When in dobt - venture out"

[Philzoid]

Followed Dave's tip-off and managed to fit in 90 minutes of butterflying at Dawney's on Sunday. Soon found my target species, Grayling. Getting a decent picture was harder. Dave said keep still and the Graylings will come to you. That was true but they always landed on the back of my trousers where I couldn't see them let alone take a picture . Eventually I realised the only way to get a decent picture was to ignore the sprouting gorse and get down very slowly to their level ... ground level (not an easy feat for me these days and as for getting back up ). I'm sure Graylings sit tight sometimes as they are relying on their camouflage as their first line of defence. This is then followed by a flash of forewing orange with eye spot and if that doesn't work, its up and away. A very charismatic butterfly, I love Graylings .

Also seen were the remnants of the earlier emerging Silver-studs and a few Gatekeepers too. The Grass Emerald moths proved elusive customers.

nick in the wing of this 'white banded' one

Phil

[peterc]

Purple Emperors flying in Hatfield Forest (SE of Bishop's Stortford) today. A friend (Bob) and I entered the northern section of the forest and among the tallest oaks you can almost guarantee you'll see a PE . We saw 5 on different oaks between 10:45 and 13:15 hours. Many Silver-washed Fritillaries (all males) and Purple Hairstreaks also seen.

ATB

Peter

[bugboy]

A female Purple Emperor was photographed today feeding on Buddleia in Hackney, central London ! It popped up on my facebook feed as part of the 'Butterflies UK' group on there.

[David M]

A female Purple Emperor was photographed today feeding on Buddleia in Hackney, central London ! It popped up on my facebook feed as part of the 'Butterflies UK' group on there.

Any images, Bugboy?

[bugboy]

A female Purple Emperor was photographed today feeding on Buddleia in Hackney, central London ! It popped up on my facebook feed as part of the 'Butterflies UK' group on there.

Any images, Bugboy?

Not sure, would depend on the users privacy settings.. here's a link to the group but again not sure if none-members can see it. have to scrole down a bit to get to them.There's a silver washed frit with them as well

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2392978 ... 2/?fref=nf

[Reddog]

Hi I was in Woodbridge Suffolk the other week when I came across these two Skippers. I think the one on the right is an Essex Skipper.

[bugboy]

[quote="Recorrectlyi I was in Woodbridge Suffolk the other week when I came across these two Skippers. I think the one on the right is an Essex Skipper.[/quote]

You think correct! The perfect picture to differentiate those 2 skipper species. Been after a picture like that for some time!

[MrSp0ck]

Was on a Butterfly Conservation Surrey walk today at Headley Heath, 24 species seen, but i was testing out my new camera on the Silver Spotted Skippers, managed to find a pair in courtship

[Greenie]

The White-letter Hairstreaks finally started coming down from the master tree this week .
A couple gave the Kent BC members plenty of photographic opportunities on their visit last Sunday .
It wasn't until this morning that I got my chance .
Both were nectaring on Canadian Golden Rod , their favourite tipple on the site .

[Allan.W.]

Hi all,
Quick look around the Moat area at Dungeness today ,a bit of breeze,but still plenty of butterflies about,we saw around 30 Small Coppers ,of various conditions ,from ghosts to one or two in fine fettle! Sadly the second brood is starting to wane. ten cracking fresh Painted ladies,6 Common Blue including a "Blue" form female,several Brown Argus ,a lone Marbled white,good numbers of Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper,but Small Heath were a bit thin on the ground,a Hummingbird Hawk battled valiantly in the breeze and kept us company,for about ten minutes, driving back across Walland marsh ,we stopped at the huge Buddleia that grows beside the road ,at Hawthorn Corner,Midley, it was alive with butterflies mainly Red Admiral,Peacock ,at least 4 Painted ladies,various Browns ,Whites,Silver y moths,and another Hummingbird Hawk,also across the marsh we also noted over a hundred whites. regards Allan.W.

[Willrow]

Saturday visit to Swellshill Bank to checkout the Chalkhill Blues at probably the species closest location to South Wales produced at least 40 or 50 within a small preferred area, many enjoying the Field Scabious in the sunshine after my visit started under a very dark and threatening sky which happily came to nothing

Chalkhill Blue resting up on oak scrub

After lunch I head on to Strawberry Banks which I hadn't visited for some years. The site was looking very pretty and awash with Bryony and Hemp Agrimony that attracted lots of Gatekeeper & Small Skipper along with many of our other more common species. It seemed rather quiet until I discovered a small area where several Silver-washed Fritillary were pairing-up or males frenetically seeking out females.

Silver-washed Fritillary

I shall include more details on my Personal Diary in the next day or so for anyone interested

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Philzoid]

With the school summer holidays underway it was time to use up some of my leave and hopefully get in some field trips in with the kids. Of course kids of 11 and 14 have their own plans on what they want to do, so circumstances dictated I was only able to get Izzy my youngest for Friday, one day out of a possible four . And so on a rain sodden Friday we set off for Arundel with a plan to take in the castle and wetland centre. I was desperately hoping the rain would ease off but it didn't and my mood was further dampened when I discovered that Arundel castle wasn't English Heritage (took out membership this year) and they charged an exhorbitant addmision price . After giving the castle a miss and browsing second-hand bookshops we eventually made our way to the wetland centre.
The rain had eased off but no self-respecting butterfly was going to be out in this. Perhaps we could learn a thing or two from four-winged friends . Highlight of the day for me was seeing a Water Vole making heavy weather (sorry about the pun) of getting a water lily leaf back to its den. Izzy's was to hear the pattering sound of two dozen duck feet as she was chased down by 'Usain Bolt mallards' hoping to get fed .

One day down and three to go .

Saturday brought a welcome change in the weather and so I made my way to Botany Bay (Chiddingfold) for a chance to see second generation Wood Whites (after drawing a blank in May). The entrance area which in the past had provided me with Grizzled and Dingy Skipper, had been resurfaced but there were plenty of thistles and knapweeds around the edges holding court to Large White; Gatekeeper; Ringlet; Meadow Brown; Comma, Silver-washed Fritillary, and Large Small and Essex Skippers.

In previous years I'd seen Wood Whites as high up the track almost to the Botany Bay entrance. However, most of the time you would need to get near to the triangle area before they would start popping up ... so I wasn't too concerned there weren't any around at this point. Continuing onward, and on the bend close to the bridge I came across two male Holly Blues mud-puddling on the damp ground. However it was nigh on impossible to get a decent photo. They were so active staying put for mere seconds, then zipping about, landing and repeating the process. Holly Blues are one of the species that elude me when it comes to getting pictures. One of them as if sensing my desperation, then chose to fly around me and land on the control dial of my camera. No chance of a photo there then .

Moving on and getting into the zone I spotted what I was looking for . But then immediately on the other side a White Admiral flitted into view ....which one to go for In the end I went with the Wood White. Like an Orange-tip it kept up its flight constantly looking like it was going to settle but never doing so, until a cloud cut out the sun and down it went.

Afterwards I saw Wood Whites aplenty . Often being hassled by other species, in particular the Large White which seemed to delight in picking on the small guy, but the diminutive Wood White would continue undaunted on his quest, presumably looking for a mate. Whilst watching all this I eventually saw a couple meet up and then without further ado they mated. Another male arrived on the scene and after a bit of a half hearted flutter, left them to it . This was totally in contrast to mating pairs I'd seen in the past where other males would be persistently trying to force their way in.

No preliminary's here, just straight down to business

A profusion of wildflowers in particular knapweeds and thistles lining the ride ensured a plentiful source of nectar for all the butterflies including Peacocks and the occasional Brimstone.

Leaving the Wood Whites I moved on to the (now well overgrown) meadow area close to the triangle where only nine years ago you could see Pearl-bordered Fritillary. This species is now extinct in Surrey unless anyone knows better? In the meadow I focussed on Silver-washed Fritillary which were past their pristine best but still in good nick overall. Males were still trying to court the females but unlike the Wood White the females were having none of it.

Not much protection afforded by this Hemp Agrimony in yesterday's weather?

On my way out I continually scanned the oak trees for the one common species I tend to overlook and had missing from my list for this year, the Purple Hairstreak. Eventually the neck ache paid off with an insect about 25ft up manically flitting in, out and around an area of leaves before eventually settling and enabling me to get this record shot. That gave me almost as much joy as seeing the Wood Whites to be honest

A Purple Hairstreak, honest!

Things continued to get better as back at the entrance I caught up with my second White Admiral of the day which whilst tatty, it nevertheless provided me with my first photo of this species for this year (and likely to be my only one). This is another species I have very few pictures of and nothing half decent ... something to work on .

A rare shot in my butterfly photos album

Overall 15 species total, two first of the season and a couple of awkward Lycaenids . Not a bad day at all.

Phil