Pauline

[Pauline]

Having explained all that I'd now like to post a few shots from a recent trip to Noar Hill. There is an odd looking beetle amongst them (some sort of Longhorn?) and a stripey kind of bee which I thought was very attractive and hard-working (what more can one ask for? ):

Well, I guess I'd better stop there but just a fraction of both numbers and species, despite the dreadful weather recently.

[Maximus]

We're so sorry to hear that you have lost Foxy, Pauline. Those are lovely photos you've posted of foxy and Chance and Stanleigh with Foxy. At least he had a good life while he was with you.

All the Best,

Mike

[bugboy]

Sorry to hear about Foxy but it sounds like he couldn't have had a better life.

On the butterfly front those Brown Hairstreak (why they didn't go with the females old name Golden Hairstreak I'll never know) are absolutely divine, especially that first picture! Really need to end my year with a good encounter with them! And a blind Ringlet

You're right about the beetle being a Longhorn, it's what I used to know as a Strangalia sp. but they are now known as Rutpela. There's several similar species but the commonest is called maculata. I'm not too hot on my Hymenoptera so I can only make a guess at the bee and suggest perhaps Anthophora sp.?

[Wurzel]

Struggling to keep up with everything at the moment Pauline so catching up on some of your posts, lush BA and blind Ringlet . Sorry to hear about Foxy

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Hi! Pauline, I'm trying to catch up with the postings ( I'm having a quiet day), I'm awfully sorry about your Fox Pauline, what can one say at a time like this!!!!!! You know how I feel I'm an animal lover myself . I just hope your other animals start to feel better soon.

Love your photos Pauline, no matter how I try I don't seem to get mine that clear, I'm glad your out and about again taking photos Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you Mike - I have some great memories and many more photos. There is a link with butterflies as it was Robin Turner who was then the webmaster for Hampshire who found Foxy in a real poor state in his garden eating the moths in his trap. I shall always be grateful to him as I wouldn't have missed the experience for the world.

Thank you too Buggy. I also very much appreciate the ID's. I totally agree that the name Golden Hairstreak is so much more apt.

Cheers Wurzel - have a great break.

I appreciate your comments Goldie. I have only been out once in the last week (Chance has now punctured his foot and is on painkilling injections and antibiotics ) and that was a quick visit to Noar Hill on the way to collect Foxy's ashes. I managed to find my blind Ringlet again:

and I watched for about 20 mins as this Common Blue appeared to be egg-laying on this daisy type plant:

A couple more from the same visit but no BH

[Pauline]

So, I have been stuck in for virtually a week - virtually unheard of in the butterfly season However, it has given me a chance to catch up with what is going on in the garden. Yesterday there were 10 species in the garden (not bad when the overall total is only 19), including SWF, Large Skipper and this Holly Blue:

[Pauline]

.... and of course I also had the moth trap to keep me occupied and interested. How I manage to get 200 moths one night and a SINGLE moth a few nights later I'm not sure. I was a bit concerned as I saw a few bats flying around and wondered if I was supplying their supper The camouflage of moths astounds me and I am now beginning to appreciate the beauty of some of the micro moths (although as I start to deal with the macros first I rarely have time to photograph the little'uns. A few from last night which I confess I haven't had time to identify yet but they are quite stunning:

One thing I find frustrating about moths is the way that they quiver to warm themselves up to 'escape' which makes decent photos of some attractive moths impossible as in this case:

[David M]

Your blind Ringlet is amazing, Pauline. I'm pretty sure you'll be required to put that in the species-specific albums!

[William]

Hi Pauline,

Excellent moth photos, now you've started, you'll never look back

They are:

Coxcomb Prominent
September Thorn (August Thorn is very similar, but has white tibiae)
Peppered Moth
Lesser Swallow Prominent
Catoptria pinella
Swallow Prominent
Nut Tree Tussock
Flame Shoulder

BWs,

William

[Katrina]

The soft colours on your first Holly Blue photo are really attractive.

[MikeOxon]

Wow! super moth photos - you are a glutton for punishment, tackling these critters. 58 butterfly species is one thing but 2,500 moths is a challenge on a wholly different scale

[Pauline]

Thank you David. I expect it will be a while before I see another one like that! Possibly even better than the BH I was looking for

I have been struggling to get decent photos of moths William and the only thing I can come up with is the poor light at that time of the morning. I am getting an enormous number of species and it is quite time consuming to identify them all so I really appreciate you helping me out on that and saving me a bit of time. Thank you.

Thank you for taking the time to comment Katrina. Would you believe that all those colours were just a result of the changing light levels and taking shots from different angles. Amazing the difference it makes, isn't it? I had an old coat hanging out to dry in the background hence the background colours.

I won't argue with you on that one Mike and I am not quite sure I am up for the challenge .... but I have made a start and finding it interesting . Thank you for the compliment - taking photos of moths seems like a whole different ball game as I am still not quite sure what they are going to do eg. fly away, play dead, co-operate, quiver, etc.

Yesterday I had reason to travel to Portsmouth so on the way back I made a quick stop off at Oxenbourne (but not as quick as Wurzel ) As I walked onto the site I was delighted and relieved to see a couple of SSS egg-laying. I did not have much time for photos and that wind was blowing strongly again but I took a few shots nevertheless:

I watched 4/5 eggs being laid but did not take any shots until she took a break for a rest and some much needed nourishment.

Whilst checking out the eggs I came across this - any ideas?

[William]

I think you've been tricked, Pauline - your eggs are Common Blue eggs, laid on Bird's Foot Trefoil

BWs,

William

[MikeOxon]

.... taking photos of moths seems like a whole different ball game....

I agree but you seem to be handling the new game pretty well. I think you are wise to keep the ISO down, for low noise, but that is forcing you into very slow shutter speeds, in early-morning light.

Perhaps it's time to experiment with flash. I don't think the FZ38 has connections for an external flashgun, so you're stuck with the on-camera flash but, if you experiment with reducing the intensity of the flash (described in the manual), you should be able to get good results. Try also using some sort of diffuser - a single ply of tissue between the flash head and the subject can be very effective for this.

Extract from FZ35 Manual

[Pauline]

You are of course correct William! That'll teach me to stay so far back until she has moved on! I've seen the eggs before so I should know better. Can I just put it down to stress or lack of sleep ? They were definitely egg-laying so I shall just have to go back and check out that area again

Thank you for that tip Mike. I shall certainly give it a try before I post any more moth shots. I really haven't explored the use of flash to any degree.

[Goldie M]

Love your SSS Pauline, I went looking for those whilst in Kent and on the way home my Husband didn't want to stop in the Midlands just wanted to get home, I fell a sleep any way so I envy you those shots
I think some moths by the way can be really colourful, I don't set out to film them but if I see them I like to film them, sorry to hear you've got another casualty, hope he's better soon Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you so much Goldie. I appreciate your very kind comments.

Today I had some time and the opportunity to get out for a couple of hours. It has been a couple of years since I took a photo of a Wood White ova

and having seen them egg-laying this season I hoped to be able to find a larva which I have never before seen. Sadly, the weather was overcast, dull, drizzly but warm. I debated whether to go as I have been led to believe that Wood White only fly in sunshine..... but then I remembered I had been told that PE don't fly in the rain, and BH don't come down in the afternoon and a few other 'facts' that have not lived up to my experience. When I arrived at Botany Bay there were about a dozen Wood White flying in one short stretch just over the bridge, despite the weather (which was very changeable).

I was lucky enough to come across a mating pair but the wind made photos quite challenging!!!

However, I failed miserably with the larva. Once the rain started to rally come down I find it is almost impossible to search for eggs or larva amongst the rain drops so at that point I decided to call it a day.

[David M]

I debated whether to go as I have been led to believe that Wood White only fly in sunshine..... but then I remembered I had been told that PE don't fly in the rain, and BH don't come down in the afternoon and a few other 'facts' that have not lived up to my experience.

You were absolutely right to be sceptical of commonly disseminated 'norms'.

Butterflies are unpredictable by nature, and, of course, they pay no attention whatsoever to what is written about them in books. You got your reward with some lovely images.

[bugboy]

I debated whether to go as I have been led to believe that Wood White only fly in sunshine..... but then I remembered I had been told that PE don't fly in the rain, and BH don't come down in the afternoon and a few other 'facts' that have not lived up to my experience.

You were absolutely right to be sceptical of commonly disseminated 'norms'.

Butterflies are unpredictable by nature, and, of course, they pay no attention whatsoever to what is written about them in books. You got your reward with some lovely images.

I think if all butterflies stuck strictly to what is written about them in books, many would quickly go extinct having to compete with 'British weather', like David says they don't read the books!

Beautiful pictures of those delightful little whites