Maximus

[David M]

Whilst not an out and out Painted Lady 'year', this species seems to be fairly widespread in 2015. I shall keep a sharp eye out for it over the coming weeks.

[Pauline]

Some really lovely shots there Mike of Painted Lady. I must try to pay that site another visit as it seems to be delivering quite regularly

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Mike,,

A lovely selection of Painted Ladies, I particularly like the first one with the dark markings. Also the beautiful Peacock in the previous post

Cheers,

Neil

[Maximus]

Thanks Dave, the first Painted Lady was beautifully marked, which you spotted straight away

Glad you liked the last one Wurzel, it was great against the sky

Definitely not the Painted Lady year that was forecast, David, but there a quite a few about none the less

As you've shown with your photos, Pauline, MHD is a great site to visit at any time

Thanks Neil, the first Painted Lady had very dark markings and was a real stunner so was the Peacock



In addition to the Painted Ladies, we also saw the following species during our recent visit to Magdalen Hill Down.

Male Small Blue

Female Small Blue on Kidney Vetch

Second brood Small Blues, including two mating pairs

Plenty of second brood Holly Blue - but hard to get any shots

Mating Gatekeepers

Red Admiral - var. bialbata

[Maximus]

Returning from a short break, (non butterfly), we discovered that our garden was host to some second generation Holly Blues. I don't find it particularly easy to get good photos of them as they're always so active, but did manage a few shots. There were both male and female present, but they were not keen to open their wings as the weather was never quite right. They were nectaring on both bramble and another small shrub which has just begun flowering in our garden, not sure what it is!

[Goldie M]

Lovely Holly Blues Max and your Small Blues are great too, I don't think I've seen mating Gate Keepers before at least since I've been home they've put in an appearance so I'll look more closely.Goldie

[Pauline]

Fabulous Holly Blue shots Mike. I love the one on the blackberry - very autumnal. Your shots are always so well composed with backgrounds which complement

[Maximus]

Thanks Goldie, there's still plenty of Gatekeepers around, so you've still time to see a mating pair this year

Thanks Pauline, autumn is not that far off now It was great to bump into you today, (for the first time this year), I didn't see your comment until this evening. What a brilliant chat Cathy and I had with you at Noar regarding all things lep


From the weekend

Common Blue male in the *@%ssing rain on Friday

[Wurzel]

Just catching up Mike - great Blues - Small, Holly and he last one the Common looks like it's almost crying in the rain

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Love the colour of the Common Blue Mike Goldie

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Some great Small and Holly Blue photos there Mike! I liked your sequence of Painted Ladies too.

All the best

James

[Maximus]

Thanks Wurzel, the Common Blue was crying in the rain, so was I

Common Blues are underrated Goldie, they're beautiful butterflies

Thanks James a couple more painted Ladies to follow


On a recent visit to Noar Hill, our first for a while, we bumped into Pauline at the top of the track. After a quick chat and catch up we headed into the reserve looking for Brown Hairstreaks. It wasn't long before we saw one in flight but that was it, however another enthusiast showed us a photo of a male taken on his mobile, which we had just missed Fortunately Noar Hill supports a fabulous variety of butterfly species so we relaxed and just enjoyed some of these Brown Hairstreaks seem to be emerging later this year, so we'll make a return visit very soon, weather permitting?

Very few Brimstones compared to last year

Obliging Small Heath - up off the ground for once!

Meadow Brown, chilled for a change

Red Admirals seen in low numbers this year

Common Blue mating pair

The first Small Blue I've ever seen at Noar Hill!

Fresh Essex Skipper

Two lovely Painted Ladies, the second one really fresh, however the promised 'invasion' has yet to happen!

[trevor]

HI Mike,
Lovely selection of summer species, and images to match. BHS. has avoided me this year too.
For me Red Admiral sightings have been average, but Small Tortoiseshell only seen in low numbers.

Good BHS.hunting
TREVOR.

[Maximus]

Thanks Trevor, I know you've seen them now


On another visit to Noar Hill last Friday in search of Brown Hairstreaks we bumped into Pauline at the bottom of the track. As we chatted a BH flew over our heads and settled on some Cow parsley on the other side of the lane. Pauline tried for a shot but a wasp disturbed the BH and it disappeared over the hedge never to be seen again! Pauline told us that she had seen seven BH during the morning and this was her eighth! She then went off for some refreshment, (it was a very hot day), before heading home, and we headed up into the site. Although we searched for five hours we saw no more BH but at least we did see plenty of other beautiful butterflies.

A rare sight for us in the second half of 2015

Painted Ladies, we've seen a few this year

Brimstone numbers appear to be building

Surprise of the day for us was this mating pair of SWF!

[Goldie M]

Fantastic photos especially the mating pair Mike Goldie

[Wurzel]

Carcking shots Mike Silver-washed do seem to be holding on this year whereas the Small Tortoiseshells seem to have disappeared

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Thanks Goldie, we were surprised by the mating pair, as it was quite late in the season

Thanks Wurzel, SW Frits are doing ok this year, but Small Torts are very thin on the ground


Especially for Jamie Burston, I finally found the record shot of our only reared Purple Hairstreak of 2015, a female, in the rearing cage just before release.

[David M]

Beautiful specimen.

[Jamie Burston]

Especially for Jamie Burston, I finally found the record shot of our only reared Purple Hairstreak of 2015, a female, in the rearing cage just before release.

Thank you so much Mike! That just made my day What a beauty, really stunning with the glossy sheen, great job!

To answer your question about the flowering plant in the garden with the Holly Blue, it is a Snowberry bush. I found out from Susie that females will also lay their eggs on it, with it being a great year for them it might be worth checking for emerging larva.

Many thanks, Jamie

[Goldie M]

Fantastic Purple Hair Streak Max , love it Goldie