Padfield

[Wurzel]

Interesting to see that Chapmans Blue - I think I might have photogrpahed one in the Czech - I've also got some Ringlets to look though and they're causing me real problems as they're the first from the genus that I've encountered

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Jack Harrison]

Jack, when flying at altitude overlooking a rainshower interspersed with sunshine, did you ever witness a completely circular rainbow from above?

Frequently.

It is a strange experience to happen to be flying directly towards the centre of a 42 degree radius rainbow when the sun is low on the horizon directly behind. The radius doesn't of course change as you approach the shower but there is almost an impression of the rainbow getting closer until suddenly you enter the cloud and it disappears; you seem to be flying right through the rainbow (but of course you're not).

Jack

[Padfield]

I look forward to seeing your holiday snaps, Wurzel! Erebia gets easier and easier the more you see. When you first meet the genus it is confusing, especially as the same species may look completely different on adjacent mountains, but before long it all makes sense.

After finding Gautama yesterday I decided to look in similar places today. Sure enough, about 2½ feet from the ground, right next to where tall thistles and hemp agrimony used to grow, I spotted Yaśodharā, a first instar purple emperor caterpillar:





Her egg, like Gautama's, would have been laid in deep shade - and would have been completely inaccessible to me before they cut the verges. Fortunately, the heatwave seems to be well and truly over, so although they are now more exposed they are enjoying cool and damp conditions. It seems that July's drought and intense heat drove the females to lay in full shade rather than the usual half-shade. This means that, apart from those exposed by the woodmen, I'm unlikely to find very many this autumn, as they are in inaccessible places. I might have more success next spring, as they climb to higher sites to greet the sun.

Gautama is, of course, the Buddha. Yaśodharā, whose name means something like, 'upholder of glory', was his wife.

Guy

[Cotswold Cockney]

Some more interesting pictures Guy. Plus a late 1st instar larva too.

Here in England, weatherwise, Summer 2015 reminds me very much like Summer 1972. Then I found freshly laid PE ova in mid-August. They had not coloured up suggesting laid in past forty-eight hours. Maybe laid only the day before. When fertile, those distinctive coloured bands form within the ova confirming fertility after two days. I followed up a few days later and saw they were fertile.

I enjoy or should say enjoyed searching the Sallows this time of year. You can find all sorts of livestock on them. From a massive fully grown Eyed Hawk larva as well as other Salix feeding moths. One time, deep in the undergrowth at the edge of an Oakwood, a female Silver Washed Fritillary spent some time inspecting my rain soaked lower trouser legs and shaped up to start laying. I shooed her away.. Then another time I was concerned about something ugly and sinister on my right shoulder. It was not a twig or dead leaves, it was definitely alive as it moved ... Slowly turning my head to look, I then saw what it was. A fully grown larva of the Lobster Moth. Gave me a bit of a scare at the time. I had been brushing through some young Beech Tree saplings and suspect it had been dislodged from one of those. Never seen one before. Quite impressive.

[Pete Eeles]

I enjoy or should say enjoyed searching the Sallows this time of year. You can find all sorts of livestock on them. From a massive fully grown Eyed Hawk larva as well as other Salix feeding moths. One time, deep in the undergrowth at the edge of an Oakwood, a female Silver Washed Fritillary spent some time inspecting my rain soaked lower trouser legs and shaped up to start laying. I shooed her away.. Then another time I was concerned about something ugly and sinister on my right shoulder. It was not a twig or dead leaves, it was definitely alive as it moved ... Slowly turning my head to look, I then saw what it was. A fully grown larva of the Lobster Moth. Gave me a bit of a scare at the time. I had been brushing through some young Beech Tree saplings and suspect it had been dislodged from one of those. Never seen one before. Quite impressive.

Brilliant I've had the "paphia trouser treatment" every time I've visited Pamber Forest over the last month. I thought it was the aftershave

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

Never had an egg laid on me!

I fly to England tomorrow so today was Minnie's last outing with me before going off to kennels. I decided to check out the cardinals in the valley. I had visited the site twice in July without seeing a single cardinal and once at the beginning of August, when one male had crossed my path. On all occasions the buddleia was in full flower. A friend visited a little later in August and saw five. Today they they were out in force. Arriving on site at about 12h30 I had seen half a dozen males by 12h40. From then on, males were constantly in view, sometimes in twos, sometimes threes and even fours, belting around attacking anything that moved and very, very occasionally stopping to nectar. At about 13h30 we went to a nearby spot where purple and brown hairstreaks often come down for minerals (just purple today) and spent about an hour there. During this time, more male cardinals would zoom in and out at random, never pausing but instantly recognisable in flight. I also saw a single purple emperor - probably a female - but this moved on before I had trained the camera on it. Returning to the buddleia bushes, I found the female cardinals had arrived. These spend more time nectaring and were a little more amenable - but not much, as it was hot and everything was active.

None of the cardinals was marked - some readers of my diary will remember we numbered cardinals back in May. Probably, no conclusion can be drawn from this - we started marking too late and only got 12 individuals done before they disappeared. Maybe next year ... But nevertheless it was fantastic to see so many, after none in July. It is particularly interesting because last year, when it rained pretty well solidly from the end of June to the beginning of September, cardinals were on site in July. This year, in the heatwave, they disappeared from June until August. It seems most probable they are single brooded, so the question is, what do they do when it gets hot? I suspect they go up the mountain to escape the heat in the valley, as they are known to do in some other parts of Europe. Alternatively, they might aestivate. Females are known to put egg-production on hold during July and it is possible they go all the way into diapause in really hot years. Anyway, they're back!!

Other species seen included wood white, Bath white, large white, smalll white, southern small white, green-veined white, clouded and Berger's clouded yellows, brimstone, swallowtail, scarce swallowtail, common blue, Chapman's blue, idas blue, Adonis blue, chalkhill blue, long-tailed blue, Provençal short-tailed blue, Queen of Spain, high brown fritillary, heath fritillary, silver-washed fritillary, red admiral, comma, painted lady, wall, speckled wood, dryad, tree grayling ... and probably lots of others that I have forgotten. Most of the time I only had eyes for the cardinals.

Here are a few pictures of the cardinals:


(fresh male cardinal)


(a different male, also in good condition)


(this was about the most worn male I saw)


(male underside)


(female with some wear)


(female with lots of wear)


(a third female, also showing damage to the trailing edge of the hindwing and, like most, showing a very red lower abdomen)


(undamaged female)


(both these are cardinals, the one nectaring a female and the one bombing probably also a female, judging by the condition)


(male silver-washed fitillary trying its luck with a female cardinal)

I discovered this colony, the first known colony of cardinals in Switzerland, in 2013. They survived the wettest summer in Swiss history (2014) and now seem to have survived a prolonged heatwave. It looks as though they are here to stay!!

Guy

[Cotswold Cockney]

Interesting Cardinal stuff Guy.

Is there any possibility of occasional strong second broods? I try to rear livestock with as near natural conditions as possible only protected from the numerous predators and other things which must account for over ninety percent of any Butterfly's progeny. Reason I ask is because when rearing Silver Washed Fritillaries, outside in the open with natural conditions, just occasionally I would get a larva which had fed on unseen in my outdoor cages and I had no idea was there until I saw a Pupa suspended from the netting at the top of their enclosure at the end of August or into September.. The occasional Apatura iris ( PE ) larva would sometimes do this too. That would see me looking for still viable Broad Leaved Sallow leaves in mid-winter and even January. Even after cold nights with frosts, there are places not many miles from my home where it is possible to find Sallow Leaves still in good condition in more favourable spots even up on the nearby hills. Mini Habitats with their own micro-climate enable the leaves to remain on the trees far into the winter.

That discovery of viable sallow leaves in a British winter was to come in useful later when breeding other Apaturinae which often have two or even a partial third brood. .... Such as the Japanese Apatura metis substituta and A.m.mikuni.

[David M]

Love those Cardinals, Guy. I sure would love to witness their aggressive behaviour at close hand.

One of Europe's most impressive species without a doubt.

[Padfield]

It is a magnificent creature, David, as you say - and rapidly becoming my favourite European butterfly.

I got back from the UK on Sunday night, after ten rather full days with little opportunity to visit UK Butterflies (not least because my parents' house lost both phone and internet for five of those days). The weather in Suffolk was mixed, with some beautiful days between rainy ones. As others have remarked, holly blues are exceptional this year - I don't think I have ever seen so many. I checked out my Mum's bean crop every day on the off-chance they might attract a long-tailed blue or two, but no such luck. Gatekeepers don't excite most UK lepsters but as this species doesn't fly anywhere near me in Switzerland and I didn't get a chance to visit any of the places it does, I got my only sightings of the year on this trip.

Suffolk graylings are always a treat. Here is an individual from heathy woodland, perfectly judging its resting site:



And here another, from different woods, with my Mum in the background:



Other species flying were speckled wood, common blue, small Heath, large and small white and a few residual meadow browns.

There was still a little light when I got back on Sunday so I headed down to the woods to see if Gautama and Yaśodharā had survived. Gautama was still in the same spot, seemingly not having moved since I last saw him:



Yaśodharā's leaf was considerably more eaten than before but she was nowhere to be seen. Her branch was very exposed and a little withered and I suspect she headed back to the centre of the bush after moulting and climbed another stem to get fresher greenery. There is almost no chance of my finding her again if she did that.

On Monday (yesterday) I picked up Minnie and headed along the valley, looking in particular, as a longshot, for Lang's short-tailed blues. A friend reported this species recently from Lyon and we have had an influx of long-tailed blues, so it was a possibility. Sadly, not realised! But I enjoyed seeing butterflies in good numbers - including hundreds of tree graylings and a good number of spotted fritillaries. The site has southern white admirals but not white admirals, so I also hoped to find some early instar caterpillars of this species. Most of the honeysuckle where I found these last year has been swamped with other bushes but I did see a couple of adults. One stopped for a distant shot:



Some distance away I located a Caterpillar on one of the few still exposed honeysuckles:



Not a great picture but you can just about see the caterpillar has adorned himself or herself with frass. Very fetching.

Here are a few of the spotted fritillaries:



I returned home via my favourite local tails site, where I found long-tailed blues in profusion, as well as short-tailed and Provençal short-tailed. The long-tailed blues were highly active in the heat and hardly ever stopped, even for a second - and when they did another usually displaced them immediately and I would watch in awe as they spiralled away into the heavens. Amongst them were some that looked a brighter shade of blue and were slightly smaller, so I hoped for Lang's, but none of these ones ever stopped. Short-tailed blues have a similar flight but much more pedestrian than Lang's or long-tailed, and tellingly, they never spiral into the sky on meeting. So slower moving, bluer individuals that failed to zoom heavenwards were easily dismissed as short-tailed. Adonis, common and Chapman's blues, as well as brown arguses, were also present, but these have a completely different flight.


(long-tailed)


(long-tailed)


(long-tailed)


(short-tailed)

Back to school today - and a return to rain ...

Guy

Whoops - I forgot a Minnie picture. Here she is, waiting patiently in the shade (for me) while I wait patiently in the sun (for one of the zooming, spinning, twisting, spiralling blues to land):

[David M]

I bet Minnie went berserk when you arrived back, Guy?

Business as usual judging from your images.

[Padfield]

She was a happy puppy, David.

Much earlier than last year (or, much earlier than I observed it last year), white admiral hibernaculum construction has begun.

This picture shows a honeysuckle spray with the caterpillar's original leaf (where the egg was) on the left and the hibernaculum on the right:



Here are two views of the hibernaculum, which is clearly still 'under construction'. The base of the leaf has been folded up after appropriate cutting:





And should there be any doubt about whose it is, here's a sneaky view of its occupant:



Guy

[Cotswold Cockney]

Good pictures Guy. Even in the UK, construction and entering those hibernacula is often completed by late August.

The hibernacula are very small. Even so, I know from my own now distant captive breeding experiences and to my chagrin, insectivorous bids find them with ease... Still fresh in my memory when searching for over wintering larvae in mid-January, is seeing wave after wave of flocks of insectivorous birds systematically working through the woods and copses.

It's a wonder anything survives but, they obviously do.

[Padfield]

It's amazing, isn't it. Fecundity and mortality balanced just right, so the insectivorous birds can have a feast and they, in turn, can feed the sparrowhawks ...

I took this picture yesterdy, wondering whether it was perhaps the first two cuts of a hibernaculum:



I didn't check that particular one today, so must look tomorrow if I get a chance. It may be that the peculiar, scythe-like feeding technique of early instar white admiral caterpillars (something they lose after hibernation) evolved in parallel with hibernaculum formation. These leaf cuts are very similar to the ones made at the apex of the leaf as the caterpillar works its way down towards the base. Here is an example from 27th July this year:



The interesting question would be which came first - this feeding pattern, leading to leaves spontaneously rolling up and protecting the caterpillars, or hibernaculum formation, leading to a generalised feeding pattern.

Guy

[Padfield]

Well, it turns out that first cat in the last post was indeed making a hibernaculum. Between then and today it completed the cuts, snipping off the end of the leaf, and sowed up the two flanges into a little caterpillar sandwich. Here it is this afternoon:







Guy

[Pete Eeles]

Fantastic observations, Guy! Given the brown head capsule, I do believe the critter is in its 3rd instar. Looking forward to checking my lot tomorrow or Saturday and shall report back!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

Yes - when I get a moment I'll go back over all my pictures and study this brown/black head capsule thing. And I'll look at my record of spring cats to see how many stages I can discern there. I did think I saw three spring larval moults but as I said, sometimes you see what you expect to see, not what is there. If these hibernating cats really are third instar they fit a lot of growing into the final two!

Guy

[Padfield]

Right - I've had a look at this spring's pictures.

On emergence from hibernation the caterpillar is tan brown, with a chestnut head capsule. I haven't got any brilliant close-ups of this stage, mainly because it is still only about 3 mm long. All the shots I do have, either of the caterpillar still in its hibernaculum, or freshly out, show this colour scheme:



I took that to be 2nd instar. By the end of April, most caterpillars showed a different colour scheme, which I took to be third instar, characterised by 'porcelain' sides and dark grey along the back. Some of these cats have dark head capsules:





If you are right, Pete, and the hibernating stage is 3rd instar, these differences must represent a change of colour rather than a change of skin, because two more distinct phases follow.

This is 4th instar - with a clearly different structure:



And the fifth instar is bright green:



So - tomorrow to examine this and last year's summer/autumn catalogue.

Guy

[bugboy]

Excuse me whilst I stick one of my pics in your diary, I figured it would make more sense than putting it on mine in this context.

This is a post hibernation cat taken on 16th April this year and does look very similar to the ones you saw around the same time including a rather dark head capsule. Photo was taken with flash. I labeled it 3rd instar on assumption and what I've read in books rather than any real world knowledge since it was the first I'd ever seen.

[Padfield]

Thanks Buggy. That caterpillar does look exactly like what I have been calling 3rd instar, after hibernation. The caterpillars always hibernate (here) in the chestnut livery but I am aware colour changes can occur without skin changes (very striking with purple emperor caterpillars in 3rd instar, before, during and after hibernation) so I'm examining all my pictures carefully.

I've had very little time recently to do anything butterfly-related - and apologies to those awaiting my comments on IDs on their own threads. But Minnie has to get her walks, whatever else happens, so I've been out and about, monitoring what's happening in the world around me.

On Sunday I took Minnie to my tails site again, but early in the morning, when the butterflies wouldn't be so active. Again, none of the tails that stopped proved to be Lang's, but as always it was a pleasure to see long- and short-tailed blues in good numbers. And as it was still cool they showed their uppersides:


(long-tailed)


(I didn't see the underside of this one - the upperside looks most like Provençal short-tailed blue but I logged it as short-tailed because I didn't get any definitive IDs on Provençal that morning)

Undersides were on show from a few blues too:


(short-tailed)

Clouded yellows were about in very good numbers:



Both common and Adonis blues were common. This is a female common blue:



I did take a walk further along the valley too, but no Lang's turned up there either.

Yesterday it was just local. We confirmed that Gautama was still on his leaf. There must be thousands of other purple emperor caterpillars around - Gautama's mother alone will have laid up to about 400 eggs - but none of the usual spots have any. I believe this is due to the heatwave, encouraging females to change their laying habits so their children didn't simply burn up in the incessant heat. I think the very productive spring for insectivorous birds, with large broods surviving, also probably had an effect on the number of purple emperors surviving to adulthood.


(Gautama)

Guy

[Goldie M]

Beautiful Butterflies Guy, glad Minnie has recovered so well from her surgery Goldie