Bugboys mission

[Pauline]

Wow! Seems like Bookham Common is the place to be Never been there but will rectify that next season

[Goldie M]

I'm envious of your Brown hair Streaks Buggy Well done , I bet you were thrilled when you saw the open wings they look great, Goldie

[bugboy]

Thank you for all the comments, I think perhaps I may have some Hairstreak whispering talents Wurzel and after reading your recent report Pauline I don't think you need to visit Bookham to find Brown Hairstreaks! It was all very exciting Goldie

22nd August (part 1)

Well no prizes for guessing where I went this morning, with a (very) hot day forecast I left bright and early, hoping to catch the odd Brown Hairstreak before things hotted up too much for me....well that was the plan, I got to Victoria station only to reach for my wallet and...s**t s**t s**t! I’d lost it somewhere. Panic instantly set in as I thought of all the fun I was going to have cancelling various cards on a Saturday. A couple of trips to lost property just in case turned up nothing but arriving back home 2 hours after leaving there it was sitting on the bloody floor. It must have fallen out as I was getting dressed!

I didn’t get to Bookham until gone 11 and it was now baking hot. There were a fair few Meadow Browns flitting around and some Green-veined Whites had taken to feeding in the dappled shade.

A Purple Hairstreak casually flew past me as I wandered to the spot where I’ve seen Brownies on previous visits but I watched helplessly as it flew over a hedge. At the master trees there were a couple of Small Coppers doing battle over what was obviously a prime piece of Copper real estate and a few Common Blues but all were on hyper drive so no chance of any pictures. No Brownies turned up despite quartering the area several times so I went for a wander. I had to stop a short distance away on a small bridge over a ditch to administer some first aid, I’d managed to catch the rather juicy scab left over from last week’s fall, which had left me housebound for a day or two, and it was weeping. As I rooted around in my bag for some tissues and antiseptic cream a Gatekeeper settled on a stem overhanging the ditch, as a regular visitor it was obviously making sure I was OK!
After sorting myself out I glanced up to see if it was still there, it was except it wasn’t a Gatekeeper after all !!!

She sat there for a while, trying to open her wings despite the stiff breeze before fluttering off into the undergrowth. I could still see her but could only get some distant shots now. I watched her get very excited upon landing on some blackthorn and judging from the size of her abdomen she has got a lot of eggs to get rid off!

So another trip to Bookham gave me another female Brownie.

Well after that I continued on my wander, finding a female Brimstone,

a couple of male Ruddy Darters

and a mating pair of Common Blues with this old boy having found himself a lovely young lady!

As is now tradition I went to check on my White Admiral larvae, on the way my path was crossed by this little spider hunting wasp dragging its paralysed prey. It was so fast and jittery I had no choice but to use flash to catch anything.

Its larvae will be feasting on that in the months to come...

Well at White Admiral Towers one of my original two (Sid or Shifty) has moved, quite a distance, to find a fresh leaf and judging by the state of his leaf, the remaining one may well be forced to follow suit.

I've plotted the shortest route from his old leaf at the bottom to his new leaf.

It will have a long way to travel though since the next closest leaf will take some serious wandering to find. The same problem I suspect awaits Brian II who has pretty much finished his leaf and there are no leaves on any of the surrounding stems.
Cyril is preparing to moult into 3rd instar

And Lofty, who on my last visit was in his pre-moult stance, has successfully shed and looks to be 3rd instar,

so all 5 still alive and well.

Well it was early afternoon now so I thought a trip to Denbies to see if the Adonis were out and about was in order....

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Bugboy,

Another entertaining report, glad you found your wallet and everything turned out ok in the end.

Cheers,

Neil.

[MikeOxon]

as someone once said "All's well that ends well". It's particularly pleasing when a Gatekeeper turns out to be a BH - so often, the other way around

[Susie]

Just catching up with your diary, Buggy. Great stuff! So glad you found your flame streaks!

[bugboy]

Thank you everyone, it was a huge relief (if not more than a little annoying a situation to get myself into) to find my wallet and Quickly forgotten when the BH found me

22nd August (part 2)

Arriving at Denbies, various blues were flying around. Numbers of Chalkhills have dropped significantly, as would be expected. A few Common Blues were active and, happily, so were enough Adonis to make the trip worthwhile. It was still too hot for much basking to take place so only male Adonis could be positively identified. There were significantly more females around than males but whether I was seeing the odd early female Adonis amongst the Chalkhills is anyone’s guess. Combined with the heat was the usual (although today refreshingly welcome) stiff breeze which all made photography rather difficult

Chalkhill

Chalkhill or Adonis...?

Also active were a few Silver Spotted Skippers

And a pair of Kestrels hung around, quite literally, for the duration of my visit.

I found some Autumn Lady’s-tresses Orchid thanks to a couple of friendly ramblers. I would never have noticed them myself since at only a few inches tall they only just poke through the turf and don't really stick out like some Orchids do. They have a curious spiralling flower spike.

I was also on the lookout for a clouded yellow and was told there had been a sighting that morning but the only clouded thing I found was this Clouded Buff.

As time wore on a few Blues began to bask in the weakening sun but as far as females were concerned only a few Chalkhills were identified.

Hopefully on my next visit I’ll be able to find some Adonis females.

[bugboy]

2nd September, Bookham Commons

It’s been a bit quiet on Bugboys butterfly front recently. Having used up most of my holiday I’m now reliant on good weather on my rostered days off and with August being a superb let down by any standards I’ve been stuck in watching it tip down!

Anyway, with a promise of a smidgen of sun this afternoon, I was drawn to Bookham on my half day. It’s been a while since I’ve checked on my White Admiral cats and there is still the chance of some more Brown Hairstreak action. I got there around 2 and saw nothing much flying. After an hour I’d managed 1 female Common Blue, 1 male Meadow Brown and 1 female Gatekeeper. No Hairstreaks today. I did do a half hearted casual egg hunt as well but didn’t turn up anything.

There were a few other insects around to occupy me, lots of Squash Bugs loitering around

Plenty of dragonflies, mostly Common Darters based on the ones that settled long enough to ID

Female Common Darter

A Mint Moth.....on Mint

And some Groundhoppers, tiny relatives of grasshoppers.

Slender Groundhopper (Tetrix subulata)

After all this excitement it was off to see the WA cats. It’s been 11 days since my last visit so anything could have happened, especially with all the heavy rain. Well it took some time to find them today. I Found ‘Cyril’ first, on what would seem to be his second leaf. The original one being very dead now.

Next to be found was Lofty who had moved leaves three times since my last visit from the look of things

His original leaf plus the opposite one both now useless

Cyril on his fourth leaf, his third in the background

Brian II was the third to be found, on what’s left on what I assume is his original leaf (at least the leaf I first discovered him on). I’d looked at it a few times already and it was only when I examined it with my fingers that I realised he was still there!

There are no other leaves anywhere near him as he's low down near the center of the growth, so I wonder whether he’s settled down for the long sleep, but all he’s got is the stump of his leaf left. I was half tempted to drape a dead leaf near him but I’m a big believer in letting nature take its course.... we’ll see anyway.

Last to be found was one of the original 3 and is either 'Shifty' or 'Sid'.

Their original position now only has the very dead remains of their leaves but one of the occupants (the one above) has made an incredible journey to find a new home! The god-aweful picture below was taken on my phone but gives an idea of how far this cat has traveled. The lower circle is about waist height and is approx where it was 11 days ago. The top circle is it's current location and is head height. Obviously I can't be 100% sure it is the same one but I'm pretty sure I would have noticed one here on previous visits

It also gives an idea of how sparsly leafed this patch of honeysuckle is.

A bit more searching and I found an abandoned platform (the blue circle in the above picture) which I suspect this is where the other one ended up but there was no sign of an occupant. So I’m down to 4 from the total of 8 I found on this patch.

On the way back the clouds had mostly cleared and the temperature had risen noticeably, waking up a few butterflies. I stopped to admire a basking male Common Darter,

before making my way back to the train station where I was joined by Speckled Woods, Common Blues, Meadow Browns, various Whites one very flighty Small Copper and one much more relaxed Small Heath as I wandered back.

[Goldie M]

Hi! buggy your better at finding cats than I am, with me they've got to huge Goldie

[Padfield]

Hi Buggy. I'm following your white admiral cats with interest. I do hope you'll be able to keep track of them as autumn and winter progresses.

Guy

[bugboy]

Hi Goldie, White Admirals are rather easy to find simply due to their distinctive feeding pattern which you can spot from several feet away. Look for that and you'll probably find the cat and they don't seem to wander much unless they run out of leaf to eat! Never even seen a White Admiral at any stage until this year so if I can find them this easily anyone can

Yes Guy I do plan to try and follow them through the winter, and I shall be following yours closely as well . It will be interesting how closely (or not) they follow each other but I guess different weather conditions will add quite a bit of variables into the mix!

[Wurzel]

Great photos and report Bugboy I might have to try and find some WA cats myself next year, if I've actually caught up my PD by then that is

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Haha, yes Wurzel catch up with your diary first . This is the first time I've attempted keeping track of wild cats and i'm really getting into it, just wish I lived closer to them!

3rd September, Malling Down, Lewes.

Another day off with a slightly iffy forecast but off I went anyway. A nice early start got me to the Downs at 9. You can tell autumn is on its way, a slight nip to the air and thick dew soaked my feet within 10 minutes.... my waterproof footwear obviously not as waterproof as I’d been lead to believe!

Right on queue, shortly after climbing up onto the down, the sun peeked out and I found some Blues just waking up. Targets today were Adonis, Walls and Clouded Yellows. Carefully checking the Blues all I found were Chalkhills and Commons though.

Meadow Browns were quite active as well with many looking remarkably fresh.

As time wore on the sun came out more often and the temperature picked up enough for plenty of activity. Unlike last time there was just a gentle breeze, I’ve grown used to seeing butterflies getting battered in the wind this year so it was a pleasant change from the norm. Silver-spotted Skippers were still active and I saw several beautiful Common Blues

Small Heaths were also present in good numbers. I carefully looked at as many as I could to check for abs, having already found two this year, but all I got was this one with the hint of a second eye spot.

Still none of my targets appeared though. I had probably missed the Walls, the males were just emerging on my last visit a month ago but there was plenty more action to keep me occupied.
Plenty of fresh looking Chalkhills about

This Brown Argus was trying his luck whist she was trying to have breakfast, he didn’t get anywhere but 9/10 for effort!

And a Small Copper showed up

One thing that did catch my eye was the amount of Devil’s-bit Scabious, the hillside was literally covered in the stuff in places and it seemed irresistible to the butterflies.

It made me wonder how successful Marsh Fritillaries would be here if introduced, it certainly bears more than a passing resemblance to Wurzels Wiltshire Wonderland I visited earlier in the year.

Watching some old female Gatekeepers another Small Copper appeared and posed for me shortly followed by the third one of the day. 3 Small Coppers in one day, it’s almost like being in Dungeness! Disregarding events in Dungeness it looks like after a very poor spring they've had a good resurgence.

Still no targets though. I found a nice female Small White, some more Silver-spotted Skippers including this flirty pair and some more pretty Common Blues as well as more fresh Chalkhills.

Then shooting past, chasing a female blue was the sky blue of an Adonis. It was close to noon now and he was in a hormone and heat induced hyper drive so there was little hope of a picture. I saw two in the end but they never settled long enough for a picture. They did though look very fresh so it looks like I was a week or so early.

Although it had warmed up, there were some rather ominous dark clouds drifting my way so by 1pm I decided to make my way home, stopping to watch a couple of Small Heaths not fighting, make friends with what looked like a freshly emerged Silver-spotted Skipper and one last Female Common Blue

A very pleasant morning and well worth the early start

[David M]

Nice range of species there, Bugboy. With the weather set fair for a few days, there may well be a few similarly productive outings on offer before the season winds down.

[Goldie M]

Love your first shot Buggy of the two Chalkhill's , also the Small Copper, you got a really good variety of Butterflies Buggy. I also enjoyed your Meadow shots they make a nice change Goldie

[bugboy]

Thanks Goldie, the first shot is actually 1 tatty Common Blue and 1 fresh Chalkhill Blue

[Wurzel]

A fanatastic range of shots Buggy from the Chalkhills through to the scenic landscapes

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Cheers Wurzel it's a very pictureque part of the world.

5th September, Bookham & Denbies.

Well today’s forecast was decidedly more than iffy. I would have preferred to visit these sites on Sunday with a better forecast but with engineering works on the line I use that decision was out of my hands . So I left under a leaden sky and light drizzle followed me all the way to my first destination.
The forecast had promised slightly brighter weather in the afternoon so I figured a trip to check on my White Admiral cats would occupy my morning. Thankfully the rain had stopped by the time I arrived and I was pleased to find all 4 cats still doing well and 3 of them are still in feeding mode with no sign of hibernaculum construction.

Shifty/Sid seemed to be having a bath:

Cyril is about halfway through his current leaf:

And Lofty is rapidly running out of leaf to eat:

Brian II on the other hand has definitely entered the big sleep and hasn’t moved from where he was on my last visit. He’s still trying to tuck himself into the stump of his last feeding leaf, which he has attached to the shoot with silk. Despite his bum sticking out he is very well camouflaged and had I not known about his whereabouts I’m pretty sure I would not have found him. It will be a very sharp eyed bird that finds him!

Closeup of silkwork at the join of leaf and stem

So with the weather still looking not so good I decided to wander the woods to see how many other WA cats I could find. Two hours of searching and I only found 1 more, loads have probably ended up feeding all the Tits that are a constant presence but here's the newbie, Stan, sitting about 6 feet of the ground, clearly third instar and looking like he’s on at least his second leaf.

Whilst searching for WA cats I did come across an immobile Dragonfly, a beautiful female Southern Hawker

A slightly less beautiful pile of Caddis fly eggs

And this little blood thirsty bugger , he never had the chance to tap into an artery !

Two hours later I was at Denbies and remarkably the forecast was right, although still cloudy it was much brighter, good Blue hunting weather.

I was after Adonis but there was still quite a few Chalkhills making things tricky

male Chalkhill

female Chalkhill

male Chalkhill ab.

male Adonis

In fact, judging by this good looking chap, Chalkhills are still emerging!

I was after some Adonis females and after much searching I managed to find my first confirmed female of the year. 'Edit' first second gen female of the year!

And then my second, having a small party with a couple of Chalkhill ladies, one of whom had an unusual wing deformity.

In the end I had the hillside to myself for nearly two hours and found a few more Adonis and lots more Chalkhills.

female Adonis

male Chalkhill

female Chalkhill

All the while being carefully observed by the local habitat management crew.

It was while I was keeping a close eye on them as dog walkers passed by, hoping I didn’t get caught in the middle of a spooked stampede, that I nearly missed a familiar face, Susie was taking her dog for a walk. Nice to catch up with you again Susie, I very nearly walked straight passed you, I was in my own little world

[Susie]

It was good to see you Buggy. What you mean to say is that you nearly missed me among all those old cows

You were right about the butterflies, plenty of freshly emerged ones still about. The sun came out and it was lovely.

[ChrisC]

your snails eggs i think could actually be caddisfly eggs.
Chris