Hoggers

[Hoggers]

Hi Goldie, Happy New Year and best wishes for a Copper-Tastic 2016 !!

[Hoggers]

I took a walk around Dungeness yesterday

Between showers it felt so warm I half expected to see a Small Copper!

The place feels empty without them but it was good to stretch my legs and get some fresh air after being confined to barracks over Christmas

I counted 4 tadpoles in the pond this morning and here are a few photos from the garden today: my first Crocus

Primrose

And I think this Daffodil will open tomorrow

Here's a couple of photos I found on the memory card taken earlier this month

I thought I'd found my first ever December butterfly clinging to the front of the house

But it turned out to be a tuft of moss!

[David M]

It's incredibly unseasonal isn't it, Hoggers? I went to the local shops in Killay tonight and the daffodils have started to flower in the ornamental beds!! One hopes normal service can be resumed soon with a few frosty nights.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Hogger's, no flowers here, a brief glimpse of the Sun this morning then back to the usual, roll on Kent next year Goldie

[bugboy]

Hi Hoggers, hope you had a good Christmas.

I was randomly mulling over the whole male ‘stem dance’ thing at work today and the more I thought about it the more I concluded it must be some kind of display. I’ll try and go through my train of thought as logically as possible.

Firstly we have to assume nothing in nature is done by accident, there’s always a reason. Secondly we can assume that ultimately, the sole purpose for a butterflies existence is to procreate.

In order to procreate butterflies have to have energy which they get from A) the surrounding temperature and B) food. The stem dance doesn’t seem to facilitate either of these. They also need to evade predation and on the odd occasion I have seen it (just not often enough to realise it’s a ‘thing’ that is done regularly) the stem dance seems to draw attention to them rather than conceal them so it must have some other advantage.

From your observations it’s only the males which do this and since they are a territorial species as opposed to a wanderer (such as a Brimstone) then they need to get the females to come to them. One way would obviously be to have a territory that females would naturally frequent, be it having a good nectar supply, or well sheltered from inclement weather. Another way would be to advertise your presence, which this stem dance could potentially do. It would be interesting to know what they look like with the ability to see UV light, perhaps they are showing off something in the patterning which we are blind to? It's just a theory but I think it fits all the available evidence.

I hope you can follow my train of thought there.

Anyway happy new year and hope to see lots more Coppers next year!

[Hoggers]

Buggy, I think you've cracked it!

I am very grateful to you for taking the time to puzzle over it and to share your thoughts. Certainly everything you say makes perfect sense to me.

I guess that many of us have seen the males tap dancing their way down grass stems before but have not had the opportunity that I enjoyed in 2015 of putting it into context. Once I saw male after male doing it I realised that it is not random behaviour but purposeful and a definite part of the male Small Copper's daily routine

I have no specialist knowledge: My only qualification is that I love Small Coppers!

You remind me of one male that I watched take over a territory from another male: once the newcomer was in sole possession he performed the stem dance on a number of occasions and I suppose he was advertising his presence, saying "Here I am Ladies, Come and get me!"

As I've said before, I've failed to find any mention of this behaviour in any of the generally available books, so I turned to this forum for help.

So thanks again, Buggy, you've got my New Year off to a fabulous start!

[Wurzel]

Cracking Copper shots Hoggers I reckon Buggy is onto something there - the way you describe it it sounds similar to some of the 'dancing' carried out by birds of Paradise. It would tie in with the ideas of Zahavi (I think that was his name) who came up with the 'handicap theory' - by 'putting themselves at risk' they show how fit they are and so females choose to mate with them.

Happy New Year, have a goodun

Wurzel

[Hoggers]

In 2014 I began to look more closely at the Small Coppers of Dungeness. One Copper in particular sticks out in my memory of that year - a beautiful radiata

I found him in late August in the Observatory moat

I remember that when he flew he looked darker than a typical Small Copper

In 2015 I spent almost all of my butterflying time at Dungeness watching the Small Coppers. I was interested in their behaviour and so wasn't looking for aberrations but as I'd increased my butterflying hours so I increased my chance of finding something out of the ordinary.

On 9th July 2015 I was wandering about in the Observatory moat when I saw a Copper whizz by that I thought looked darker than usual...

A radiata!

And in the same place as the 2014 individual

I began to think I might be onto something interesting. I went and found David Walker, the Reserve warden and an expert naturalist. We spent some time admiring the radiata

David said that as far as he knew radiata hadn't been reported at Dungeness before.

But it wasn't long before I found another ( and in exactly the same place )

Then to round off the season I came across yet another radiata, in the moat, only this time a female

So it seems that the radiata Small Copper is a scarce but consistent feature of the Dungeness population - and very welcome it is too!

[Goldie M]

That's a beautiful little Butterfly Hogger's, your diligence certainly paid off. Goldie

[Hoggers]

It's a beauty isn't it?

When you visit Dungeness in the summer Goldie, take a look in the Observatory moat - that's where the radiatas seem to be

Best wishes

Hoggers

[Goldie M]

I certainly will Hogger's, I've made a list of my places to visit when I come down and Dungeness is top of the list. Goldie

[Hoggers]

Good news, Goldie, I'm sure you'll get lots of photos!

Just one word of caution : over the years quite a bit of broken glass and rusty metal has accumulated in the Observatory moat so keep that in mind ( when you're on the trail of a fine handsome Copper you tend to forget! ) So be careful.

And the rabbit holes can be real ankle breakers!

But these hazards are well worth braving to get up close to the Small Coppers!

Best wishes

Hoggers.

[Goldie M]

Thanks for the advice Hogger's, we'll have to leave my daughter's dog at home when we visit Goldie

[Hoggers]

Like most of us here I'm constantly on the look out for signs of Spring. Well, last night I heard my first Frog of the year, croaking amorously in the garden pond (almost two weeks earlier than last year.)

And I've still got at least four tadpoles whizzing about in the pond!

[Goldie M]

Amazingly Hogger's , in-spite of the cold winds and rain my daffodils are well on their way to opening, usually don't see the Garden daff's until early March, Goldie

[Hoggers]

I know, Goldie! And I can't figure out my Tadpoles: they're coming up for being 12 months old!

I found a photo of a 2 spotted Small Heath that I took in 2012 which reminded me of the one you came across

And talking of spots, here's a Brown Argus I saw at Dungeness last Summer

Looks like a Northern Brown Argus on holiday down South!

[Allan.W.]

Hello Hoggers,
Nice Brown Arg ! Ab: Snelleni , I think I saw two on Wye downs NNR last year , good to find, had a one hour fix of your excellent diary last evening roll on the good weather !!. Regards Allan.W.

[Wurzel]

Interesting aberrants Hoggers and great shots too. Not long to go now

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

So they do exist with two spots Hogger's! Great find, I think those Brown Argus got fed up with the weather up North and decided to move South I can't wait to see Kent again this Summer Goldie

[David M]

Hi Hoggers. Nice Brown Argus specimen. I occasionally see similarly marked individuals here in south Wales. I'm sure you'd do a double take if you saw one like that near the boundary between the two species.