Pauline

[MrSp0ck]

Hi Pauline

Great pictures of the comma hatching you can see it pulling its tongue and antennae from between the wing cases of the pupa.

It was great to meet you the two times, one on a failed LTB trip. I am at Wisley Butterfly event on Saturday 6th, on the Surrey Branch table, they are there all the week with various volunteers helping out, No dead pinned butterflies at this event, but we may have a few natural dead ones to show people, along with some hatched cocoons and pupae. There is no sign of movement in the mentioned goodies yet, another 3 weeks or so before that. Great to see you rescued some Brown Hairstreak eggs, they tend to go through quicker in captivity even kept wild in gardens and produce adults in mid-July. We have a few eggs at Hutchinsons Bank.

Hopefully it will be another good season this year.

[Goldie M]

Pauline, how awful, dead pinned Butterflies how sad and the fact they were selling them, no wonder these people are out with Lunch box's and nets, I've heard everything now, I thought it was bad enough just collecting them but selling them, that's awful. Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Pauline and welcome back. Great to see you posting again, almost as much a sign that the new season is on its way as the lengthening days

I love the emerging Comma sequence, great stuff

I have never been to the AES although it does sound like an interesting day. I won't comment on the pinned specimens for sale other than to say that I very much agree with your own comments.

All the best,

Neil.

[Padfield]

It must be spring! The Pauline is out of hibernation! Amazing sequence of the comma.

Fitzgerald wrote of wine, "I often wonder what the vintners buy, one half so precious as the stuff they sell". The same could be said of brown hairstreaks.

Guy

[Pauline]

Thank you for the compliment David. The variation in colour in these butterflies was a joy to behold and thankfully all 11 made it to release.

Glad you liked those shots Martin - it seems like a lifetime ago now. As you might imagine I actually took hundreds of photos as I had 11 Commas on the go at once - thanks to Andy and his blackcurrent

Yes Goldie, I'm glad I was warned beforehand what to expect otherwise it would have been an even bigger shock. Nice meeting a few UKBers at the event tho'.

Neil, Guy, thank you both . Your comments made me chuckle - which has been a rare event recently. I'm so pleased you both liked the Comma shots.

[Pauline]

One of the other species I was caring for last season included the Sallow Kitten. It is perhaps worth mentioning that at one point, on 16 September, as I checked it I noticed it was eating its shed skin. Approximately 15 minutes later this was all gone! I am wondering if this is usual with this species? After 2 days of not moving and not eating I thought perhaps it was about to shed its skin again. However, after this prolonged period of inactivity the cat became frantically active, exploring the whole of the Sallow. Following advice from Mr Spock I provided an egg box which it promptly pupated in. The pupa is exactly the same shade as the box and I am wondering if this is purely co-incidence or whether the creature is able to camouflage itself by creating a pupa of different hues which blends into whatever it chooses to pupate on. (I have since been advised by Martin that the Sallow Kitten forms its pupa from the chewed material of whatever it pupates on hence the perfect camouflage). A few shots during the rearing process:

21 Aug 2015

2 Sept 2015

Eating shed skin

15 mins later - all gone

19 Sept 2015

20 Sept 2015

22 Sept 2015

27 Sept 2015

5 Oct 2015

I am hoping that it will emerge safely and will report back as and when.

[Pauline]

Until I have caught up from last season I intend to mix new and old as time permits. 3rd Feb 2016. Today the weather was better than it had been in a long time and it was the opportunity I had been waiting for to visit the butterfly display at Wisley. Having been inspired by Mike’s postings I realised with some surprise that the last (and only) time I had visited was in 2009!! Given that the journey was only 24 minutes I have resolved not to leave it so long before the next visit as I had forgotten what a great place it is. I arrived early and spent 3 hours there, surprising myself by taking over 700 photos – which were quickly whittled down to about 200, but given that I think I saw about 30 species I shall probably keep the majority of these. I intend to split this posting into 2 parts – the first will record what I found interesting about my visit and the second part will try to identify the species seen.

My first impression was one of pure delight – to be amongst all these exotic butterflies and to be able to watch them at close quarters just lifted my spirits. I could easily have spent the whole 3 hours without moving very far from the entrance. My second impression when looking more closely was a slight disappointment at how tattered many of them were. I heard other visitors express similar sentiments calling them ‘dog-eared’ and ‘ragged’. Some of the damage to their wings was reminiscent of bird damage but clearly that could not be so I assume it must have been from the foliage. This tatty Grecian Shoemaker was the only one I saw but thankfully I got a few decent shots of the gorgeous Green Malachite tho' many specimens were damaged like this one and what I believe is a King Swallowtail:

In addition, many of the butterflies had died. I must have easily spotted a couple of dozen and whilst recognising they have short lives this was a little unexpected given that it is quite early in the display schedule. In some cases it was obvious the butterflies had died but in other instances visitors were taking photos of expired butterflies and were completely unaware, for example this Scarlet Swallowtail(?):

I have been finding it difficult to identify some of the butterflies I saw as the guide I purchased was not very comprehensive and did not distinguish between male and female for example. If I make any mistakes in these couple of posts I would appreciate being corrected. I am not likely to see any butterflies abroad so this is a learning experience for me.
In common with UK butterflies these species were masters of camouflage and time and again I saw visitors walk past unaware as even the largest of species hung under leaves or were camouflaged by colour and position, like this Green Malachite:

A couple of butterflies, both Scarlet Swallowtails I think, appeared to be very aggressive, especially when defending the nectar source which had been prepared for them. I saw one of these trample all over a Pale Owl butterfly until I was convinced he was dead as he was completely on his side. However, he eventually righted himself and flew off leaving the aggressor in charge of the fruit.

Despite the frequent signs warning visitors not to touch the butterflies, a Doris Longwing was in danger of being trampled on as he sat on the ground close to the door. I gently lifted him up and placed him safely on some plants. He flew to a sign which indicated he was called Sonny. It is so sweet of Wisley to name the butterflies . I also found Wilma a little later :

Behaviour that was a joy to see was the courtship and egg-laying and of this I saw plenty. In fact, on looking at my photos I noticed eggs that I hadn’t even noticed at the time. As I said last season, my observation skills really need to be honed. Scarlet Peacocks and Postman indulge in courtship behaviour:

Eggs can clearly be seen on this climber/vine. The butterflies did not stop to lay their eggs but seemed just to hover.

I had been trying to drag myself out of the place for ages when I came across a stunning looking butterfly. It has to be my favourite. It took me a while to realise that this was an Indian Leafwing – a butterfly I had been watching earlier but had no idea it would reveal such colour and beauty. I was not the only one to be captivated by this butterfly.

However, what was particularly interesting for me was the fact that this particular individual was vigorously defending a particular leaf. Whenever another butterfly came near, whatever the species, it chased it off and then returned to its perch. I assumed it was just territorial behaviour, but on looking at my shots I can now see that this particular leaf was peppered with at least 3 lots of eggs. Was it protecting the eggs? I have no idea.

A Blue Morph stuck a pose which reminded me of the White Admirals and SWF but this looked more like defending territory rather than eggs:

I eventually managed to drag myself away but I had not gone many steps outside before I saw a butterfly on the ground, presumably accidently carried out on the back of a visitor. I had had the privilege of several butterflies landing on me during my visit and I imaging it is quite an easy thing to happen. What I could not understand was why so many folk were just walking past it. I gently coaxed it onto my finger and carried it back indoors and placed it on a feeding station. Big Billy?

As I wondered back to the car park I took some time to look at the various butterfly sculptures that were on sale. They were interesting but not to my taste and at price tags of £850 and £1000 not to my pockets liking either. Decide for yourself.

[MrSp0ck]

Hi Pauline

yes the display has its battered butterflies, we often see them in the wild, Bugboys Small Heath at Hutchinsons Bank where it was flying with 2 wings on one side and hardly any on the other side. Im sure i will see some on Saturday, love the Heliconids, eg The Hecale and Postman/Small Postman.

The Butterflies in your post are the following :-

Grecian Shoemaker [Male] the females are differently marked, with White Patches on the Forewings.
Malachite [ I hate glueing the pupae up of these ]
Giant Swallowtail [Papilio crespnontes]
Scarlet Swallowtail [Papilio rumanzovia]
Malachite [underside] if only they were P. dido which it mimics
Papilio lowi or memnon [female] [part of the memnon group]
Great EggFly [Female] H. bolina
Heliconius hecale or H. ismenius
Anartia amathea [from Colombia]
Postman Heliconius melpomene [lovely]
Postman Heliconius melpomene [female egglaying on Passiflora Alata] Small Postman feed on the Decaloba section of passiflora, opposite to Postman.
Egg Mimics are also on the P. alata, eggs usually laid on the growing tips and tendrils.
either Indian Leaf or Malayan Leaf.
Morpho [hard to tell from this angle which species]
Great Morman [Papilio memnon] or [Papilio lowi] [Male] Hard to tell these apart.

Hope this helps with the IDs, im a bit rusty now as its sevral years since i worked at a butterfly house.

[Padfield]

Hi Pauline. Lovely to see the tropical beauties! I have a season ticket for my nearest butterfly house, which is open all year, and have posted a page showing over 100 the species I've seen and identified there. It might help give you pointers for any you have difficulty identifying - there's a common core of species in butterfly houses all over the world.

http://www.guypadfield.com/butterflyhouse.html

Guy

[MikeOxon]

Pleased to see that you visited Wisley.

When I was there, earlier, I saw very few dead ones but several were damaged - especially the 'tails' of Swallowtails. Having seen these in the wild, i can confirm that they don't last long there, either. I saw examples, in the wild, where the bright coloured marking on wing tips had clearly done their job by distracting attacks away from vital parts.

At Wisley, I felt that some damage probably occurred in the breeding cages, since several emerged butterflies had their wings against the condensation-covered glass panels, where parts probably got stuck. I thought that these should be recovered more frequently.

Perhaps it was quieter when I was there but I did see staff pursuing butterflies that had escaped from the tropical zone into the rest of the greenhouse. They were also picking up those that had landed in vulnerable positions. Overall, I felt that the display was well-managed - an aspect that has improved over the years.

I thought I had been photographically active, with only about 350 shots - you doubled that

[Goldie M]

Your so lucky Pauline, living so near to Wisley, such lovely Butterflies has well, we've to go to Chester Zoo or Lancaster for the nearest BF house, so looking at your great photos is a real treat, Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you for your help with the ID's Martin. I hope you have a good day on Saturday.

That is an incredibly useful link you sent me Guy - I was a bit concerned when Mike mentioned that Wisley had some of their ID's incorrect so I have been using your site today. Thank you.

Yes Mike, it was incredibly busy even tho' I was early. I guess everyone was making the most of the weather - there seemed to be lots of kiddies making a disproportionate amount of noise (some had even brought picnics and camped out in the far corner) but it was interesting to see their reactions to the butterflies - some were interested and eager to embrace them whilst others were really scared! I am sure I will visit in the future and will follow your example of going earlier if possible when the livestock is a little fresher. Re number of photos - well, I deleted the majority so what does that tell you

If you can get to Chester zoo quite easily then I envy you Goldie. I have only been there once - a day trip!!! But that's a long story which I shall tell you when we meet up

I am finding it interesting to try to identify these butterflies based on Guy's website and Martin's help as well as Mike's photos. I am putting them together in the form of 'pages' and trying to identify where I can. I have only managed 2 pages so far:

[MrSp0ck]

Your pages are good, and correct.

In all the years I havnt seen a Doris actually fly, either in a Butterfly House or a greenhouse here in my garden.

The ismenius can vary a lot in their patterns, and be tiger striped, like the 2 brown ones with yellow, or various other colours.

here is a picture i found yesterday of the distribution patterns of Postman and Small Postman, see how the colourforms match in the 2 partners.

The Zebra is one of the heliconids that doesnt have a mimic partner, and as the partners always have 1 pupa with antlers the others without,
eg sapho - cydno, erato - melpomene there would have been a heliconid in the past with the same markings and an no-antler pupa.

[MikeOxon]

[quote="Pauline" As I wondered back to the car park I took some time to look at the various butterfly sculptures that were on sale. They were interesting but not to my taste and at price tags of £850 and £1000 not to my pockets liking either. Decide for yourself.[/quote]

I thought most of them were pretty 'naff' A few green balls with dabs of red and yellow paint to make a 'caterpillar' isn't a 'sculpture' but a kiddie toy (about £1). Those silver metal screens were nicer - did you notice the red 'ladybird' on one of them?

Mike

[Pauline]

Thank you for your comment Martin. That is fascinating detail about the distribution and mimics.

How do folk wear jumpers and coats in those glasshouses Mike!? Without either I was rushing to get to another heat source before I ended up like an escapee butterfly so I didn't look closely at the sculptures. They were on TV tho' last night in the background as the butterflies were shown. More to my taste was this stone sculpture of a bear fishing by the carp lakes:

I have prepared another couple of pages from my little trip - still 2 butterflies to identify - and loads more to wade through!. I imagine they are Heliconids but with few markings I have little to go on:

[MrSp0ck]

The New pictures
The Heliconid in the first picture is most probably a Small Postman [H. erato] and the Top right in the Second is a Numata [H. numata] these are lovely in many colour forms.

Off to Wisley now so more hopefully in my diary later.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Pauline, so many varieties, when I went to Chester Zoo, I don't remember seeing many species of Butterfly , just wished I lived nearer to Wisely My daughter is coming to visit this next weekend, CZ is one of her favourite places, so weather permitting maybe we'll get there, if the weather's like it is today (cold and wet) maybe not. AH Well! it's nearly Spring Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you for those ID's Martin - much appreciated. Looks like you had a good day at Wisley despite the weather - great shot of the larva

Wishing you a good week with your daughter Goldie and a VERY happy birthday.

It is time to return closer to home with an update on the reared Whites. Of the 100 or so Large Whites caterpillars that I removed from my rabbit food, only 86 actually made it through to pupation. I am not sure of the reason for this but I seemed to have lost several at each stage although they did not appear to be parasitized. The egg that I rescued from the Garlic Mustard turned out to be a Small White (thanks Buggy) which also successfully pupated. Given their positions, nose to tail, on the mesh cage it is unlikely that I shall get any interesting shots of them emerging (although I might try the tip you gave me Martin on a couple of them). However, hopefully the garden at some point will look like it is covered with snow in summer

Small White

[Goldie M]

Thanks Pauline, you've certainly got a lot to keep you busy, That first Cat looks really cute , all wrapped up warm. Goldie

[Pauline]

In this awful weather I think we all need to be wrapped up warm Goldie

Just time for a quick catch-up re the 2 Small Coppers. Some might remember I tried and failed in 2014 so I was a bit hesitant about trying again but given the circumstances I had little choice else they would have perished anyway. I had watched these eggs being laid within minutes of each other and they duly emerged within hours of each other. Just by way of a recap:

18 August 2015

Both emerged on 26 August

I had sourced enough Sorrel to feed several hundred larva which made finding and photographing them a bit of a challenge, especially as they blended in perfectly to their background:

A close-up of the same:

The cats continued to thrive and grow but I was surprised that their appearance was very unlike the 2014 specimens which I assume was attributable to the Sorrel type and its colouring. By way of comparison, these were from 2014:

as opposed to the 2015 cats on 15 and 16 September:

The cats pupated on the side of the mesh on 18 September ( I thought they would have preferred the leaf litter at the base of the plant but having explored this they both decided the mesh was preferable). I was able to gently detach them and put them in a more suitable and hopefully natural position which had the added advantage of me being able to take photos to record any changes. This was taken on 26 September:

I tried to monitor both pupa carefully as my hope was to be able to ultimately photograph the butterfly as it emerged. On 5 October I was convinced that one emergence was imminent so a great deal of time was spent watching and photographing that day:

(taken just after mid-day)

(twenty past three)

(just before 5.00pm)

The waiting and watching went on all day and when there was no light left I brought the pupa indoors. Subsequent shots were poor due to lack of daylight and although I experimented with various light sources the resulting colour and quality were poor. At one point I had to dash out to shut away the poultry and rabbits and on returning found that my cat Jaffa had been playing with the pupa! I noticed the pupa had been split open and in such a way that it did not look natural to me - of course I attributed the damage to her, rather than a sign of natural emergence. As there were no further developments throughout the evening I resigned myself to the fact that she might have seriously injured it. This last shot was taken just before 11.00pm before I headed for bed: