Pauline

[David M]

Orange Tips, Small Coppers and now Dukes!! Winter is firmly behind us at last!!

[Pauline]

Cheers Wurzel I'm definitely up for the swap

I think you're right there David and given your previous comment I'd like you to be the first to know the latest news on the WLH . I don't know why I was surprised to return to find this, as No 1 has raced through all his stages. I should have anticipated it. It is also slightly frustrating tho' as I did not detect any early warning signs from the state of the pupa and I would very much like to witness an emergence:

Let us hope that the others are not too far behind him and the good weather continues.

[David M]

Simply beautiful, Pauline. This is one species I need to spend more time with.

[trevor]

He may be very early, but has surely rewarded your patience.
Hope to have another good session with them this year.

Best wishes,
Trevor.

[bugboy]

Well there's not many people who can have a Duke as their first butterfly picture and a White-letter Hairstreak as their second....!

[Pauline]

Thank you David - they really are a beautiful butterfly and well worth spending time with .

Thank you too Trevor. You had a great season last year and I have no doubt that with the effort you put in this year will be equally rewarding for you

Your comment made me chuckle Buggy - just goes to show how hopeless I am! Can't find anything in the wild and can't get the timing of the rearing right either I have been out looking for stuff tho' and found some rather interesting beetles which I haven't had time to post yet. Last year I found about 10 WA eggs at the Straits. Earlier this week I decided to check the state of any surviving cats to compare them with the development and size of the ones I have here.Well, I got a bit of a shock A lot more clearance has taken place there and all of that honeysuckle has now gone along with a great deal more. Quite a few more trees have been taken down and although I am sure it will be of benefit in the longer term I was also surprised to see Sallow cut down around the first watch tower - a favourite place of PE. The cut sallow was still alive and in bud/leaf so I spent as much time as I had searching the buds - just in case. I didn't find anything but it was just a brief search.

A similar scenario met me at Noar Hill yesterday. I reported earlier in the season that a great deal of the Blackthorn had been cut down especially in the triangle. I was pleased that some planning appeared to have gone into this given that those bushes with BH eggs had previously been marked with ribbon and spared. Nevertheless, some eggs had obviously been missed hence the ones I found on discarded branches, but I suppose this was to be expected. What I didn't expect to find yesterday was that the ribbons had been removed and several more blackthorn (which had held eggs) had been completely removed I met someone there who claimed to have been involved with the earlier clearance, assisting the reserve manager, and marking the bushes with eggs. However, he professed to be unaware that further clearance had taken place or indeed who had carried out the work. Such a shame!

Well today it is raining again so for me it is back to the juveniles. Yesterday, I enjoyed watching the Glanvilles in the sun - I imagine they are not far from pupation now. I was amazed at how they sparked and twinkled in the sun looking like someone had sprinkled them with glitter. I wasn't expecting that. Gorgeous . These photos definitely don't do them justice.

[Pete Eeles]

I don't know why I was surprised to return to find this, as No 1 has raced through all his stages. I should have anticipated it.

On behalf of the UKB team, I would like to point out, given our tagline of "Building a Community of Responsible Butterfly Enthusiasts", that anyone looking into captive rearing should do so responsibly and would point members to the article I wrote on the subject in 2014 (http://www.dispar.org/reference.php?id=87).

If the intention is to release the offspring back into the wild, then it is imperative that you have a full understanding of their requirements, including the ability to rear things through in as natural conditions as possible, otherwise your efforts will result in failure. It is also imperative that relevant legislation and guidelines, both national and local, are understood before starting out. Offspring that emerge severely out of sync with their wild counterparts have no chance to procreate and cannot, therefore, live the lives they were destined to lead. Activities should always be in the best interests of the butterflies concerned.

Cheers,

- Pete

[MrSp0ck]

Offspring that emerge severely out of sync with their wild counterparts have no chance to procreate and cannot, therefore, live the lives they was destined to lead. Activities should always be in the best interests of the butterflies concerned.

Cheers,

- Pete

It should be pointed out in this case that the WLHs eggs were found on the pavement after severe winds and wouldn't have made it through if left there, so were never intended to be in captivity, im sure if they could be asked they would prefer to be early than dead [their original life destined for them], and they will have a chance to breed as there are 6 of them, and any resulting eggs will overwinter and return to be in sync next spring.

Guidelines should always be followed, but there is a difference between rescued and taken for enjoyment.

[Pete Eeles]

they will have a chance to breed as there are 6 of them.

My comments start with the sentence "If the intention is to release the offspring back into the wild". If the intention is to keep the adults in captivity (which would need to be the case, since I doubt they'd find each other if released separately) then that is a different scenario, and requires a different set of skills.

Guidelines should always be followed, but there is a difference between rescued and taken for enjoyment.

I think the same guidelines should be applied whether rescued or taken (for whatever reason).

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pauline]

You have explained Pete that your comment is because person/persons have expressed 'extreme concerns' about my captive rearing activities, in particular the WLH and that these are seen to be putting UKB in a 'bad light'. Naturally I am dismayed and disappointed that these views have not only been expressed but appear to be supported. I thought you were very much aware that I always try my best for these creatures and although I do make some mistakes I am trying hard to learn from them. I am not sure what heinous crime it is thought I have committed or indeed who this person/persons are as I would like to personally reassure them. I would also like to know what other concerns are being expressed given that they appear to extend beyond the WLH? It seems strange that I am receiving this criticism, having scavenged a few eggs from the ground whilst my experience this week has shown many eggs - both WA and BH - have been chopped down without a second thought. I would be interested in other views so this can be aired more openly rather than comments being made anonymously.

Thank you for your input Martin.

[Pete Eeles]

You have explained Pete that your comment is because person/persons have expressed 'extreme concerns' about my captive rearing activities, in particular the WLH and that these are seen to be putting UKB in a 'bad light'.

Yes, I did say this in a private message to you. But since you've chosen to make this public ... then the concern is that your photography is being put first, ahead of the welfare of the butterflies you're rearing. Now I'm sure this isn't the case, but the UKB team wants to make sure that anyone reading your diary is fully-informed of the challenges in captive rearing before going down this route themselves (if at all).

Naturally I am dismayed and disappointed that these views have not only been expressed but appear to be supported.

I'm not at all surprised that the team shares a concern that White-letter Hairstreaks are emerging 3 months ahead of schedule. And therefore, the team decided that these concerns needed to be addressed, and how they should be addressed. Which was to post something in your diary, as I have done.

It seems strange that I am receiving this criticism, having scavenged a few eggs from the ground whilst my experience this week has shown many eggs - both WA and BH - have been chopped down without a second thought.

As I replied to Martin ... the point here is that captive rearing can be a tricky business, and members need to be aware of that, irrespective of where the livestock came from.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

Pauline, no one reading your diary could doubt your commitment to your various charges - not just the butterflies. Personally, I admire you for the work you do with animals - and no, there's no 'but' coming! I admire you for it.

In this instance - the white-letter hairstreaks - a rescue attempt went wrong, despite your best efforts, because getting hairstreaks in particular to synchronise in captivity with their wild cousins is a specialised task. Pete asked my advice and I agreed we should draw attention to this, to prevent others trying to emulate you without researching all the issues. Your diary is very widely read, for obvious reasons. I'm not competent myself to suggest how else you might have proceeded, as every butterfly I have rescued, at any stage, I have returned to the wild at the earliest opportunity - precisely to guarantee synchronisation. Perhaps that is what I should have suggested here - I don't know. Returning young caterpillars to the wild greatly increases their chances of dying before completing metamorphosis but also increases their chances of contributing to the next wild generation (in single-brooded species that might emerge out of synch). I regret not raising the issue earlier, both because someone who knew might have been able to advise you how to delay development and also, naturally, because I regret any perceived criticism of you in comments at this stage.

Guy

[Goldie M]

Pauline I think your admirable in what you try to do (which is save Butterflies that would other wise perish )
I think you try your best to go by the guide lines but some times things don't always go to plan.

How some one could say you do these things for your Photography is amusing considering the time and effort you put into it, All the best , I'm looking forward to seeing your Granvilles Goldie

[tim]

Pauline's ex husband here. I can assure everyone that animal welfare comes 1, 2, 3, ...100 on her list of priorities. I know cos I was once at number 101....

If you don't believe me, just ask the little rabbit that has been having early morning medication/injections every day for the last 4 weeks and, thankfully, is now making an almost miraculous recovery from what originally looked to be a lost cause

[Pauline]

Firstly, I would like to say thank you for the support I have received both publicly and privately.

Pete, you might recall that you initially asked me to contribute to the guidelines you eventually produced. I readily agreed, doing my best based on my limited experience, recognising how important these are. I fully support their content and I am happy for my diary to be used as a vehicle to promote them.

Guy, I very much appreciate your constructive and reasoned comments. Anyone reading my diary would surely be left in no doubt about the difficulties and pitfalls of rearing as I post both failures and successes, in the hope others may learn from my mistakes, as indeed I try to.

I have always invited constructive criticism but it is unhelpful when anonymous allegations are made that I put photography before welfare. Had the concerned person contacted me openly and directly it would have been a simple matter to assure them that this would never be the case, although I certainly use the camera as a tool to monitor and record the development of these insects. Unless UKB advise me otherwise I shall continue my activities- learning, recording and posting as before.

[Pete Eeles]

Pete, you might recall that you initially asked me to contribute to the guidelines you eventually produced. I readily agreed, doing my best based on my limited experience, recognising how important these are.

You did indeed - and thanks again.

I fully support their content and I am happy for my diary to be used as a vehicle to promote them.

Many thanks - it is important that anyone captive rearing understand what they're getting into.

Unless UKB advise me otherwise I shall continue my activities- learning, recording and posting as before.

Since you asked, Pauline, I would advise otherwise in obvious cases - those where you don't understand the requirements of the species, where you can't provide the right conditions, where you don't have time to look after any livestock, or where you don't have the food plant or it's difficult to obtain. The Dispar article has many more cases. And, of course, if the species is running way ahead of schedule, as Guy suggests, perhaps any larvae should be placed back in the wild as soon as possible.

It is up to the UKB team to ensure that all activities are carried out responsibly and forum posts, by any member, considered to be against UKB's ethos of "Building a Community of Responsible Butterfly Enthusiasts" will be commented upon and potentially removed.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pauline]

As the anonymous criticism I have received seems to extend beyond the WLH to my other rearing activities I thought perhaps it would be prudent to provide an update on some of the other species I am rearing - tho' I have to admit it is becoming a little tedious having to repeatedly justify my activities when (for me at least) this is about learning and sharing and providing others with the benefit of my experience.

BH - eggs scavenged from discarded blackthorn have not yet hatched and therefore appear to be in line with wild BH.

Large Whites - look to be on the brink of emergence. As they have already been recorded in the wild I assume these also are on track.

WA - Tinier than they were at this time last year. Difficult to make any comparison with those in the wild locally as the honeysuckle I knew to have eggs has been chopped down.

Glanvilles - on track as far as the HB community are concerned.

Small White - emergence looks to be imminent and therefore on time

As for the others, well, perhaps I am done with being open and honest and in line with Pete's advice will not post if I have made mistakes. A shot of a Large White pupa which surely cannot be construed as controversial:

[Goldie M]

Hi! Pauline, the weather here in the North is still cold no chance of seeing LW's here yet, not even seen a Small White, or a Green veined White yet, did see my first Peacock at HLB yesterday though so hope fully with the high supposed to be around for a few days other species will appear. Goldie

[Mike Robinson]

'A shot of a Large White pupa ...' As someone who often has anxieties when seeing a Large White Butterfly viz. is it a Large or Small White?, I'm in awe!

[Pauline]

It's freezing here too Goldie - I know I keep saying it but hopefully it won't be long ........

It's definitely a Large White Mike - one of the 80 odd I saved from the rabbits jaws as they munched their greens - but one of the paler/greener ones in the collection. This one plus a couple of others were knocked off the mesh in the storms so I hope they'll be OK. Thank you for your comment - a different view of the same pupa below:

I had also taken a shot of the pupa which the WLH emerged from which I still have. If any child would like to see it or if anyone would like it for a display they would be very welcome:

It is back to the immatures today as I have no transport. I was asked if I would post images as the WLH pupa matured so here are a few below:

No. 6:

No. 4:

No. 2: