June 2016

[Testudo Man]

Hi Paul,
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!! That (first photo) has to be the best male closed wing shot of a wild Purple Hairstreak I've ever seen and I'm fairly certain I've seen every Purple Hairstreak photo on the internet - not joking about that Such a stunning colouration, grey is my favourite colour because of the butterfly. Heaven is on earth after seeing that. I can only hope my local colony here in Brighton performs well. Fantastic news of your garden sighting of the male White-letter Hairstreak, another favourite species of mine, I've been lucky to have seen one in my garden previously, I hope to have a visit this year from them. I've now seen my first adult White-letter Hairstreak of 2016 here in Hollingbury, back on the 27th of June.

Best wishes,
Jamie

Thanks for the comment Jamie, its very much appreciated mate...it sounds like you are a PH/WLH enthusiast
I have to admit, that 1st PH image is now my new "screen saver". I had a great time with the Heath Fritillaries on the day, but the PH "stole the show".
As a rule, i just dont see PH's up close at all, the most sightings each year i get, are glimpses of them high up, although they do occur in my garden(over-hanging Oak Tree) on occasion, but they dont venture down low, like the WLH's do.

I sighted the PH just after 4.00pm (i was just about to call it a day) but so glad i didnt!! I was the wrong side of it at first(shooting into bright light/sunshine) so i moved in close, taking shots as i slowly got closer, then i moved around the other side, in order that the sun was directly behind me. Several more shots...then my camera battery starts to flash red!!!...I moved quickly back to my rucksack, grabbed another battery, returned to find the PH was still on the same leaf, but it had moved towards the tip of the leaf. I carried on shooting images, then it took flight, and i watched it go back up into the tree top...Phew, that was a great experience, and one i doubt i will better in a long time to come.

Good luck in your own garden WLH findings, and of course, i hope you get to experience a close up session, with a PH too

All the best, cheers Paul.

Here is another PH image(which is not cropped) where the butterfly teased me by opening its wings slightly!
I was shooting into the light, so struggled with this image.

And one more Heath Fritillary image.

[peterc]

I found a Ringlet with 3 rings on each of the upperside forweings. I don't know how unusual this variation is because two rings seem to be more common.

ATB

Peter