millerd

[millerd]

Saturday 9th July. I was able to take in more of my local patch over a lengthier spell this afternoon, including the verge where the Essex Skippers compete with the Heathrow traffic. I saw 12 species in all, with Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers most frequent: over 20 of each seen, with the former well in excess of that.

a five-spotter on the Wurzel scale

Unexpectedly, Small Tortoiseshells appeared, with the six seen being more than for some while, though they were well spread out.

Commas, Small Skippers and Small Heaths all made double figures, with Red Admirals, Small and Green-veined Whites all reaching about half a dozen.

male Small Skipper

One of the Red Admirals was egg-laying, and the tiny result is here:

just right of centre

Surprisingly, there were two ragged male Common Blues left from the (rather late) first brood - I hadn't seen one here for a week or two.

There was also a single Speckled Wood - this species is well down in numbers this year, especially after the bumper autumn it had here in 2014.
On the Essex Skipper patch, at least six were active, and also yet another Comma.

However, the Skippers stole the show.

female Essex Skipper

male Essex Skipper

Not too bad considering the continuing lack of proper sunshine.

Dave

[millerd]

Sunday 10th July. The forecast declared that the sun would appear after two today, so I headed off to Denbies. The sun duly came out on the way down, but it was blowing a gale up on the top of the Downs and I was optimistic of seeing anything settled at all. However, down in little sheltered nooks there were good numbers of Marbled Whites, easily outnumbering the Meadow Browns which didn't seem to cope with the wind half as well.

There were quite a few Skippers and Small Heaths as well, but they were impossible to follow at all.
Walking right across the slopes and back, I hoped I might find a Chalkhill Blue or two. In fact, I found two: a mating pair. How this couple managed to find each other in the windy conditions I know not. Perhaps he was just lucky to be blown to the ground at the spot where she was emerging. Certainly an unusual first sighting.

I did see two others, both male. One walked onto my finger and proceeded to suck up the mixture of sweat and coffee on the end. I moved it down into the most sheltered spot within reach, tidied the grass a little, and it opened up. Exhausting the possibilities of my fingertip, it abruptly sailed off downwind and disappeared.

Hopefully, another trip in a week or so, on a calmer day, will produce a lot more.

Dave

[millerd]

There was time after the Denbies trip to have an early evening look around locally. Despite the sunshine, the continuing strong wind ruled out Purple Hairstreaks, but the more sheltered spots soon produced butterflies: the usual suspects mostly. Meadow Browns, Commas and Red Admirals were all up to the double figure mark, with a few whites and Gatekeepers thrown in.

The Whites were generally roosting in the brambles, unseen until I accidentally disturbed them. Today's newcomer was a new second brood Peacock, high up at the back of a deep bank of brambles - hopefully over the next two or three weeks I'll see more of these before they disappear as early hibernators.

One particular Red Admiral paid close attention to the human in its territory, finally settling very close by and allowing me to cast a shadow as I experimented with different camera settings.

At one point it set off after two other individuals which were very closely involved with each other. They dived into a thick patch patch of ivy up in an ash tree and didn't emerge, and my companion promptly gave up and came back to its spot on the bramble. I have seen this behaviour once before, and assume I am seeing a male and a female courting and that the disappearance into thick foliage is in order to mate. Two males squabble violently and spiral into the sky along with madcap chases. Two females don't really interact at all. That only really leaves one of each as an option...

Dave

[Goldie M]

Your lucky to see all those Butterflies Dave and great shots as well, lets hope the weather picks up soon if not for us for the Butterflies, they do seem to be suffering, Goldie

[Wurzel]

Just catching up after a week of no butterflies Dave - seems you're well ahead again - congrats with the Chalkhill Blue - excellent find! And I'm damn envious of your H.Comma shots - I need to get down to the woods before it's too late!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thanks, both. The Commas hereabouts are splendid, Wurzel!

The weather took a down-turn, work intervened and I didn't get out again until the weekend, and then only locally. However, the sudden warmth made everything super-charged, and though I saw quite a lot, laying a camera on them wasn't so easy. All the following were seen: Large, Small and GV Whites, a Brimstone, Small and Essex Skippers, a Speckled Wood, Gatekeepers (incuding my first female of the year), Small Heaths, Meadow Browns, a Ringlet, Red Admirals in droves, Commas likewise, Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks. The surprise of the weekend was a fresh second brood Brown Argus. I had only seen one first brood individual so to see one at all was very pleasing. A selection:

Essex Skipper

Comma egg-laying

Comma egg, freshly laid by the female above

Second brood Brown Argus

Now it's been too hot to go out... strange summer.

Dave

[Pauline]

Great shot of the Comma egg Dave - never seen one altho I have reared the cats.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave,

A nice selection from the weekend at your local patch. I managed a couple of hours at one of my local spots on Sunday afternoon but despite the good weather it was fairly quiet, most of the expected species were about but numbers were well down on usual for the time of year. For example I only saw half a dozen Gatekeepers, all males, when they should be well out by now.

Cheers,

Neil.

[millerd]

After a couple of stifling days in the south, on Wednesday 20th, I headed for Wilberfoss in Yorkshire, picking up offspring en route. Most frustratingly, the usual plan to take in Arnside by means of a sizeable detour came to nothing, with the M6 shut at Rugby and again near Stoke-on-Trent. Sitting in two-hour traffic jams with three boys and 30 degree heat stretches my dedication too far. By contrast, the M1 was a breeze, though not a cool one...

I was surprised to find my sister's reliable buddleia almost bereft of butterflies - some whites, a Small Tortoiseshell and a Red Admiral put in appearances, though that was all. Most disappointing. However, the weather stayed warm and humid, though not particularly sunny, over the next few days, and there were some interesting bits.

21st July. With so little flying in the garden, I took an interest in the eggs to be found on the nasturtiums. Both Large and Small Whites had been busy - these were on the same leaf.

There was also some courtship/rejection behaviour, including these Small Whites.

Late afternoon, I popped down the road a mile or so to Calley Heath, a preserved bit of lowland sandy heathland. Here were a few more butterflies, including Green-veined Whites, Meadow Browns, Small Tortoiseshells, Ringlets and the odd Red Admiral.

nothing to pick between the male and female here colourwise

However, I was delighted to find that there were also Small Coppers.

One of these I watched for a while as it jigged down a plant stem, flew off, and then back to another stem only to repeat the exercise - could this be this the "stalk dance" described by Hoggers? I rather think it was.

Lovely to see this increasingly uncommon butterfly.

Dave

[Goldie M]

Love the shots of the Copper Dave, yet to see them this side of the Pennines. Goldie

[millerd]

Thank you Goldie - it was great to see them anywhere at all, but this little spot is still a reliable site.

July 22nd - I had to look to the garden for interest today, and there was some to be found. Firstly, I spotted a couple of Ringlets, which I had not seen in my sister's garden before. Better still, the first one turned out to be nearly blind (ab. arete?), a first for me anywhere.

ab. arete?

Aside from a few Small Tortoiseshells nectaring on the buddleia, almost everything else was White.

There were a few Small ones, and a few GVW.

However, there were probably more Large Whites today, including this pair of which I managed a sequence of shots showing attempted courtship by a male and rejection by the female.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Great action shots (or should that be lack of action?) Dave Your Ringlet looks good for an arete too

Have a goodun
Wurzel

[millerd]

Thanks, Wurzel. I was amazed the Large Whites stuck around on the lawn as long as they did. Another ab, too - I've seen a few this year, mostly unspectacular like this one, but interesting to see what turns up in ordinary butterfly populations just about anywhere.

July 23rd. More garden watching, but nothing particularly exciting.

Of some interest was a new non-hutchinsoni Comma, feeding up pre-hibernation. Much darker, of course (especially the underside), and somewhat smaller. This silhouette view has been tweaked a bit to bring out some detail and colour.

Early evening, it brightened up a bit, so we had a walk at Allerthorpe Common near Pocklington. The brief sunshine brought out a few Gatekeepers, Ringlets and Meadow Browns, plus one or two Red Admirals.

Almost all the Gatekeepers were males, with one exception.

In one grassy area, the sun energised a platoon of Small Skippers, which darted around in all directions.

Of the hoped for Small Coppers, one was seen, but jinked quickly out of sight and was lost over the heathland.

Dave

[millerd]

July 24th. Time to return south. However, there was a bit of sun in the morning (despite hearing the Test Match up the road in Leeds being rain-afflicted). I had some more views of the Comma from the 23rd, plus a nice Red Admiral (but only at an odd angle).

Dave

[Goldie M]

Love the Comma shots Dave, the one on the Buddliea really looks impressive a bit like a dragon Goldie

[millerd]

I see exactly what you mean, Goldie. It looks quite menacing and the scalloped wings are just right.

On 27th July, after two days at work, I was able to go around my local patch for the first time in nearly two weeks. Not a lot had changed, except for the Commas and Gatekeepers being worn now, and Skippers having pretty well disappeared.

There were lots of Red Admirals now, though, varying in wear and also in size. One or two were really large.

There were also a few Peacocks, but I had expected to see more.

I came across a couple of Commas tussling with a much larger orange butterfly which eventually briefly evaded them and took a quick breather on the ground - a very bright Painted Lady. Before I could get any nearer it was being chased again.

There were several Holly Blues around, and the rain earlier in the day had created damp patches on the path that they found useful for imbibing minerals. I had three in sight at one time doing this, but they were on the move a lot and milled about me at knee-height. I managed a shot or two of one of them.

Also nice to see were three or four new Speckled Woods, which have been really infrequent here this year.

It was good to catch up with the local environs again.

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave,

Just catching up with your Yorkshire trip, great reports and photos...love the 'Dragon Comma' as imagined by Goldie.

Not much around my patch at the moment apart from Whites, Skippers, Satyrids and a few Holly Blue...very few Small Torts and no Peacocks yet. I am not seeing the numbers of Red Admirals that are around further south either, just a couple so far.

Cheers,

Neil.

[trevor]

Good to see that you've caught up with the Holly Blues again, Dave.
Fresh ground searching males are easy prey for the camera, but not later on !.

All the best,
Trevor.

[millerd]

Thanks for your kind comments, Neil - it really is slow going, even down here.

Yes, Trevor, you're right. I found another one today that despite taking a rest from slurping up goodies from the ground and perching, refused to open up at all.

I had another walk this afternoon (29th July), very similar to the last, even to the extent of there being a Painted Lady in it. No photo today, though - it was far too lively. I caught a glimpse of a Purple Hairstreak high up, a new Common Blue that wouldn't sit still at all, and found a small area right next to J14 with about a dozen Red Admirals (and a few Commas) in it. White butterflies popped up in most places, but were really hard to get near to. However, I succeeded with this Green-veined White, which seemed to have reduced black scaling along the underside veins.

Unusually, I also managed to approach a female Meadow Brown.

Finally I came across a very new Small Heath, with beautifully subtle markings.

Much overlooked and underrated in my book.

The weather today was quite benign, really, but a burst of low sun across the fields with clouds made much darker - plus the dead tree - created quite a dramatic vista.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Beautiful Small Heath there Dave, those subtle eyes are lush!

Have a goodun

Wurzel