July 2016

[Allan.W.]

Hello all,
Tried a different area of the Dungeness peninsular this morning,the gulleys at nearby Dengemarsh, a plant was my main reason for visiting,which I was hoping to find in flower
(Sea Heath),actually found quite a bit ,so well pleased,saw my first butterflies on the wing( 7 am) almost immediately,plenty of Meadow Browns ,Gatekeepers,several Red Ads; and was pleased to see 5 Painted Ladies,a few Small Coppers most in good condition ,Brown Argus ,but the star of the show were the Common Blues ,they were everywhere ! standing in one spot and looking around ,I counted 19 ,mostly immaculate males,and after a while I started seeing more and more females,ranging from brown (Brown argus looking ) specimens to some very Blue individuals ,there were some real beauties on the wing. I,ll be back !
Regards Allan.W.

[Jack Harrison]

Undoubtedly to most people , the blue female Common Blues are more attractive than the brown form so blue ones are likely to be photographed more often.
But is this [more often photographed] the complete explanation as to why blue females seem to have become proportionally more numerous?
Or might there really have been a slow evolutionary change towards greater frequency of the blue form of female in recent years?

I recall six or seven years ago blue females dominated a strong population that I watched. Yet going back to my youth in the late1940s/1950s, nearly all were brown.
Another thought. Are blue females more frequent in the second generation?

Jack

[essexbuzzard]

I'm with you, Jack. When I started watching butterflies I would seek the blue females over the brown because brown ones were dominant,at least in southern England . Today the reverse is true,and I try to find the brown Common Blues, though it isn't easy nowadays .

[m_galathea]

31st July 2016: Darren Fawr, Brecknockshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve, Merthyr Tydfil:

I chanced upon a colony of Grayling butterflies along the western slopes which looked like it was doing well. The area immediately south of Danydarren quarry had most. Other species included Small Heath, Speckled Wood and Red Admiral.
Alex