Butterflysaurus rex

[David M]

Another great sequence, Rex! Things have gone quiet on my front so it's good that I can see others making the most of it elsewhere!

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Wow that Cloudy is a stand out specimen Beautiful

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel I was really delighted to find such a fresh butterfly this late in the season, I couldn't agree more Clouded Yellows are very beautiful butterflies!

Another great sequence, Rex! Things have gone quiet on my front so it's good that I can see others making the most of it elsewhere!

Very Kind of you David, yes it's that time of year again, the wait for spring has begun and hopefully things will be much better next year, our butterflies could certainly do with some decent spring weather.

Best Wishes


Pale but interesting.

After what turned out to be a dismal year for many species it was interesting to note how the common whites were bucking the trend, they were by far the most numerous butterfly locally. Much to the delight of the cabbage growing community I'm sure!

Due to the relative scarcity of other butterflies I spent a bit more time paying attention to whites than usual. For this reason I enjoyed some rather unusual (well for me at least) encounters. The most spectacular of these was when I saw 9 male Small Whites chasing after one female! I guess she'd put far too much perfume on that day!! The second photo shows them beginning to disperse as they got fed up with the smell of 'Essence of cabbage'.

I saw all three common whites mating this year, unfortunately I didn't manage a decent shot of the mating Large whites as they settled much too high up, so I'll just include a single LW photo instead.

And finally I came across a very fresh Small White that seemed quite happy to sit on my finger, not something I usually bother to attempt with a species renowned for being one of the most skittish.

Thanks for looking

James

[bugboy]

IHi James, I like your action shots. That female certainly looks very pestered but I think I can see why she was turning down all her suiters, wrong species! I'm on my phone so forgive if I'm mistaken but it looks like a female GVW they're all after

[Butterflysaurus rex]

I think you're probably right buggy, I thought the same when I looked closely but I wasn't 100% sure as the lighting on or through the wings can play tricks with the veins.
It definitely looks more like a GVW to me so I'm glad you thought so as well.

[bugboy]

Home now on my laptop and I'm 100% certain its a GVW in the second picture. I captured a similar series of pictures last year except my female GV only had 2 Small Whites chasing her

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Home now on my laptop and I'm 100% certain its a GVW in the second picture. I captured a similar series of pictures last year except my female GV only had 2 Small Whites chasing her

It was an amazing sight, I've seen this kind of thing before but never involving so many butterflies! It goes to show how well the whites were doing this year.

[Wurzel]

Indeed Rex a cracking sight to behold - and you captured it really well, a diagonal line of whites bisecting the image

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

HI James,
I've been away for a few days, so I am behind with the diaries.
Your action shots of the Whites are some of the more unusual images to appear for a while !.
Opportunities like that don't happen very often.

All the best,
Trevor.

[David M]

James, I'm happy when I can get three or four butterflies in a single shot. To get nine like that is some achievement.

Excellent stuff!

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Indeed Rex a cracking sight to behold - and you captured it really well, a diagonal line of whites bisecting the image

Hi Wurzel, being a fussy so and so I wish the background had been nicer, I did the best I could under the circumstances. I'm just happy I that managed to capture such a wonderful sight. Many thanks for your very kind comment.

HI James,
I've been away for a few days, so I am behind with the diaries.
Your action shots of the Whites are some of the more unusual images to appear for a while !.
Opportunities like that don't happen very often.

Thank you Trevor, yes I remember thinking "hello what on earth is going on here then!" when I saw this long undulating string of whites. I'd never seen anything quite like it before so I did my best to capture it at distance with my macro lens. As you say you don't see things like that too often, it was quite beautiful to watch.

James, I'm happy when I can get three or four butterflies in a single shot. To get nine like that is some achievement.

Excellent stuff!

Very kind of you David there are actually ten butterflies! 9 males chasing 1 female!! Unusually it appears the males are all Small Whites and the female is almost certainly a GVW. Quite a sight, I doubt I'll ever see that again.

My best wishes to you all.

James

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Having noticed that Badgerbob was still finding a few Clouded Yellows in fine condition I decided to go and see if I could locate any. After some searching I eventually found 3 male CY's. Only one of these was in reasonable condition so I concentrated on that one. Without any more Long-tailed Blue action to end the year it's nice that the Clouded Yellows and Red Admirals are providing us on the south coast with a last hurrah.

Thanks for looking

James

P.S I hope to resume my diary over this weekend.

[trevor]

That's a very fine Cloudy, James. They are still performing well at Shoreham too.
Will they last into November ?.

All the best,
Trevor.

[David M]

Nice shot, James. The sun has caught the insect at a good angle and I should add that I'm very envious you are seeing Clouded Yellows when all there seems to be around me is the odd Red Admiral.

[Wurzel]

Great shot Rex I'm looking forward to some more retrospectives as they serve as a gentle prod to get my own PD in order an caught up before the next season starts

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Butterflysaurus rex]

That's a very fine Cloudy, James. They are still performing well at Shoreham too.
Will they last into November ?.

All the best,
Trevor.

Very kind of you Trevor, It's looking likely there will be a few around in November, only a frost could scupper things now.

Nice shot, James. The sun has caught the insect at a good angle and I should add that I'm very envious you are seeing Clouded Yellows when all there seems to be around me is the odd Red Admiral.

I was pleasantly surprised with how it came out David! I like it when you can see the vain structure in the wings, it makes the butterfly look more three dimensional. I'm still seeing some very fresh Red Admirals here too. They look fantastic when they are newly emerged.

Great shot Rex I'm looking forward to some more retrospectives as they serve as a gentle prod to get my own PD in order an caught up before the next season starts

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Most appreciated Wurzel I think I've gone slightly awry with my retrospective diary posts, I just found some photos from May that I forgot to put up. Oh well I suppose it's a free for all now!

My best to you all.



Silver Washed Fritillaries.

In June this year I spent a really nice day in Abbots Wood with my friend Gary.N. Along with some days out with Badgerbob this was another memorable day in what has been a rather difficult year. It was hot and humid making the woodland butterflies extremely active. Even though we had an early start it was getting quite hot by the time we reached our desired location. It turned out to be a good year for Silver Washed Fritillaries in Abbots this year. A few days earlier Gary found a lovely Valezina SWF, I'd never seen a Valezina before so I was delighted when we re found it in the same area Gary had first seen it.

The White Admirals were being as impossible as ever when it gets hot and the SWF's weren't much better! After hours of chasing them around I finally managed a few decent photos. By the end of the day I was shattered, thanks to Gary's help it was one of the most enjoyable days of the year.

We also found another butterfly that I'd never seen close up before, more about that in my next post.

Thanks for looking

James

[Butterflysaurus rex]

At long last.

Another big highlight of my day with Gary was my first ever close view of a Purple Hairstreak! This was my first serious attempt at looking for a Purple Hairstreaks, It was a butterfly that I had hoped stumble upon while looking for Purple Emperors and other woodland butterflies. I had seen them high up in the Oaks many times before but a proper close up view had always eluded me. After many years today my luck finally changed, I was standing talking to Gary when something very Hairstreaky caught my eye, I shouted Hairstreak! to Gary just as it flew behind me, I quickly turned but I didn't see where it had landed. Thankfully Gary did and we both got a very good view at ground level. Frustratingly the butterfly was in the shade and for me partially obscured. After a few seconds it took off again and flew into the low branches of an Oak. I wasn't able to get a good angle on the Butterfly but I was still delighted with my first decent views 'and photo' of a Purple Hairstreak. Thanks to some great teamwork Gary and I saw 2 more but we never managed another view as good as our first.

There were quite a few (well named) Beautiful Demoiselles in the wood this year as well.

After that highly enjoyable day at Abbots I was hardly able to get out for quite a while. Staying close to home I did see this beautifully fresh female Gatekeeper.

Thanks for looking

James

[Philzoid]

Nice to see you got yourself a Purple hairstreak James and well worth shouting about . Although a common butterfly it is as you say, very elusive when it comes to getting a decent photograph. Most of my own (few) pics are from distance, record shots that have to rely on the viewer’s taking my word for it that the ‘silhouetted triangular blob is really a Purple Hairstreak.

Occasionally they go to more accessible places, and even to ground, just a matter of being in the right place at the right time .... so fingers crossed

Phil

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Hi Phil, thanks for the comment I was really pleased to finally get a good view of a Purple Hairstreak. I was starting to wonder if it would ever happen! Having met you I know you're word is to be trusted and I can personally vouch for any "silhouetted triangular blobs" they are definitely without any shadow of doubt Purple Hairstreaks or so help me. seriously though until this photo I never even managed a photo of a distant PH. I'd only ever seen them through binoculars before.

You're absolutely right of course it was pretty much 100% pure luck. I don't know who was more surprised, me - or the Hairstreak seeing me close up looking so surprised. I think I'll put it down to a draw.

Best wishes,

James

[Wurzel]

Lovely view of the Purp Rex I find them even more frustrating then His Nibbs as I see them every year but rarely get any photos

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Lovely view of the Purp Rex I find them even more frustrating then His Nibbs as I see them every year but rarely get any photos

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Agh tell me about it Wurzel! Supposedly the most common butterfly in the U.K. As well!! It's nice to know it's not personal, it was starting to feel like they had gotten wind of my reputation! And we're avoiding me on purpose.

I started to imagine I could hear tiny laughter wafting down from the Oak trees. Ah well it makes a change from the real laughter aimed at "silly daddy" when I'm at home.

ATB

James