Bugboys mission

[David M]

Interesting that you're still seeing a fair few vanessids, Bugboy. They have suddenly become conspicuous by their absence in my part of south Wales.

That's one disadvantage of warm early spring weather....this family of butterflies are all but spent by mid-April.

[Janet Turnbull]

I haven't been on the PD for a few days and now I've caught up with what you have seen... !
Well done!
Janet

[bugboy]

I haven't been on the PD for a few days and now I've caught up with what you have seen... !
Well done!
Janet

Thanks Janet

Interesting that you're still seeing a fair few vanessids, Bugboy. They have suddenly become conspicuous by their absence in my part of south Wales.

That's one disadvantage of warm early spring weather....this family of butterflies are all but spent by mid-April.

Still plenty around here David (see below)

8/9th April

I managed to get both my work transects done on Saturday although due to the heat, there wasn’t much opportunity to photograph much, just a few Specklie undersides. Their numbers are building nicely at work now and will most likely be the most numerous species seen (they usually are by a significant margin)

At some point though I managed to pick up some sort of nasty lurgy, a horrific strain of man-flu which lead me to take Sunday afternoon off sick.
After a kip I felt a little better and thought a bit of fresh air might help, so dosed up on Paracetamol I spent a couple of hours coughing and sneezing my way around my local patch. It was still a bit on the warm side so everything I saw was still rather active but the main problem was the heat had also attracted hordes of people out who like the butterflies were attracted to the sunny sheltered areas.

Holly Blues were active in the usual spots and gave me no photo opportunities whatsoever and Speckled Woods were proving rather troublesome to get close to. I saw three species of Vanessids, a couple of Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell but Commas are still active in impressive numbers, I found seven in total and had I been able to check all my favourite hotspots I’m quite sure I would have found double that. All the ones I found seemed to be males holding territories and they were VERY hyped up by the heat, nothing was tolerated in their airspace.

A splodge of yellow caught my eye hanging from some Cow Parsley, close inspection revealed a Honey Bee had flown its last errand.

I also had flybys by a few Orange-tip, first of the year on my patch. Three males in total were doing the usual patrolling and one female who was desperately looking for some Garlic Mustard. Every Cow Parsley flowerhead was carefully checked, sometimes twice, but I managed a few shots when she stopped briefly to refuel on some Cherry Blossom. I hope she finds somewhere to lay her eggs, I have yet to see any Garlic Mustard in flower here.

[bugboy]

10th April, local patch again

Still recovering from man-flu I took the day off with the intention of a lay in and a quiet day but my neighbours ended that plan early on. They are doing some renovating and decided today was a good day to get the heavy power tools in. Nothing for it then, grab my camera and go for a wander. It was early and with temperatures a good ten degrees cooler than yesterday it was no surprise that less was around. In fact I didn’t see a single Comma today and just the one brief glimpse of a Holly Blue. Before any butterflies appeared, there was a commotion up above, a Kestrel spiralling up to try and escape a determined Crow.

The cooler conditions seemed to favour the Speckled Woods though who popped up in ever increasing numbers as the day wore on.

I’ve noticed how this year the speckles on them have a distinct orange tint which made this more normal pale speckled one stand out from the crowd. He still had a good conditioned fringe so it wasn't down to wear and tear

In amongst the Specklies a female GVW dropped by to say hello.

It was whilst following the pale Specklie that a Small Tortoiseshell butted in and started a fight, as they often do, except when it landed it wasn’t a Small Tort at all, my first Painted Lady of the year, a very early immigrant from the looks of things. Judging by the pink blush she was quite freshly emerged but she also looked quite worn so I suspect she emerged somewhere on the continent a day or two ago and had only just reached our shores, perhaps an early indication of a Painted Lady year? She proved to be a good sitter at any rate.

Cloud cover began to become more prominent and a passing Orange-tip fell briefly to earth in front of me, only to wake up 30 seconds later and vanish over the hedge.

Where I’d found one Small Tortoiseshell yesterday, today I found three in various states of repair one of whom was looking to get rid of an abdomen full of eggs. I watched her for several minutes in the middle of a nettle bed as she dithered over which leaf was perfect.

Since I was out the flat I decided to do a bit of shopping and come back a bit later.

Later came and so did the cloud cover , there was significantly less about. Specklies were still active, a fourth Small Tort was basking in the last few remaining glimpses of sun and a male GVW replaced the mornings female.

I was also able to carefully pick my way through the nettle bed and locate the mornings Small Tort eggs, a nice healthy batch to watch grow over the coming months

[millerd]

With the strong southerlies yesterday I wondered if anyone would see a Painted Lady today... and that's what you did, Buggy! Excellent find.

Dave

[millerd]

You also asked me if I had any comments on Denbies, Buggy. I would have said it was a bit dry for so early in the year and though the grass seemed quite high, a lot of it was very dried out. In fact, the smell on the very warm wind yesterday was sometimes reminiscent of that smell you get in the Med as you walk through the countryside. The early broods may be ok, but if it continues dry, the horseshoe vetch may not be lush enough to support a good showing of Chalkhills (or second brood Adonis). The two really good Chalkhill years recently followed wet springs.

Dave

[bugboy]

With the strong southerlies yesterday I wondered if anyone would see a Painted Lady today... and that's what you did, Buggy! Excellent find.

Dave

Fresh off the ferry

You also asked me if I had any comments on Denbies, Buggy. I would have said it was a bit dry for so early in the year and though the grass seemed quite high, a lot of it was very dried out. In fact, the smell on the very warm wind yesterday was sometimes reminiscent of that smell you get in the Med as you walk through the countryside. The early broods may be ok, but if it continues dry, the horseshoe vetch may not be lush enough to support a good showing of Chalkhills (or second brood Adonis). The two really good Chalkhill years recently followed wet springs.

Dave

That's what I suspected Dave . I guess it's still early enough to get some rain to rescue the possible poor summer. Even on my patch I was looking at the paths today and thinking they looked far too parched this early in the year.

[David M]

With the recent southerly winds I wondered whether anyone would bump into a Painted Lady.

They're clearly already here in early April so let's hope they can breed and produce another generation later in the year.

[Wurzel]

Great report Bugboy - but don't let you bosses find out that you're wandering around butterflying when you should be tucked up in bed with Man Flu I don't think anyone's having as good a year as yourself Bugboy - you're managing to be in the right place at the right time, long may it continue for you

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Great report Bugboy - but don't let you bosses find out that you're wandering around butterflying when you should be tucked up in bed with Man Flu I don't think anyone's having as good a year as yourself Bugboy - you're managing to be in the right place at the right time, long may it continue for you

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Haha, I did actually try to have a quiet day in bed, bloody neighbours! I hope you're right Wurzel


11th April, North Stoke again

I’d been toying with going for another shot at a Large Tortoiseshell since last week but with a third sighting my destination on Tuesday was sealed. I was also curious to see what the place was like in decent weather, having seen just 3 butterflies there in the entire day last time so it was another crack of dawn start. The journey was, this time, relatively pleasant, no hidden surprises from my friends on Southern Rail and of course no getting lost this time .

I arrived at around 9.45 just in time to find the first butterflies awakening, Green-veined Whites seemed to be the early risers, with a few Orange-tips mixed in.

I had the place to myself so I slowly make my way along the path scanning every available tree trunk and the path in front for any patch of tawny orange, but apart from a single Comma which caused a momentary heart palpitation, there was nothing. I did have a holly Blue sit for me although he decided not to open for me

It didn’t take too long for more hopeful people to turn up, virtually every single one looking longingly up into the tree covered bank. I did recognise one chap paying a lot of attention to the large patches of nettle beds, our own Vince was successfully looking for Red Admiral larvae that had made it through the winter.

The day was hotting up significantly as we wandered up and down the path, certainly getting close to 20 degrees, and the butterflies were responding very positively. Brimstones began to appear and we found three fresh Small Coppers, my first of the year, buzzing around a secluded corner, one of whom was a most vibrant colour.

Peacock numbers grew by the minute with several females observed searching for that one particular nettle leaf on which to deposit their eggs. There were also a couple of Small Tortoiseshells doing the same and a couple of Red Admirals.

Ovipositing Red Admiral

Red Admiral egg

One particular Peacock stood out from the crowd, the amount of iridescence on the forewing tips made it look really quite stunning, the pictures I managed really don’t do it justice at all!

Looking around you’d think there was plenty of nettle to go around but Vince called me over when he noticed a Small Tortoiseshell had decided the ONLY leaf that she could find that was good enough for her eggs was already occupied. This seemed to be a minor detail to her and we watched as she settled down next to the Peacock to add her own eggs to the batch. A fascinating bit of behaviour.

This particular sprig of nettle was on the edge of a small open patch in the middle of the bed. This open patch we summised would be heating up in the sun and as the heat rose it would be warming up the underside of the leaf and therefore the eggs, a little natural incubator for them. It’s interesting to note that the other Peacock females we observed seemed particularly interested in nettles in similar positions, particularly leaves that overhung these small open patches.

Another thing I was hoping to find today was Orange-tip in cop, something I’ve yet to see.
Thankfully Vince was on hand to end this embarrassingly gaping hole in my butterfly experiences. Unfortunately, the pair he had found had decided the best place to do the deed was up a tree on the side of the bank in the wind. Due to the wind, they also seemed to be doing some sort of butterfly karma sutra .

I’m not sure how they remained attached for so long but in the end, they called it a day with him flying off, leaving the female to have a little post coital snack only for a male GVW to clumsily blunder into her .

Despite the lack of any Tortoiseshells of the Large persuasion it was a thoroughly good day, I just wish there were sites as bountiful as this on my doorstep!

[David M]

You've covered pretty much everything so far this spring, Bugboy. I hope you don't get burnt out as May approaches!

[bugboy]

You've covered pretty much everything so far this spring, Bugboy. I hope you don't get burnt out as May approaches!

Still, Dukes, Green Hairstreaks, Dingy and Grizzlies, then Wood Whites and perhaps even Chequered Skippers I'm exhausted just looking at that sentance

[David M]

You've covered pretty much everything so far this spring, Bugboy. I hope you don't get burnt out as May approaches!

Still, Dukes, Green Hairstreaks, Dingy and Grizzlies, then Wood Whites and perhaps even Chequered Skippers I'm exhausted just looking at that sentance

Me too, especially if you are venturing north to see palaemon. I wish you all the best. It's an iconic journey and one you will forever remember. I will look forward to reading your reports if that is ultimately what you decide to do.

[trevor]

Looks like you had a great day, and a great haul. I must try the site for myself !.
How many sites as good as that have a railway station close by ?. You've been spoilt .

All the best,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Another cracking day for you Bugboy Great shots, especially the Small Copper, really contrasting dark hind wings with the lush orange base colour on the fore wings.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Vince Massimo]

Great report Paul. That was a good day spent observing

Vince

[Butterflysaurus rex]

If only we had that many Orange Tips where I live Paul. You're off to a magnificent start this year. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your adventures over the coming months.

Best wishes,

James

[bugboy]

Thanks Trevor and Wurzel, yes it is an excellent site where spending a whole day browsing is easy!

Great report Paul. That was a good day spent observing

Vince

Indeed it was, so much going on it was difficult to know what to concentrate on sometimes, if only more places were like this!

If only we had that many Orange Tips where I live Paul. You're off to a magnificent start this year. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your adventures over the coming months.

Best wishes,

James

Thanks James, good to see you back in the game as well, no doubt we shall bump into each other at the usual places again this year


15th April, more Duke hunting

Another trip to see if I could find myself an early Duke or Duchess in the Chilton’s started off as so many of my Chilton trips do, cool and cloudy…. and windy. Today I was accompanied again by my padawan work colleague. Having no idea what a Duke was her target today was a Holly Blue and a male Orange-tip.

The windy conditions had brought out the Raptors today, numerous Buzzards, Kites and Kestrels were seen throughout the day. One of the first ones we saw looked to be carrying nesting material.

It actually took about 3 hours before we saw a butterfly of any description, a Speckled Wood flitting around in one of the first patches of sun we encountered. This was followed by a friendly Holly Blue who landed on a leaf next to us. He opened his wings to reveal a freshly minted male and sat patiently until my friend got a little too close, she still has lots to learn!

Despite searching thoroughly all the Duke hotspots we found none. Hopefully though in a few weeks they shall be teaming with the pugnacious little buggers.

The weather had improved substantially when we returned to Aldbury Nowers. Although still rather breezy, there was plenty of sun so I was quite surprised there was still a distinct lack of butterflies. A Green-veined White dropped by briefly and a few Orange-tips were doing the usual ‘hello, goodbye’ flybys.

We decided to kill a bit of time wandering some unexplored paths to give the Orange-tips time to wear their batteries down a bit, and sure enough, by 4 they could be found stopping off for evening meals and looking for roosting spots, giving my friend the shots of male Orange-tips she was after. Since they were just sitting there I took full advantage as well, coming home with over 100 pictures of them alone! It’s very easy to get carried away with Orange-tips isn’t it , anyway there now follows a tiny selection of what I managed.

Next time I WILL have Duke pictures to show for my troubles

[Pauline]

Some unusual shots there Buggy. It's always nice to see something a bit different. I particularly like the Red Kite and Orange Tip (expect you can guess which one I mean)

[Wurzel]

Great set of shots Bugboy I especially like OT numbers 1 and 4

Have a goodun

Wurzel