millerd

[millerd]

Friday 1st September: As Trevor has intimated, the benefits of retirement are now becoming manifest, and with the sun shining again, I set off south to Halcombe Farm in Sussex hopefully to see the Queen of Spain Fritillaries. Using the old fashioned method of an OS map and dead reckoning, I found the spot reasonably easily and arrived to find a small handful of folk in attendance on a remarkably accommodating insect. I took a fair few photos before wandering further afield to see what else was around. Returning later, I found myself alone with a single butterfly. Suddenly, it shot into the air and started a frantic tussle with another very similar-looking individual: amother QoS. They spiralled high into the air before plunging to earth in matching curves in Red Arrows fashion. A little later, this happened again, but was preceded by a high speed chase at ground level.

After another break to look at Clouded Yellows, I came back to find both QoS basking not far from each other. Looking at the photos, there were no more than two individual butterflies.

What an amazing morning, and thanks once again to all those who made it possible. Unforgettable.

Dave

[millerd]

1st September, Halcombe Farm - the best of the rest.
As mentioned, there were other things to see at what is a great little spot even without QoS Fritillaries to liven things up. Adonis Blues, Clouded Yellows and Small Coppers were all around.

Dave

[bugboy]

Great stuff Dave, I'm glad you didn't miss out on the Queens, a bit for you getting to see two and some aerial battling!

[Wurzel]

I'm glad you got your QoS Dave, I think? And more Cloudies too, I've still not found this year

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Katrina]

Pleased you made it to see the Sussex Royals. Well done with the Clouded Yellows as well - they won't stay still for me this year.

[Pauline]

I am pleased you managed to see the Queens Dave and now have some lovely images to treasure . I hope we get to see a few more migrants before the season is finally over.

[trevor]

You were lucky to have two QoS perform for you.
I am pretty sure that the one in your penultimate image is the one I photographed.
Several mrgreens must be awarded for a stationary Clouded Yellow !.

Great stuff,
Trevor.

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Hi Dave, great to see you made it here for this rare event. Like you I was lucky enough to see a pair of QoS's sparring, it was a fabulous sight wasn't it! Great action shot's too!!

Best wishes

James

[millerd]

Thank you all for your enthusiasm! It was a great morning with the Queens, and blurry though the photos are, I am pleased I had a go at catching them interacting. Somehow that evokes the day better than some of the more posed shots. The Cloudies were a real bonus, and as luck would have it, there was enough cloud about to stop them in their tracks when it covered the sun. I'm not sure, but the CY photos may well show three different butterflies.

1st September: the way home. I avoided part of the M25 by diverting across from the A23 to the A24, which inevitably meant a late afternoon call in at Denbies and a coffee and a cake from the van. Suitably fortified I headed onto the familiar slopes. The late afternoon sun provided some lovely views of the hillside and beyond.

Things are definitely winding down now and there were far fewer male Adonis and even fewer Chalkhills flying - most were worn like this one.

However, there were still numerous female blues, some quite fresh, but not easily distinguishable.

Adonis

Adonis

not sure...

Meadow Browns were still abundant - there seems to be a late flush of new ones at the moment.

However, most noticeable (maybe because of the time of day) were the good number of nectaring Silver-spotted Skippers, very easy to find today.

I was watching one, and trying to line up a nice view behind it...

...when there in the frame appeared another one. They harmoniously continued nectaring together for a while - and dare I say it, improved the shot no end.

Dave

[bugboy]

Amazing how a bit of sun can change the day completely, I didn't get a sniff of a Skipper there today! And two on one flower in harmony, almost as rare as a bilateral gynandromorph

[Wurzel]

Great set of shots Dave as per usual I might need to make a visit to Denbies one day That female blue is a tricky one, blue scaling on the wings near the body yet white markings round the orange on the hind wings..tricky

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Who said the season was dying!?! (I think it was me, actually )

Clouded Yellows, Silver Spotted Skippers, Adonis Blues....Queens of Spain

Keep your eyes peeled down there, Dave, you never know what you might find next.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Dave, I love the Skipper shots with the fields in the Back ground, it makes your shots more realistic, such a change from seeing individuals only. Goldie

[millerd]

As you say, Buggy, a slight change in the weather and you'd think it was a different place altogether!

Denbies is always worth a visit, Wurzel, but with some of the sites you have near you, I'm not sure I'd venture very far at all! I think now that the female blue might just be a Chalkhill, because of the hindwing white spots which I don't think I've seen on an Adonis - but still not sure!

The season is still alive, David - just about. It'll only take a few days of bad weather to thoroughly dampen it down. However, fingers crossed for some extra broods and a bit of selective targeting of sites may produce a few results even now!

Thank you, Goldie (and Buggy) - I was very pleased with the last skipper shot in particular, created more by luck than anything when the second one appeared just as I got the background right! You're quite right - it evokes the full memory of the day and the place in the way the more clinical shots with plain backgrounds never can. They could be taken anywhere (someone's front room even...).

Saturday 2nd September: Another lovely day to make the most of, so I headed up to Aston Rowant to see how things had progressed since my last visit on 13th August. Initially, the most noticeable thing was the large number of bright new female Meadow Browns nectaring in the early sunshine, spreading their wings wide in a way I don't normally see.

Joining the Meadow Browns were a selection of whites, including these two, a fresh female GVW and a male Small White.

As I walked across the slopes, the numbers of blue butterflies increased, including the little silver flashes of Brown Argus.

There were still a few very worn Chalkhills...

...and some Common Blues...

...but most eye-catching were still the Adonis Blues, whose dazzling colour seems to intensify the more worn they become.

A lovely new Small Copper put in an appearance...

...as did a couple of Brimstones later on.

I had searched in vain for a nice female Adonis, when at last I thought I'd found one. The butterfly settled and showed itself to be something a bit unusual - ab. krodeli? A glimpse of the upperside showed deep chocolate and a turquoise dusting of scales - definitely Adonis.

Last, but by no means least, were the Silver-spotted Skippers, still flying energetically about. I didn't manage many shots (after Denbies the day before it didn't seem to matter).

I followed one female down to the ground where she appeared to lay. After she'd flown off to another spot I looked for an egg in the grass, and found five!

I then took a couple of routine shots of another skipper, first nectaring and then on the ground when it hopped off the flower.

It was only when I was going through the photos at home later on that I realised what was odd about it: It was half female, half male. A bilateral gynandromorph no less, the stuff of dreams (though somehow less spectacular than to see this condition manifesting in a blue butterfly or the magnificent SWF found a few years ago at Southwater). Coming a day after seeing the beautiful QoS, two "once in a lifetime" events in two days? And a really nice Adonis aberration as well... Whatever next?

Dave

[Wurzel]

You're having a hell of run Dave Retirement, it seems, really suits you I reckon it's all the good karma you've built up whilst slaving away at work

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Gonna have to try and 'bump' into you more often in the field if your luck carries on like this!

[David M]

What a stunning female Green Veined White....and the Adonis ab is a cracker too.

I've also noticed that female Meadow Browns tend to 'open up' later in the season. Maybe it's due to the sun being that bit weaker?

[Goldie M]

Great shots Dave, your certainly having lots of luck I don't think we get a second flush of Meadow Brown's here in the North, I've not located any yet. Goldie

[Maximus]

you're certainly going through a bit of a purple patch, Dave

Mike

[millerd]

Thank you all for your appreciative comments - yes, an amazing couple of days and if you'd told me two weeks ago what I'd be seeing, I don't think I'd have believed you! Since childhood, and finding out such things existed, I've always dreamed of seeing a bilateral gynandromorph, but I'm afraid the fantasies always involved Orange Tips. Never mind, I don't expect I'll ever see another of any type.

I had time after coming home from Aston Rowant on Saturday 2nd to scoot round my local patch again. There were still quite a few Small Heaths around, and I spotted a mating pair (some thing that I don't often come across, despite the local abundance of the species).

There were also good numbers of Whites.

A Speckled Wood or two...

...and a nice new Comma completed the afternoon's show. The newness of this butterfly was evidenced by the drop of meconium expelled between the two shots here and which can be seen on the leaf.

I did also see a few Holly Blues, but none came anywhere close today.

Dave