Padfield

[Wurzel]

They’re fantastic looking butterflies Guy, really hope to see one properly/for definite one day

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Padfield]

Thanks for your comments, David and Wurzel. Most people don't go on butterfly holidays to this part of the world in the peak season for seeing large tortoiseshells, which is essentially March-May.

Today it was sunny from dawn till dusk for the first time in seemingly months! I worked all day but on our lunchtime walk spotted this large tortoiseshell sunning itself about 100m from my house:



It was also about 200m from the (now felled) cherry tree where I found caterpillars last summer, so there is a fair chance I saw it at an earlier stage in its life:


(was it one of these?)

The tree was felled because it had broken under its own weight and the weight of summer snow and rain. No vandalism by the authorities - just a rather sad event.

Guy

[trevor]

Simply fantastic !.

[Wurzel]

Absolutely fantastic shot Guy I'm visiting the Dordogne in the second week of August what do reckon the chances are of seeing one then?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That's quite a picture, Guy! Those cats are all over that fruit tree....literally! LT larvae are pretty conspicuous by the look of things so one hopes that at some point a few will be found in southern parts of the UK to prove that this species is breeding again within these isles. There have been more adult sightings already in 2018 so one hopes it's only a matter of time.

[Cotswold Cockney]

Regarding w-album ova earlier in Guy's thread, I found one on Prunus spinosa when searching for the other two species you'd expect to find on that shrub. Out of interest I raised it on Blackthorn Flowers mostly which appear before the leaves. It produced a fine female some weeks later.

My observations in Gloucestershire shows W-album larvae can and do hatch before the leaves appear on the Elms and then move into the male and female seeds/flowers which appear sooner than the leaves. Then, they move to the leaves and can be spotted from below simply by looking up and seeing their outline highlighted from the light above the leaves.

Back in my teenage years, I actually found w-album pupae before ever seeing any other stages of this insect. Too skint to afford a camera, I did careful drawings showing how their larvae carefully select nooks and crannies in the twigs and bark to pupate with less chance of being found by avian predators. I still have those drawings somewhere.

The snow in the garden here has quickly disappeared and today I was able to positive identify the first Butterfly of Spring. Last month I did see a dark butterfly flash by the Kitchen window so fast I could not positively ID it. This Peacock today was much more cooperative and opened its wings nicely for this shot :~

[Padfield]

Thank you Trevor.

You have a chance of seeing large tortoiseshells in August, but this is not a period when you can be confident of success. Most individuals at suitable breeding sites will be in hibernation by then and only random wanderers will still be abroad. I see more in July than August, but even then it is a tiny fraction of the number I see in March and April. Large tortoiseshell season is the spring.

David, those cats were conspicuous because the high branches where the eggs had been laid were brought low by the tree splitting and collapsing. That said, I have seen eggs laid on other trees just a metre or so from the ground, so they are not always canopy cats.

I’ve never heard of w-album laying on blackthorn, CC. Very interesting - especially as the caterpillar thrived on its exotic diet.

I was in Suffolk from Friday last week until today, when I am back in Switzerland, following the sudden and unexpected death of my mother. I will see out the end of term next week before returning to Suffolk again for Easter and the funeral. My diary might be a bit thin over the next few weeks, as I am sure the Swiss watchers among you will understand. If there is sun this weekend, though, Minnie and I will take solace among the butterflies.

Guy

[trevor]

Sorry to read of your loss.

Best wishes,
Trevor.

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Guy
I too am very sorry to hear your sad news. I hope there'll be daffodils and butterflies for her send-off.
BWs, Neil

[Wurzel]

So sorry to hear of your loss Guy.
Best wishes

Wurzel

[Kip]

Hi Guy,
Just read this, sorry to hear your sad news, hope you're OK,
Paul

[David M]

My heart goes out to you, Guy.

Sincerest condolences.

I wish you all the best during these forthcoming days.

Best wishes.

David

[Roger Gibbons]

Hello Guy,

Sincere condolences from Ann and I.

Kind regards,
Roger

[Andrew555]

I'm very sorry for your loss Guy.

Andrew

[essexbuzzard]

Sincere condolences from me too.

We are all thinking of you. We hope this brings you and your family some comfort.

Mark (EB).

[Neil Freeman]

My condolences also Guy.

Neil.

[Padfield]

Thank you all for your kind messages of condolence, on this page and by PM. I appreciate them very much.

It was a great blessing to have had two parents for so long. My mother was walking in Rendlesham forest the day before she died and looking foward to the spring. That is a blessing too.

I picked up Minnie this morning and headed east along the Rhône Valley. I wasn't sure where we would go but in the end decided to continue into Italy to look for nettle tree butterflies. Usually I set off early for this site but today I couldn't, and didn't arrive until shortly before 13h00, after a hefty uphill cycle ride (seeing a few brimstones and small tortoiseshells on the way). It was still wintry there, though the sun shone all day, and only hibernators were on the wing. Commonest overall were the large tortoiseshells, but very locally nettle tree butterflies came a close second. I saw probably a dozen - maybe more - all flitting around the tops of tall nettle trees on the sunny side of the path. This made them almost impossible to photograph. This rather awful shot was taken directly into the sun:



The only individual that came down lower was this one, glimpsed through brambles before he zoomed off to spin around the canopy again:



I was very surprised to see no green hairstreaks or coppers - familiar early species at this site. Nor were there any orange tips or whites on the wing. It must be all just about to happen.

We cycled down to the valley, then up to another, nearby site, where lots of large tortoiseshells but nothing else were on the wing. Here is one, posing on some human-made structure:



The sun, the exercise, Minnie's company and these few but lovely butterflies were just what I needed.

Guy

[bugboy]

Very sorry for your loss Guy. You can always count on nature to help us through these tough times.

[trevor]

Once again, incredible !.

[Padfield]

Thank you for your condolences, Buggy.

Guy