Early in the month I waved goodbye to the thorougly entertaining and allways dependable Orange Tips. They retired a little early this year,however they did very well, and did not seem to be so affected by the cold wet summer of 07.
Small Blue on the 4th and 19th....a very small and precarious colony on the coastal cliffs, when you consider the biting east coast wind, and lower than average temperatures we have had of late...especially on the east side of the UK..they have done incredibly well to survive. 4th June .....1 Clouded Yellow, flying so fast and strong I no chance for a photo.....I am not surprised at all that is was not for stopping, weather as it is. 1 Wall Brown on 4th ,I am sure they are common somewhere....but thats not here. No Painted Lady so far......usually they arrive between the 1st and 14th according to my records, its the 22nd now......maybe things will pick up later. A handfull of Red Admiral, low numbers compared to previous.
No Large Skippers yet...last year 17th June. GVW,Small ,Large White..small numbers. Small Heath, in the right places are very numerous......a good year for them. Peacock and Small Torts are still in pillar stages...there is still the odd straggler...with one wing and half an antennae.Small Copper numbers are ,compared to last year ,very good, lots of territories. It just fantastic to watch these little thugs harrasing everything in sight.
No Common Blues on the usuall sights.......I have no idea what the problem is here. Yesterday and 20th Ringlet and Meadow Brown, bang on time, small numbers, but it is very early doors. Last night we had 1inch of rain and a howling gale...temp is somewhere around what you would expect in the middle of November...........dreaming of better days.
Cheers IAC
