ernie f

[David M]

That truly is a 'weird' sky, Ernie. I thought you'd manipulated the image at first!

Nice array of moths, some of which are species I rarely see. No doubt you're champing at the bit for a butterfly fix this weekend?

[Wurzel]

More great stuff Ernie Especially like the Clouded Buff, they can be a right bugger to get a shot of free from errant glass blades I hope Asterix or any other Gauls weren't around when you took that cloud shot, that's their biggest fear

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Andrew555]

Beautiful selection of moths Ernie.

[ernie f]

CallumMac, Neil, David, Wurzel and Andrew

Thanks one and all for your kind comments on my moths, and for confirming ID on the one I was unsure about.

Wurzel

I have read a few Asterix books when I was younger (but surprisingly not that younger than I am now) and I don't remember about the cloud. I'll have to search it out.

Cheers

[Wurzel]

Their only fear was the sky falling on their heads and that's what that weird sky looked like to me

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[ernie f]

Site Visit: Noar Hill - 3rd May 2018

I arrived around 9.30 am and for the first thirty minutes I did not see a single butterfly. The bird life was very fine though. The Whitethroats were in song again and appear to be favouring a patch in the centre of the reserve. Perhaps they are nesting there. Also Chiffchaff, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Red Kite, Linnet, Yellowhammer and Blackcap as well as a Song Thrush that I could not see which was singing away in a tree close by. Skylarks were singing in the sky. What appeared to be a Tree Pipit appeared to have nest material in its beak as it landed on a hedge-top but he did not stay around long enough for a proper identification (nor a pic).

At around 10 am it started to warm up. I met Hazel who had seen a Duke in the centre pit but it had flown off. We looked around for awhile without success. Then Mike came on the seen and spotted it again. Here it is sitting on a Cowslip.

Duke on a Cowslip

While there, Pauline was in the pit next-door also looking at a Duke. Pauline eventually came around to our pit and a little later we saw three in the air all at once. A freshly emerged female was being pursued by a male. They fluttered a while in the air and then landed together on a leaf. This is the point where we all started taking pictures of course - in eager anticipation of what might come next! If you have read Pauline's post today, what follows are my observations of the same event that she recorded so well.

One flapped its wings (I guess the male) and then crept up to her from behind giving her a little nudge and then he curled his abdomen underneath him, searching for its “target”. Other courtship pics are on Pauline's pages.

Searching for the target

They made contact but he was still facing her rear end! He started to move round bit by bit until finally they were back to back.

Starting to turn round

Now turned through 90 degrees

Finally back-to-back

A bit closer

They stayed like that for 36 minutes (by Pauline’s watch). In the mean-time Alan came along just in time. We discussed why no-one ever saw them open their wings while mating. A few minutes later the male dropped his wings down a little while still in contact - just to prove us wrong.

Male lowering wings while mating

Then he laid them completely flat against the leaf and proceeded to disconnect from her.

Male with wings open but now disconnected

He stayed there for a few seconds with his wings down to gain energy from the sun and then flew off leaving the female resting on the leaf.

What a fantastic thing to see.

Also Pauline who as you know is an expert on the early stages of the butterfly life-cycle was kind enough to show me a couple of vacated Brown Hairstreak eggs. I took a pic which did not seem to be a very good one on the camera screen but as it turned out when on the computer it wasn’t too bad after all. Can you spot them? You may have to enlarge the pic.

Brown Hairstreak eggs

Non-butterfly snapshot of the day

Around the same time as the Dukes were mating, the Whitethroats were getting a bit frisky too. There is a dense area of shrub backed by trees along the pit ridge that they seem to like a lot. Here is the male who was flitting along the tops of the trees and shrubs, stopping to sing awhile - declaring his territory. There was another hiding away in the shrubs, likely his female partner. He did not know there was a tasty meal right behind him in the shape of a St Mark's Fly!

Whitethroat with St Mark's Fly

[Pauline]

You're embarrassing me Ern A much better, fuller description of events than the one I quickly rattled off Great sequence of shots too! (even if you did have to get to within 2mm ). Smashing morning tho wasn't it with perfect weather and great company not to mention the butterflies

[bugboy]

that really was a freaky looking sky! Great sequence of shots of the mating Dukes too. That's still one I have to get, Dukes in cop

[Wurzel]

Absolutely cracking stuff Ernie , and there's me stuck in work

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[ernie f]

Site Visit: Kingsley - 4th May 2018

Part I: Kingsley Common

Two male Large Whites having a fight in flight. Two male Holly Blues arguing over the best position on a prime, mature, fruiting Holly. Two male and one female Orange Tip and one female Specked Wood.

It has to be said this location should be better than this at this time of year but it was OK today.

Part II: Kingsley Old Churchyard

Two male Holly Blues on the yews. One repeatedly came down to the Bluebells. He was a bit tatty but seeing a Holly Blue on a Bluebell has to be good.

One female Brimstone also enjoying a Bluebell.

A Green-veined White also visited a Bluebell fleetingly but I could not get a picture.

Then an Orange Tip did the same.

A male Speckled Wood also visited the churchyard.

And three Green Hairstreaks, I presume all males because at one point there was a 3-way jousting match going on between them. They too liked to come down onto the Bluebells.

I mentioned in a previous post my observations regarding some of the members of the Lycaenidae that perform a behaviour of wing-rolling. I have in the past seen the following do the wing-roll: Small Blue, Purple Hairstreak, Holly Blue, Common Blue, Adonis Blue and only once, a Chalkhill Blue. I have now as of today also seen a Green Hairstreak do it but it moved its hindwings in a circular motion while holding is forewings still. All the others moved their forewings.

Green Hairstreak wing roll step 1

Green Hairstreak wing roll step 2

These were my first Green Hairstreaks of the year and so this as usual gives me the excuse to include here some pics from the past and some survey data.

As you know the Green Hairstreak always rests with its wings firmly shut showing the bright green off to its fullest. It is a nondescript brown on top which can only be seen in flight. This pic is a video still shot.

Upper-side of a Green Hairstreak in flight

They never seem to fly very high, anywhere from ground level to just above head height is usual in my experience, but when they stop, the green of the wing acts as perfect camouflage against the background of green leaves so even if I am right in front of one, I often won't see it until it moves.

I have seen them land on sand at Broxhead, presumably warming up on it to recharge their energy before zooming off once more. And zooming is what they do best.

Often is the time I am aware a Green Hairstreak has just sped past me because it looks like a coppery-green leaf blowing laterally in a strong breeze rather than a more typical butterfly flutter.

On Sand at Broxhead

On a tree at Beacon Hill

On a shrub at Noar Hill

I have found they tend to stick to one area. At Noar Hill I once watched three Green Hairstreaks for ages all flitting around a single juniper bush in the centre of the reserve. One seemed to leave, but all he did was circle around the back of the bush, only to appear again on the other side! The same happened at St Catherine's Hill on a bush there. Its like a scaled-down version of a Brown Hairstreak master tree, a master shrub in fact.

When a male meets a virgin female there appears to be no lengthy courting ritual. One gives a brief wing flutter revealing the brown upper sides of its wings momentarily and copulation begins immediately back to back, both with wings firmly up. Its probably the male that gives the wing-flutter in order to waft scent in her direction but I do not know for sure. They do not seem to fly off anywhere but stay on the master shrub to mate. Like most butterflies they remain in this position for at least 30 minutes and can fly joined together if the need arises, say to avoid a predator or an overly-keen butterfly enthusiast.

Green Hairstreaks mating

In the picture of the mated pair above, the individual on the left appears smaller so one might conclude it is the male.

Because the colour is metallic, even this is not always an indicator of gender. The colour and intensity changes with the angle of the wing to the sun. The photo below shows the same mated pair from a different angle. Neither photo has been colour-enhanced; this is a real change in the colour due entirely to the angle the picture was taken.

This picture below seems to show a female perching on all six legs, but it sometimes is not obvious to me as the male sometimes places its front legs down as though perching on them as the one in last picture of the mated pair above seems to have done.

Female standing on all six legs

There follows a survey attached. Beacon Hill comes out best in Hampshire but of course numbers do vary year on year.

2015 Green Hairstreak Survey.xlsx

2015 Green Hairstreak Survey

(5.88 KiB) Downloaded 42 times

Non-butterfly snapshot of the day

One of the oaks along the Oak Ride on Kingsley Common has a trunk which branched into two and then remerged some time later to form a porthole!

The Porthole Oak

[Matsukaze]

I mentioned in a previous post my observations regarding some of the members of the Lycaenidae that perform a behaviour of wing-rolling. I have in the past seen the following do the wing-roll: Small Blue, Purple Hairstreak, Holly Blue, Common Blue, Adonis Blue and only once, a Chalkhill Blue. I have now as of today also seen a Green Hairstreak do it but it moved its hindwings in a circular motion while holding is forewings still. All the others moved their forewings.

Wing-nuggling, as my wife and I call it. I have no idea why they do it, and do not particularly want to find out, as usually it looks to me as though the butterflies are doing it out of sheer pleasure and I would prefer not to have that particular illusion shattered (the exception is the Geranium Bronze where there is something obsessive-compulsive about the movement). To add to your list - Common Blue, Brown Argus and (overseas) Long-tailed Blue and probably others; whilst it's common amongst blues and hairstreaks, I've never seen the behaviour amongst coppers. Amongst British species the Green Hairstreaks are the supreme exponents of the art.

[ernie f]

Matsukaze

Yes, they do appear to enjoy it don't they?

[ernie f]

I made an error.

I said the Green Hairstreaks do a wing-roll with their hindwings while the other species did it with their forewings. This is wrong. The other species wing-roll their hindwings.

[David M]

Breathless stuff, ernie! What a selection of species you've seen there, topped off by the mating pair of Green Hairstreaks.

[Wurzel]

That was a very detailed and interesting report Ernie - I'll look out for wing rolling at bit more now - I've seen it in a few species including Small Copper.The mating Greenstreaks I have an album of Butterflies in cop and that is one that I would love to add to it

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

A very nice compendium of Green Hairstreaks, Ernie. A lovely species. I have often witnessed their "wing-rolling" - the female I encountered the other day indulged in this a lot in between the egg-laying. I'd love to get a good upperside shot, but even with very short exposures and "burst" mode the butterfly moves so fast it's out of shot in an instant and the camera misses it. Glimpses show the upperside to be a rich chocolate brown in new specimens - it would be great to see it properly.

Dave

[ernie f]

David M: Thanks. I was a bit breathless rushing around taking their pics. Its difficult to believe all those in the churchyard were within the space of about 30 minutes! I was very lucky the day I saw the Green Hairstreaks mating and I don't ever expect to witness it again.

Wurzel: Aha! You have seen the wing-roll in the Small Copper have you? I have seen hundreds of Small Coppers in my time but never looked for this because I was not au fait with the antic at the time. I shall keep a sharp eye out for them doing it from now on.

Millerd, Dave: I came across a Green Hairstreak today with one of its wings badly damaged which allowed me to see part of the upper-side of one wing while it was at rest. Unfortunately all the pics I took of this were in silhouette because he chose to sit with his "best" side toward the sun.

[ernie f]

Site Visit: St Catherine’s Hill & Water Meadows - 5th May 2018

Because of the combination of habitats here, this is the location where I have counted more flowering plant species on the same day than anywhere else in Britain and because of this, the butterfly community is varied too. The height of the hill offers great vantages over the countryside in one direction, and the city of Winchester with its notable cathedral in the other.

View from top of St Catherine's Hill

There is a huge Iron Age Hillfort enclosing the crest of the hill, which unusually incorporates a Medieval-style turf-cut miz-maze.

St Cat's Hill from Yew Tree Hill

There is a wooden stairway path leading to the top that I call the “Stairway to Heaven”. Given there used to be a church on the top of this hill I think the name is apt.

The Stairway to Heaven

Summertime species of plants seen in great numbers of note here are Dropwort, Betony, Hounds Tongue and Rock Rose.

Butterflies include Common Blue, Holly Blue, Chalkhill Blue in hundreds, Brown Argus (my day max 14), Brimstone, Green Hairstreak, Orange Tip, Small Tortoiseshell, Clouded Yellow, Peacock, Red Admiral (my day max 28), Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Heath, Large Skipper, Small Skipper and Grizzled Skipper (my day max 10 for the latter), Large, Small, Marbled and Green Veined White.

So I went there today to see if the Grizzled Skippers were out yet. They were not. But did get umpteen Brimstone and another shot of one laying eggs.

Brimstone pretending to be a leaf

Brimstone laying eggs

There were a few Peacock, Large White, Small White (strangely my first this year) and Orange Tip. I got a pic of the Orange Tip egg-laying but it was far too fuzzy a shot to show here. Here is my first Small White of the year instead.

Small White at St Cat's Hill

Also Small Tortoiseshells.

Small Tort from the side

Small Tort backlit

And at least four Green Hairstreaks using a mature Sycamore as a master tree. In a previous post I remarked upon their use of "master" shrubs but now I find they also use master trees too, just like Brown, Purple and White-letter Hairstreaks. I didn't realise this until now - learning all the time

One of the Green Hairstreaks on the master Sycamore

Because I was a little disappointed in not getting my target species I stopped off at the base of Magdalen Hill nearby on my way home. There were even more Brimstone there (I lost count), Large White and Holly Blue and yes, a single Grizzled Skipper!

The only Grizzled Skipper at Mag Hill (so far)

It seems this is another species that is late flying this year. There were five at St Cat's Hill at this time last year and 14 at Rake Bottom at the base of Butser Hill too.

Since this is my first spot of this species this year and I have set a precedent in adding in past shots when this happens - here are a few...

Non-butterfly snapshot of the day

The river that runs through the Water Meadow at the base of St Cat's Hill is the haunt of the somewhat elusive Water Vole, however when you do see one, if you stay quiet and still you may be rewarded with long, close views. I did not see them today but this one I saw from the small bridge across the river near St Cross Abbey to the south of St Cat’s Hill a couple of years back.

Water Vole munching something tasty

[Goldie M]

Ernie, WoW!! I'm catching up on your Butterflies and the mating Dukes are fantastic
then coming back to the Green hair Streaks another WOW! The Grizzle I'm really jealous of Goldie

[David M]

You’re setting a high standard with your landscape shots, ernie, and I particularly like how you add a random non-butterfly image to your posts. A water vole is hard to beat so well done with this.