ernie f
Re: ernie f
Terrific shots of the Painted Lady Ernie, I like your Brostreaks as well.
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Re: ernie f
Thanks, Andrew. That Painted Lady was very accommodating - but I guess that is their nature! 
And as for Brostreaks...
Noar Hill - 27th July 2018, 8.00 am to 9.30 am
I did not get as far as the reserve proper today. I got as far as the first gate and just stood watching the Brown Hairstreak Master Beech. At one point there were four males in flight on the tree all at once. I wondered if any might come down (as you do), particularly I wondered if they would come to the ground. I saw a butterfly out of the corner of my eye. It landed! But it was a tatty old Ringlet. Then another came down. It was a Speckled Wood. Then a Silver-Washed Frit came to the ground, followed quickly by a Red Admiral, then two Meadow Browns landed. Everything was coming down to the ground – except those pesky Brostreaks!
A Vapourer Moth flew by, and then a Holly Blue, Small White and Gatekeeper. I contented myself with the antics of the male Brostreaks on the tree for a while when suddenly a female Brostreak landed right next to me on a low shrub and in plain view. She was absolutely spotless, straight out of the showroom and the sun was just at a perfect angle. I got some closed-wing shots and then she started to open her wings. Wow, the upper-side colours were just as vibrant as the underside in the sunlight.
Then she started to flit. I thought that was it for me as far as close-up shots were concerned but no, she flitted down to the ground and stayed there for at least 5 minutes allowing me to get as close as I dared for pics.
Eventually she did push off and I didn’t see her again. I was well chuffed but things had not yet finished. One of the males came down off the Beech tree to the precise spot she had vacated a moment before and zig-zagged back and forth no more than an inch above the ground almost as if he had been attracted by her scent where she landed. It may have been that as she was licking salts from the ground, she was also scenting the vicinity under the tree. The male quickly realised she was no longer there and zipped back up to the tree again.
10 minutes of Brostreak bliss!
And as for Brostreaks...
Noar Hill - 27th July 2018, 8.00 am to 9.30 am
I did not get as far as the reserve proper today. I got as far as the first gate and just stood watching the Brown Hairstreak Master Beech. At one point there were four males in flight on the tree all at once. I wondered if any might come down (as you do), particularly I wondered if they would come to the ground. I saw a butterfly out of the corner of my eye. It landed! But it was a tatty old Ringlet. Then another came down. It was a Speckled Wood. Then a Silver-Washed Frit came to the ground, followed quickly by a Red Admiral, then two Meadow Browns landed. Everything was coming down to the ground – except those pesky Brostreaks!
10 minutes of Brostreak bliss!
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Fantastic Brostreaks Ernie 
Open wings might be a premium this year with this heat as I can't see any of the the butterflies needing to bask 
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Open wings might be a premium this year with this heat as I can't see any of the the butterflies needing to bask Have a goodun
Wurzel
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Re: ernie f
Thanks, Wurzel. I think you might be right. However there is a brief temperature dip over the next few days so maybe we will get lucky.
Cheers
Cheers
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Noar Hill - 28th July 2018
Well we finally had a thunderstorm in the night after many weeks of dry days. It was bright by 8 am although a cool 13 degrees and it was very breezy. It was the breeze rather than the temperature I think that was stopping it being a hairstreaky day. I saw one male Brostreak flitting about on the Master Beech but only the once. I was beside this Beech twice, once outgoing at 8.30 am and again on my return around 10 am when the temperature had by then increased to 17 degrees. In the meantime I had persevered across most of the reserve but no others came out. Instead it turned out to be a Common Blue day. There were quite a few but I only really saw them when I flushed them from cover as I walked by.
I saw one female with whitish patches on the upper-sides of her wings. There was no symmetry to these patches. She did not appear to be old so I do not think it was a fade-out due to her longevity. I checked the list of ab’s and it was not amongst them. It was probably just some kind of scale deformity but it was quite distinctive in the field – more so than is apparent in the pictures I managed to get of her.
Non-butterfly Snapshots of the day
The Noar Hill fruits are starting to show now. What's your tipple, Gin or Cider?
But its better to stay clear of this one.
The Noar Hill fruits are starting to show now. What's your tipple, Gin or Cider?
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
In answer to your question Ernie, and a very important question it is, both 
Those irregular white or pale patches are often put down as ‘pathological’ Ernie
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Those irregular white or pale patches are often put down as ‘pathological’ Ernie Have a goodun
Wurzel
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Re: ernie f
It seems a reasonable all-encompassing catchment category for the effect. Thanks Wurzel.
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Summary of forum entries on the wing-roll topic as of 29th July 2018
Its a wet day all day today so I thought I would trawl through the entries people have made regarding the wing roll behaviour of the Lycaenidae family and create a summary to date. I wish to keep this summary as short as possible while maximising the ability for people to comment, debate points, add more observations and thoughts and conclusions over time, so everything here is by numbered list. Please feel free to make a comment or addition on any of the sections below:
1. Name of a species that you see wing-rolling
2. Field obserations of the activity
3. Specific ideas as to its purpose
4. General thoughts on wing-rolling
This summary is copied to both my own PD and the general topic section called: Wing-roll behaviour of some members of the Lycaenidae family
Please add your comments and additions under the general topic so it keeps things neat and in one place. Thanks.
1. Wing-rolling Species list
I have not seen all these species do it but others on this forum have reported they have.
1.1 UK
1. Small Blue
2. Large Blue
3. Holly Blue
4. Common Blue
5. Adonis Blue
6. Chalkhill Blue
7. Brown Argus
8. Northern Brown Argus
9. Purple Hairstreak
10. Green Hairstreak
11. White-letter Hairstreak
12. Brown Hairstreak
13. Small Copper
1.2 Elsewhere
1. Common Posy
2. Blue-spot Hairstreak
3. Ilex Hairstreak (both species)
4. Long-tailed Blue
5. Lang's Bronze
6. Geranium Bronze
7. Sooty Copper
8. Dusky Large Blue
2. Observations
1. Some species do it only with wings closed (eg Green Hairstreak), others with wings open or closed or even ajar (eg Silver-studded Blue). I have seen a single individual SSB do a wing roll with wings closed then moving to do it with wings open.
2. Some species who have tails are known to wing-roll (eg White-letter Hairstreak), others without tails also wing-roll (eg Small Blue).
3. Both males and females do it.
4. Whilst wing-rolling can occur while the butterfly is doing something else such as nectaring they also do it when they apparently are doing nothing but perching.
5. They will do it while perched on something or simply standing on the ground.
6. I have not seen them do it while roosting, egglaying or mating.
7. Butterflies of all ages do it. I have seen a newly emerged SSB and a faded old SSB do a wing-roll.
8. The frequency of wing-rolling can be slow (almost leisurely) or fast (with some vigour).
9. They are more likely to wing-roll when first perching after flight (but they can and do perform it at other times).
10. I saw one SSB do a wing roll for 40 seconds and then he stopped for at least 5 minutes. In that I time I did not approach and I could see no other external “cause”. Of course that does not mean there was not one.
11. They wing-roll in sun or when it is overcast.
12. Sometimes the wings open slightly at the apex of the roll.
13. The front wings of SSBs can part as well as the rear ones when wing-rolling but they keep the rest of their body as still as possible.
3. Ideas (Open Brainstorm – no analysis, other than to arrange into groups of similar ideas)
1. Predator distraction/redirection/audible or visual warning (not just birds, but dragonflies, lizards, mantids, spiders, etc)
2. Agitation
3. Wing flexing/Improving agility in flight
4. Itching/preening/cleaning/scale alignment/scale roughening/parasite removal
5. Keeping balance
6. Greeting/mate attraction/ant (or other symbiote) attraction
7. Enjoyment/pleasure
4. Thoughts of forum members (Open Brainstorm - no debate)
1. Perhaps all butterflies with tails in this family also wing-rolled but some evolved to lose their tails.
2. Perhaps there are two evolutionary tracks, one developing tails, the other developing wing-rolls and some developed both.
3. When and for how long and what frequency wing-rolling is performed could be dependedent on how “safe” a butterfly thinks it is – how much risk it is under.
4. When and for how long and what frequency wing-rolling is performed could be dependedent on how much or how little energy it has at the time.
5. There appears to be less wing-rolling going on when there are more individuals in a given area, perhaps wing-rolling activity decreases as population density increases. Safety in numbers may be a factor which regulates the activity.
6. Keeping still might be a better predator evasion technique than moving wings.
I have purposefully not got a section on debate yet as I feel I am still in an information-capture stage.
Best Regards to you all,
Its a wet day all day today so I thought I would trawl through the entries people have made regarding the wing roll behaviour of the Lycaenidae family and create a summary to date. I wish to keep this summary as short as possible while maximising the ability for people to comment, debate points, add more observations and thoughts and conclusions over time, so everything here is by numbered list. Please feel free to make a comment or addition on any of the sections below:
1. Name of a species that you see wing-rolling
2. Field obserations of the activity
3. Specific ideas as to its purpose
4. General thoughts on wing-rolling
This summary is copied to both my own PD and the general topic section called: Wing-roll behaviour of some members of the Lycaenidae family
Please add your comments and additions under the general topic so it keeps things neat and in one place. Thanks.
1. Wing-rolling Species list
I have not seen all these species do it but others on this forum have reported they have.
1.1 UK
1. Small Blue
2. Large Blue
3. Holly Blue
4. Common Blue
5. Adonis Blue
6. Chalkhill Blue
7. Brown Argus
8. Northern Brown Argus
9. Purple Hairstreak
10. Green Hairstreak
11. White-letter Hairstreak
12. Brown Hairstreak
13. Small Copper
1.2 Elsewhere
1. Common Posy
2. Blue-spot Hairstreak
3. Ilex Hairstreak (both species)
4. Long-tailed Blue
5. Lang's Bronze
6. Geranium Bronze
7. Sooty Copper
8. Dusky Large Blue
2. Observations
1. Some species do it only with wings closed (eg Green Hairstreak), others with wings open or closed or even ajar (eg Silver-studded Blue). I have seen a single individual SSB do a wing roll with wings closed then moving to do it with wings open.
2. Some species who have tails are known to wing-roll (eg White-letter Hairstreak), others without tails also wing-roll (eg Small Blue).
3. Both males and females do it.
4. Whilst wing-rolling can occur while the butterfly is doing something else such as nectaring they also do it when they apparently are doing nothing but perching.
5. They will do it while perched on something or simply standing on the ground.
6. I have not seen them do it while roosting, egglaying or mating.
7. Butterflies of all ages do it. I have seen a newly emerged SSB and a faded old SSB do a wing-roll.
8. The frequency of wing-rolling can be slow (almost leisurely) or fast (with some vigour).
9. They are more likely to wing-roll when first perching after flight (but they can and do perform it at other times).
10. I saw one SSB do a wing roll for 40 seconds and then he stopped for at least 5 minutes. In that I time I did not approach and I could see no other external “cause”. Of course that does not mean there was not one.
11. They wing-roll in sun or when it is overcast.
12. Sometimes the wings open slightly at the apex of the roll.
13. The front wings of SSBs can part as well as the rear ones when wing-rolling but they keep the rest of their body as still as possible.
3. Ideas (Open Brainstorm – no analysis, other than to arrange into groups of similar ideas)
1. Predator distraction/redirection/audible or visual warning (not just birds, but dragonflies, lizards, mantids, spiders, etc)
2. Agitation
3. Wing flexing/Improving agility in flight
4. Itching/preening/cleaning/scale alignment/scale roughening/parasite removal
5. Keeping balance
6. Greeting/mate attraction/ant (or other symbiote) attraction
7. Enjoyment/pleasure
4. Thoughts of forum members (Open Brainstorm - no debate)
1. Perhaps all butterflies with tails in this family also wing-rolled but some evolved to lose their tails.
2. Perhaps there are two evolutionary tracks, one developing tails, the other developing wing-rolls and some developed both.
3. When and for how long and what frequency wing-rolling is performed could be dependedent on how “safe” a butterfly thinks it is – how much risk it is under.
4. When and for how long and what frequency wing-rolling is performed could be dependedent on how much or how little energy it has at the time.
5. There appears to be less wing-rolling going on when there are more individuals in a given area, perhaps wing-rolling activity decreases as population density increases. Safety in numbers may be a factor which regulates the activity.
6. Keeping still might be a better predator evasion technique than moving wings.
I have purposefully not got a section on debate yet as I feel I am still in an information-capture stage.
Best Regards to you all,
Diary entries for 2018 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Longmoor - 31st July 2018
Here for the second time this year for the Grayling and this time I was successful. I counted 8 in total of which 6 were in a group around the trees growing out of the Bronze-Age burial barrow.
Six in one place is good because I could see the inter-actions between them. The males were doing quite a bit of sparring, three were at it all at once, but I saw no courting or mating here this time as I have spoken of on a previous occasion.
This is the first year I have seen Grayling perch on tree trunks. I first saw it at Folly Hill recently, but here at Longmoor they were doing it all the time. In fact it was what appeared to be their favourite type of perch point. When on the ground, you can walk up to be within about a foot of them, then they spook and fly off, but somehow they may believe they are safer on the trees because I was able to get within a couple of inches of them. Indeed in these circumsances they would let me get as close as I liked with my camera.
The downside of today was that one of the other Grayling communities that has been here in recent years seems to have died out. Only as recently as 4th Aug 2015 I counted 14 in total at Longmoor because of this extra group and a couple of extra singletons. On the same transect today on the 31st July 2018, the numbers are almost half of that.
Also saw 6 Common Blue which is odd because I have never seen them here before, plus 2 Speckled Wood, 1 Red Ad, 1 Silver-Y and loads of Gatekeeper.
Non-butterfly Snapshot of the day.
I have only ever seen the Bog Bush Cricket once in my life and it was here at Longmoor a few years back.
- The "Irish Harp" Tree
- Bronze Age barrow
This is the first year I have seen Grayling perch on tree trunks. I first saw it at Folly Hill recently, but here at Longmoor they were doing it all the time. In fact it was what appeared to be their favourite type of perch point. When on the ground, you can walk up to be within about a foot of them, then they spook and fly off, but somehow they may believe they are safer on the trees because I was able to get within a couple of inches of them. Indeed in these circumsances they would let me get as close as I liked with my camera.
Also saw 6 Common Blue which is odd because I have never seen them here before, plus 2 Speckled Wood, 1 Red Ad, 1 Silver-Y and loads of Gatekeeper.
Non-butterfly Snapshot of the day.
I have only ever seen the Bog Bush Cricket once in my life and it was here at Longmoor a few years back.
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Perhaps they were on the trees because the ground was boiling hot (I've heard reports of dogs getting burnt feet over the last week or two) and that could explain why they were easier to approach, they were cooler? Just a thought...Great set of shots either way, it's nice to see the whole butterfly without grass, gorse or other plant material in view
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Have a goodun
Wurzel
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Re: ernie f
Interesting idea Wurzel. It would certainly explain why so many are up in the trees. I think I have counted 6 doing this now this year.
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Noar Hill - 1st Aug 2018
Back to being hot again (around 24 degrees) and the butterflies were enjoying it because it was not 31 degrees! I must say I agree with them.
I spent three hours here today, my bout of heat-stroke well and truly over now. My count of Brostreaks increased. I saw 12 today, double my previous daily record (set in 2016). 4 were on the beech tree (seen already recently), 6 were in the triangle (one seen near here recently) and two were in the top pit (new location for me). If I work it out that means I have now seen 14 individuals here so far this year and that figure doubles my annual record count of 7 (set in 2017).
Not only that but I met Nick a couple of days ago and he said he saw another two on the Ash trees beside the Scrape, so there are certainly more than this flying at Noar Hill at the moment.
Four of the ones I saw today came down to nectar on the Hemp Agrimony. One in the top pit and three in the Triangle. At one point I had two nectaring within my field of view at the same time and while I was taking their pictures, a Holly Blue came down to within about a metre of one of them and a Silver Washed Frit landed to within a few inches of me. I almost didn’t know where to point my camera (well I did really – the Brostreak, but you know what I mean).
The numbers of individual butterflies and number of species has increased in recent days. There are now so many S&L&GV Whites no matter where I was on the reserve there was always at least one nearby.
There were still a lot of Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper but only one Ringlet. There were 5 Red Ads, 3 Painted Ladies, 3 Comma, 4 Speckled Wood, 2 Holly Blue, 1 Peacock and 1 old, tatty Large Skipper still hanging on.
Common Blues were in profusion, but only 2 Small Heath. Also plentiful Silver-Y and Mint moth.
There were also rather a lot of Silver-washed Frits and some of them were reasonably fresh-looking. One pair were doing a courtship spiral flight.
Given all this was going on I was actually surprised I did not see any Clouded Yellows as they are a regular visitor to Noar Hill at this time of year.
Non-butterfly Snapshot of the day
Even though the relentless sun has beaten down on this reserve for some weeks parts are still a riot of colour from the variety of plants flowering now. I particularly like the Campanulas (e.g. Clustered Bellflower, Harebell and Nettle-leaved Bellflower).
I spent three hours here today, my bout of heat-stroke well and truly over now. My count of Brostreaks increased. I saw 12 today, double my previous daily record (set in 2016). 4 were on the beech tree (seen already recently), 6 were in the triangle (one seen near here recently) and two were in the top pit (new location for me). If I work it out that means I have now seen 14 individuals here so far this year and that figure doubles my annual record count of 7 (set in 2017).
Not only that but I met Nick a couple of days ago and he said he saw another two on the Ash trees beside the Scrape, so there are certainly more than this flying at Noar Hill at the moment.
Four of the ones I saw today came down to nectar on the Hemp Agrimony. One in the top pit and three in the Triangle. At one point I had two nectaring within my field of view at the same time and while I was taking their pictures, a Holly Blue came down to within about a metre of one of them and a Silver Washed Frit landed to within a few inches of me. I almost didn’t know where to point my camera (well I did really – the Brostreak, but you know what I mean).
- In flight
- Up close and personal
There were also rather a lot of Silver-washed Frits and some of them were reasonably fresh-looking. One pair were doing a courtship spiral flight.
Given all this was going on I was actually surprised I did not see any Clouded Yellows as they are a regular visitor to Noar Hill at this time of year.
Non-butterfly Snapshot of the day
Even though the relentless sun has beaten down on this reserve for some weeks parts are still a riot of colour from the variety of plants flowering now. I particularly like the Campanulas (e.g. Clustered Bellflower, Harebell and Nettle-leaved Bellflower).
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Cracking Brostreaks Ernie At this time of year when it comes to choosing which species to focus on always go for the Brostreak 
A Large Skipper still hanging on in there
fair play to the old timer he's giving hope to many
Have a goodun
Wurzel
At this time of year when it comes to choosing which species to focus on always go for the Brostreak A Large Skipper still hanging on in there
fair play to the old timer he's giving hope to many Have a goodun
Wurzel
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Re: ernie f
You are having a great time with the Brown Hairstreak, Ernie. .
Great images too. So far they are playing hard to get for me.
When I do find one, I will have photographed every UK Hairstreak
species, and all of them in Sussex !.
All the best,
Trevor.
.Great images too. So far they are playing hard to get for me.
When I do find one, I will have photographed every UK Hairstreak
species, and all of them in Sussex !.
All the best,
Trevor.
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Re: ernie f
Wurzel - Thanks. Yep its Brostreak every time when deciding what pic to take - you get so little opportunity to see them down low for such a long while. I have come across an odd "rule-of-thumb" when it comes to retaining butterfly pictures. For me at least. The number of pics I have of a butterfly species is inversely proportional to its rarity. I have only a few pics of the Large White but loads and loads of the Brown Hairstreak!!! I think it must have something to do with making the most of the opportunity of picture taking when it arrives by taking loads of shots and then back home, being very reluctant to get rid of any - even if the images are almost identical!
Trevor - Hope you get a decent pic of one this year to "complete the set" of Hairstreaks in Sussex. Its not something I can do in Hampshire (unless someone finds a Black Hairstreak colony here too).
Best Regards,
Trevor - Hope you get a decent pic of one this year to "complete the set" of Hairstreaks in Sussex. Its not something I can do in Hampshire (unless someone finds a Black Hairstreak colony here too).
Best Regards,
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Wurzel - or is it proportional to its rarity?!? I may have built-in a double negative in my choice of words. Never mind - you catch my drift I hope.
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Old Winchester Hill - 2nd Aug 2018
If I had to choose the best month to visit Old Winchester Hill it would have to be August and today was one of those amazing days. Firstly the Chalkhill Blues are out at peak around now. There must have been over 1,500 of them - the hillside shimmered blue. There were also quite a few females, eight of which I saw mating in the 2 hours I was there. As usual when it gets to this stage, the males fight over females whether or not they are already mating.
I was wondering if I was perhaps a bit early for Silver-spotted Skippers but no, I found two and one posed for a picture probably because he was otherwise engaged in supping from dung. This was my first of the year.
At the bottom of the hill, Chalkhill Blues gave way to Common Blues to some extent and while many were full-size, a great number were miniscule, half the size of the Chalkhill Blues and pretty much the size of a Small Blue, both mini male and mini females were seen. You can’t really tell from the pictures below as there is no reference point to judge but these were mini ones.
Then came the Clouded Yellows, three in total, 2 standard and 1 “helice”. It was the helice I saw first and got the pic of. The standard ones just would not stay still. When it flew, I could see the upper-sides of the helice wings, a light creamy yellow, almost white - but with two very noticeable orange patches on its hind-wings. I don’t know which type I prefer, they are both beautiful in their own way. Again my first spot of this species this year.
I came across a pair of butterfly wings, I presume Chalkhill Blue, just laying beside the path. I have heard that dragonflies chew off the wings of butterflies before flying off with the body. Could this be the remnant of such a dastardly deed?
Also seen today were Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood, S&L White, Brimstone, Red Ad, Painted Lady, Brown Argus and Small Heath. However no Adonis Blues as yet.
To round off a wonderful morning, a Hummingbird Hawkmoth visited a number of Dwarf Thistles right beside the path and I managed to get a rare, half-decent photo of it (rare for me that is).
Since this is my first spot of the year for both Silver-spotted Skippers AND Clouded Yellows, as usual I shall post some recent past pics.
... and past helice shots.
Non-butterfly Snapshot of the day
Late Summer flowers in the south downs around here means the “big three”: that is the Carline Thistle, the Autumn Gentian and the Autumn Ladies Tresses. This site has all three in profusion but only the former of these was blooming at present. The other two cannot be too far behind now, maybe a couple of weeks or so.
- Mating face-to-face
- Mating back-to-back
- Mating face-to-back
- Mating wings-open
- 2nd male pushing in on mating pair
- Ditto
To round off a wonderful morning, a Hummingbird Hawkmoth visited a number of Dwarf Thistles right beside the path and I managed to get a rare, half-decent photo of it (rare for me that is).
Late Summer flowers in the south downs around here means the “big three”: that is the Carline Thistle, the Autumn Gentian and the Autumn Ladies Tresses. This site has all three in profusion but only the former of these was blooming at present. The other two cannot be too far behind now, maybe a couple of weeks or so.
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Cracking stuff Ernie especially the Helice, I've still not seen one of those! I've not seen butterflies int hat position when mating before, they invariably 'back up' to one another, to be honest I didn't know where to look 
Have a goodun
Wurzel
I've not seen butterflies int hat position when mating before, they invariably 'back up' to one another, to be honest I didn't know where to look Have a goodun
Wurzel
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Re: ernie f
Wurzel - I have only seen the helice twice, last year and this - both times in exactly the same spot and at around the same time of year. Quite a coincidence.
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Ernie F
Re: ernie f
Fantastic shots ernie, you've got just what I was looking for the SSS and missed, also I've never seen a Brown HS yet and your open wing shots are great Goldie
you've got just what I was looking for the SSS and missed, also I've never seen a Brown HS yet and your open wing shots are great Goldie Diary entries for 2018 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.