millerd

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of shots Dave especially the aberrant, really interesting markings Interesting to see the Chalkhill out of place, what with this and my Silver-stud it looks like the warmer weather that we had has gotten the butterflies a bit bamboozled

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thank you, Goldie - it was good to see a Peacock in Yorkshire as they have completely disappeared down here now. Glad you like the Adonis too - there are some more coming up from other sites in a mo.

Cheers, Wurzel - it probably is the heat that has caused the butterflies to wander, but it doesn't half confuse!

On Tuesday 21st August I had offered at short notice to pick up a friend from Heathrow and take her home to Northants when her offspring had let her down. A cool and cloudy morning gave way to an unexpectedly glorious sunny afternoon, and on the way back, I diverted to the more pleasant route down the M40 which of course passes right next to Aston Rowant. I stopped naturaly enough, and spent an hour or so there in the late afternoon sunshine. Most noticeable were the Silver-spotted Skippers, still darting around madly but also seeking out the less-frequent-than-usual scabious flowers.

One of them posed very oddly...

Also very obvious were the male Adonis, of which I saw plenty of examples, mostly getting rather worn now, but not all.

As with Denbies, there were large numbers of small brown females of several blue species, plus good numbers of Brown Argus and Meadow Browns. All very confusing.

Amongst the Argus I found a mating pair, neither of which were particularly fresh.

Dave

[David M]

Things still looking lively round your way, Dave.

I had hoped the warm weather may have led to a greater emergence than has been the case here in south Wales, but not to be, unfortunately.

I particularly like those Brown Argus. I’ve seen precious few in the UK in 2018.

[Wurzel]

Lovely sets of Silver-spots Dave There's a really fresh one hidden in there

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Great to see the Skippers Dave, I managed to miss both this year and last year so it's good to know they're still around Goldie

[millerd]

Cheers, David - I'm sorry things have ground to a halt over your way. My own experience locally is that Brown Argus have done really well this year, with high numbers in both broods so far and new examples still appearing. On some days they have outnumbered the Common Blues.

Cheers, Wurzel - the SSSkippers have been around for five or six weeks now up at Aston Rowant, and as you noticed, there are still one or two fresh females. These attractive ladies are naturally subject to much attention from the remaining rather scruffy males, but mostly they shrug it off as they are egg-laying (having already mated).

Thank you Goldie - they certainly are (and I hear reports of good numbers from Kent as well).

Wednesday 22nd August. The weather promised for today was increasing sunshine and warmth, if not heat, by the end of the afternoon. I picked up Bugboy from Dorking Station and we headed down towards Steyning on a Brown Hairstreak hunt. Still wall-to-wall cloud on arrival and with no sign of a change we made for nearby Mill Hill where there was a good chance the less-picky butterflies would be responding to the brightness and the degree of warmth that came with it.

Initially, we found a number of resting Adonis.

It would have been interesting to have had a lightmeter to hand - at a certain level of brightness, the green slopes were suddenly dotted with brilliant blue dots as the male Adonis Blues opened up in response. To be fair, many were a lttle worn, but there were plenty of relatively new individuals as well.

In some ways the worn ones can be more eye-catching, as they take on a deeper, more electric blue shade with hints of violet and indigo as well as turquoise and royal blue. This must be down to how the scales wear and change with age, as I believe all the colour is down to refraction/diffraction of light, rather than any actual pigmentation.

The conditions were ideal for photography, as the butterflies opened up, were fairly calm and moved around only very slightly. Much harder to spot were the females, but I tracked a few down.

Also seen were a number of Meadow Browns, some of the females being pretty fresh.

In amongst them I spotted a weird assymetrically bleached individual, a male. Examples of this in this species are not unusual, but the degree to which this had happened here certainly was.

One or two Chalkhills remained, all quite worn now.

There were also a few Common Blues and Small Heaths in amongst the Adonis, but I didn't come across any Brown Argus or Small Coppers.

On the non-butterfly side, I found a mint moth sharing a flower with a beautiful hoverfly of a type I had not seen before.

There was also this attractive moth...

...and finally this large male cricket.

There were more Adonis to come, as in the absence still of any actual sunshine, Bugboy and I moved down the road to Anchor Bottom.

Dave

[bugboy]

Those Adonis really did glow in that light didn't they . Your hoverfly is a Sphaerophoria sp. probably S. scripta and your mint moth is actually a close relative called Pyrausta purpuralis. The closest I can get to your other moth is a Wood Carpet Epirrhoe rivata.

[millerd]

Thanks for the IDs, Buggy. Yes, the Adonis really seemed to be internally lit! Oddly enough the cloudy conditions probably enhanced this effect. Glorious butterflies.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Great Adonis Dave, they're a real value for money butterfly in that you can see such a range of blue colour in them as you described I reckon the moth is a Common Carpet E.alternata as it seems to have a wave/line inside the white band

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

It's like a different world round your way compared to mine, Dave.

I wish we had Adonis Blues to lift our spirits with Autumn just round the corner. A few Meadow Browns and Small Heaths wouldn't go amiss either!

[trevor]

it would seem that we have both enjoyed an Adonis fest. in recent days.
Some great shots of the males there. My Wiltshire ones were not so relaxed
as they were beginning to warm up when I arrived.

Looking forward to your Steyning report,

Trevor.

[bugboy]

....

Looking forward to your Steyning report,

Trevor.

Don't hold your breath Trevor...

[millerd]

Thanks for the moth ID, Wurzel - these subtle variations are a bit beyond me I'm afraid. Variations in the colour of the Adonis is about my limit - and whether they have black marginal spots or not.

The season does continue well into Autumn down here in the southeast, David, though there are some marked absentees at the moment. Red Admirals are usually a reliable staple late in the year, but there are hardly any at the moment as the ivy comes into flower for them.

Trevor - see below in a moment...

Wednesday 22nd (continued): On to Anchor Bottom, just a couple of minutes' drive along from the Mill Hill car park. This is a wonderful example of a chalk landscape dry valley, with lovely smooth contours and a slight curve to it. We approached from the top, and initially with the cloud particularly thick we saw nothing at all. I started looking at the flowers, and soon found this...

...which Bugboy identified as Rampion, the county flower of Sussex. It is apparently particularly associated with the South Downs. I also spotted some kidney vetch in the grass but I don't know if Small Blues are found at this location.

Soon things brightened up a bit and Adonis Blues started to appear.

We found an area of low scrub very similar to areas on Mill Hill, and here was a greater concentration of butterflies including more Adonis and numbers of Brown Argus and Meadow Browns. I spotted what at first sight seemed to be a pale Meadow Brown, but the flight was wrong somehow, and when it landed it turned out to be the ghostly vestige of a female Wall.

The whole area was too large to explore properly - a day might be needed to do it justice and walk from top to bottom and back (or vice versa of course) - and we still had hopes of Steyning. Back to the car then, avoiding the large herd of grazing cattle, and with fingers crossed...

Dave

[millerd]

....

Looking forward to your Steyning report,

Trevor.

Don't hold your breath Trevor...

You'll see what Bugboy meant now, Trevor! We made our way the short distance back to Steyning, and set off up the path to the Rifle Range. On the way we saw what could well have been a Brown Hairstreak flying in typically bimbling fashion over a stand of brambles, but it didn't stop and we couldn't be sure. At the hotspot though, we spent a while waiting and searching, but despite constant weather forecasts promising sun at any moment, it remained bright and nothing more and the Hairstreaks failed to appear. It must have been just below their threshold in that respect as it was far from cold. We had to content ourselves with spotting Speckled Woods and searching out eggs instead.

A somewhat frustrating end to the day, though all those magnificent Adonis went a long way to making up for it and the Brown Hairstreak season was by no means over yet.

Dave

[Wurzel]

More cracking Adonis shots Dave There certainly seems to have been a pause in this years Brostreak season after the early start but things are now getting back on track, there are still some fresh females around at Shipton

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel. I was pleased with the Adonis - it was amazing to see so many. There's more hairstreak activity to come as well...

Thursday 23rd August: Time once again to return to my local neck of the woods. At last it was cooler for my gentle stroll around my local patch. Though the mix was generally the same, the butterflies were opening up more, including the Holly Blues. I hadn't seen a male open its wings for months before today! Females could be found egg-laying on the ivy.

I found more Commas than recently, six in all - an odd mix of four old hutchinsoni and two new hibernators.

Brown Argus were still very active...

a very small one

...and in the same area were two relatively fresh Small Coppers...

...and a few Small Heaths. This one managed to fit itself precisely into the depression in the pebble.

Amongst others seen were a new male Small White and a ragged Red Admiral.

Dave

[millerd]

Friday 24th August started with some sunnier weather, so I decided to go down to Steyning again. By the time I had reached the site, the sunshine was a bit patchy, but still better than Wednesday. A small group of fellow Hairstreak hunters arrived soon after I did, and before long had discovered one. Not much later, another appeared, followed immediately by a third and the arrival of Neil Hulme - who had spotted another couple on the way up the lane to the Rifle Range. Good to see you and chat, Neil. None of the individuals I saw was pristine, but were not too worn nonetheless.

I managed to get a "double decker" shot of the two that appeared at the same time, though they looked closer together in real life than on the camera, and I was really on the wrong side for a decent shot.

Today's bit of non-butterfly wildlife was a splendid spider.

It was good to see the Hairstreaks though after Wednesday's blank.

Dave

[bugboy]

a few for those Steyning Hairstreaks!

Also your Small White in the previous post has some very extensive black marking at the wing tip, verging on looking like a Southern Small White...

[trevor]

Pleased that your second trip to Steyning was a success.
The rifle range has performed extreemly well this year.

Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of Brostreak shots Dave I, like Bugboy. was wondering about that Small White, I can't see the little fork in the veins but it is more difficult when looking from the upper side down

Have a goodun

Wurzel