millerd

[millerd]

Thanks, Buggy - the following day was pretty good as well, as I'm sure you remember!

Thank you, Trevor - it is a really good site (as long as the sun is shining of course!).

Cheers, Wurzel. Interesting that you and Bugboy both should wonder about that Small White. If the Southern variety really has established itself in the Low Countries, then surely it can't be long in appearing here. However, checking every Small White I see, just in case, isn't going to be easy. They have been the second most frequent species seen on my local patch this year, after (you guessed it) the Holly Blue.

Saturday 25th August and back to a fairly sunny Bookham again. I was fairly confident Bugboy would be there somewhere, and so it proved. We initially set off in different directions, combing the usual haunts for Brown Hairstreaks, but for the first couple of hours saw none. There were, however, plenty of other things to see and distract the camera lens. New Speckled Woods were frequent, often in the spots a hairstreak might feel at home.

Other new-looking individuals included a Comma, some Small Heaths and a GVW.

Less sparkling and in fewer numbers than recently were Brown Argus, Common Blue and Small Copper.

However, at around 1200 or so, I finally spotted our quarry - a Brown Hairstreak had materialised on the hedgerow.

I think we actually saw no more than two individuals altogether - they kept us busy by moving about and spent time sitting and basking well above head height, making for some less usual shots (see Buggy's diary for some of these).

At one point Bugboy was investigating an egg he'd seen laid, whilst I followed the egg-layer. Just as she settled nicely she was rudely accosted by a male Small Copper, who chased her all over the place. At one point she took a rest in an inaccessible part of the hedge, about ten feet up, and the Copper continued to pester her. Whether he was attracted by the orange colour of her undersides and thought he had found the biggest and best female ever, we shall never know. When she flew again, he took off again in pursuit and unfortunately I didn't see any more. I don't think I've ever seen a Brown Hairstreak interact with anything else, though to be fair, she was a very passive player in this little drama.

Here are a selection of the closer shots achieved.

The final encounter was brief. Having seen our second individual fly over the hedge to the path, we went to see if she had gone far. Having almost given up, I turned round and there she was in front of me, wings open. I had time for a quick shot and then she was away again.

Patience has paid off at Bookham this year in the end!

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of images again Dave Persistence did pay off this season when it came to Brostreaks

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Great shots Dave. Like you say, patience paid off

[trevor]

Love your fresh Speckled Woods in their ' Pullman ' livery,
and that pair of Brown Hairstreaks, they can play hard to get,
but what a prize when you get ' that ' image to take home.

Trevor.

[Andrew555]

Lovely Adonis from Mill Hill and Anchor Bottom Dave. You have a great selection of Brostreaks as well, and a very nice Speckled.

[David M]

I really envy you with those drop-dead gorgeous Adonis, Dave. They must really lift the spirits having them nearby on the cusp of autumn.

Good to see you're still a magnet for Holly Blues too....as well as several other desirable species!

If you spot a Small White that you have question marks over vis-a-vis mannii, get a clear, close-up underside shot. The absence of a fork in the underside forewing apical vein is the definitive characteristic of the latter! See Roger Gibbons' excellent diagnostic:

https://www.butterfliesoffrance.com/htm ... mannii.htm

Good luck!

[millerd]

Thanks, Wurzel and Buggy - patience and persistence is still bearing fruit as you'll see in forthcoming posts...

Cheers, Trevor - there were some beautiful fresh Specklies around that day - they do wear quickly though so it was good to catch them in pristine chocolate and cream.

Thank you for the kind comments, Andrew - there have been some lovely late season sights out there.

Thank you, David - Adonis Blues are proving a real end-of-season bonus at the moment (I have a report from Denbies shortly concentrating on the females, some of which are stunning). And the Hollies just keep on coming (again, a report soon with a very new one - third brood?). Many thanks for that link. I shall get as many underside shots as I can over the next few weeks (especially as the wind is going round to the east for a bit) and see what I can find.

25th August (continued): After Bookham, I saw it looked clearer towards the south so I had a quick stroll around the top of Box Hill. There was actually not a lot flying: Some Adonis, and rather worn Chalkhills, but no Silver-spots. The latter is a bit worrying as this is usually a good site for them.

Still, this is the fifth spot where I've seen Adonis in the space of a week.

Sunday 26th August was one of those unusual days - a complete write-off with near constant rain. Not even a soggy Speckled Wood to report.

Dave

[millerd]

Monday 27th August was better, though not exactly sunny. However, bright and warm has proved the ideal combination for seeing things this year, so it was the turn of my local patch again today (bearing in mind Bank Holiday traffic).

As is so often the case, the walk belonged to the Holly Blues, with 17 seen all told. These varied from very worn to completely new, setting me to wonder whether a third brood might be emerging. The first of the second brood had appeared at the end of June, so it could be possible... The new one, a male, was found on a large pile of horse manure (or has the local elephant been by?).

He fed avidly but did come up for air and bask a couple of times.

The fact that he was fresh was emphasised by the expulsion of meconium onto the leaf at one point.

Now the heat is over and normal temperatures prevail, these butterflies have started to open up again - even during nectaring.

Sometimes two would share a flower.

There was more to be seen, with that other local star, the Brown Argus, but I'll put that in another post. This one belongs to the Holly Blue.

Dave

[trevor]

Third brood Holly Blues !. I have not done too well with this species this year.
I suppose the hot weather helped to bring on the latest brood.
Superb close up shots of the male.

Great report as usual,
Trevor.

PS. It's umber and cream !.

[millerd]

Thanks, Trevor. I'll need to keep going out to see if it really is a third brood or just a very late outlier from the second.

There was a sprinkling of other species locally on 27th August.

There were a round a dozen Common Blues as well, but all very worn indeed. However, the Brown Argus were not quite so ragged.

reduced underside spotting and small

I watched two indulging in courtship - or at least the male was, as I think the female doesn't appear so keen...

Dave

[Wurzel]

Crikey Dave it's hard keeping up - three posts in quick succession! Some cracking images as always and I don't think the Holly Blue could have chosen a bigger poo to take salt from

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

I'm trying to catch up with myself a bit, Wurzel, but each day I seem to go out again and see more interesting stuff, even if it's just the ones round the corner. I do like the behavioural shots, so I could hardly ignore a brand spanking new Holly Blue on a towering pile of poo now could I?

Tuesday 28th August. Another reasonable sort of day with some sun, some cloud, but enough brightness and warmth to mobilise the inhabitants of Denbies hillside. Though plenty of male Adonis were still flying, and some of them were pretty fresh, today belonged more to the female of the species which were out in numbers, and now the weather is cooler were sitting and basking to warm up enough to go egg-laying.

Firstly, few males...

...and some courtship and pairing.

The females are worth a post to themselves, I think!

Dave

[millerd]

28th August, Denbies hillside, Adonis Blue females...

There was also this one, which though just as fresh as the others, I think may be a Chalkhill female.

Of all of the Adonis, though, this one has to be my favourite. The sprinkling of brilliant blue scales on an almost black background looks like a starry night sky.

Even with all that variety, there was more. I spotted another Adonis female which looked almost orange in flight and subtly different in some way. I followed it until it settled, and it turned out to be an ab. krodeli, with much reduced underside spotting. The upperside was pretty well normal, however, certainly not out of place amongst the variety above.

However, the hillside still had a bit more to offer when after one of the butterflies above had just flown off, I found a somewhat worn Silver-spotted Skipper sitting happily on a scabious right next to me. It was so photogenic I shall devote a separate post to it.

Dave

[trevor]

Your first closed wing specimen looks ' different ', the black spots circled white,
are surely much larger than usual. All your females look factory fresh, as did those
Wurzel and myself saw a Tilshead.

Trevor.

[ernie f]

I hadn't looked at your diary for awhile. Sorry. I am glad I did today. Highlights for me was that almost black Adonis female with a speckling of blue scales and the Holly Blue with a huge pile of dung all to itself.

[Wurzel]

The females were definitely worth their own post Dave - some cracking shots and the aberrant is stunning I reckon that female looks good for a Chalkhill as well - the marks near the hind wing lunules looks white and not blue and the margins look more 'smudgey' there is also a je ne c'est quoi that says Chalkhill

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Fantastic shots Dave, Lovely Adonis their colour is stunning and the Females look good too inspire of not being Blue But it's the Holly Blue Male with open wings that caught my attention, you don't see many like that. Goldie

[Maximus]

You've been very prolific of late, Dave what a gorgeous butterfly that dark female Adonis is and that lovely ab krodeli too

Mike

[millerd]

There were a lot of fresh ones, Trevor. I am guessing that most of the less fresh female blues flying were mostly Chalkhills (and or Common Blues and Brown Argus). The one you highlighted does seem to be heavily marked, and was really chestnut-brown underneath as well.

I'm glad you like that really dark female, Ernie. That's definitely going to be one of my top butterfies of the year, that one.

Every way you look at it, Adonis Blues are a beautiful species, Goldie! And yes, it's always a special moment when a fresh Holly Blue opens its wing out like that.

Thanks, Mike - those two really do stand out, don't they.

It was worth a separate billing, Wurzel - the only way to do them justice. I'm glad you agree about the Chalkhill, though looking at the female Adonis above (and others recently), the rule of thumb about blue scales in the gap between the black spots and the wing fringes doesn't always seem to hold good. From what I've seen, if there are blue scales, it's definitely an Adonis, but if there aren't, it may be either... In other words, Adonis don't always have them. (A bit of controversy here perhaps... ).

Dave

[millerd]

28th August, further adventures from Denbies hillside: A Silver-spotted Skipper.

As mentioned earlier, whilst still on the ground from getting close to one of those Adonis females, I noticed a Silver-spotted Skipper had settled itself close by on a scabious flower. I had seen several others during the visit, but none had stopped for more than a second or two, yet this one seemed happy to concentrate on having a jolly good feed.

A quiet contrast to the activity of the Blues - and big-eyed cuteness as well!

Dave