Indeed David, after tonight the hours of daylight will be getting just that little bit longer each day
Looking back at 2018 part 2 – Summer.
The transition into meteorological summer came with more unsettled weather, in fact looking back at my notes for the beginning of June we had bands of rain and thunderstorms with sunny periods mixed in between which led to some warm and muggy days.
These first few days of June saw Large Skippers beginning to emerge in numbers at all the usual local spots and fresh Speckled Woods were still appearing, but otherwise, apart from Common Blues a few Small Coppers plus a few Whites and ageing hibernators, there were not many other butterflies about, a consequence of the 'June Gap' between the spring butterflies and the appearance of the summer species which seemed to be a bit more pronounced here this year.
![Castle Hills 23.06.2018 047 resize.JPG (545.75 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Large Skipper - Castle Hills Solihull 23.06.2018](./files/thumb_10101_4c8c9ed00c33e80bff506624fe1c49b3)
- Large Skipper - Castle Hills Solihull 23.06.2018
The second week of June saw us heading over to Norfolk for a few days. The weather was still changeable but we had some glorious sunny days along with some cloudy ones but apart from a bit of light drizzle we saw no rain during our stay. The main reason for this visit was obviously to see Swallowtails which I succeeded in seeing at Strumpshaw Fen, Hickling Broad, How Hill and Catfield Fen. The last time I saw this superb species was a few fleeting glimpses six years ago so I cannot comment on how they fared this year in comparison to previous ones, suffice to say that I saw plenty to keep me happy during the four days we were there.
![Norfolk June 2018 084 resize.JPG (592.18 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Swallowtail - Strumphaw Fen 10.06.2018](./files/thumb_10101_7cedea3342e513c31fa59ab79db9a69f)
- Swallowtail - Strumphaw Fen 10.06.2018
In Norfolk I also noticed that Red Admirals were showing up at most places along with a few Painted Ladies (and Silver-Y Moths) which probably indicated a bit of migration activity.
Good numbers of Common Blue and Small Heath were seen along the dunes at Horsey Gap but apart from a few Large Skippers and a single Meadow Brown (my first of the year) we were still awaiting the appearance of the summer species.
![Norfolk June 2018 279 resize.JPG (644.29 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Small Heath - Horsey Gap 13.06.2018](./files/thumb_10101_c8dc0410ba9c6caf0f2ffdcd7f7ab7fd)
- Small Heath - Horsey Gap 13.06.2018
Back home and the third week of June saw Meadow Browns and Ringlets emerging in reasonable numbers albeit not as high as some recent years. These were soon joined by the first Marbled Whites and Small Skippers which also seemed to be a bit down in numbers at my local spots.
![Castle Hills 23.06.2018 051 resize.JPG (627.67 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Ringlet - Castle Hills 23.06.2018](./files/thumb_10101_83b1d27b7bd5e349f31aacc18d2db491)
- Ringlet - Castle Hills 23.06.2018
![Castle Hills 23.06.2018 015 resize.JPG (608.93 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Marbled White - Castle Hills 23.06.2018](./files/thumb_10101_7b95cf2d270c8ac03697b9c40a3d3448)
- Marbled White - Castle Hills 23.06.2018
![Castle Hills 23.06.2018 078 resize.JPG (511.84 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Small Skipper - Castle Hills 23.06.2018](./files/thumb_10101_c2ea0c635c09a19c4239a560cdf160e0)
- Small Skipper - Castle Hills 23.06.2018
The first summer Small Tortoiseshells and Commas were also beginning to appear locally although the former were few and far between.
![Castle Hills 23.06.2018 130 resize.JPG (629.03 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 23.06.2018](./files/thumb_10101_0628e053f221f38bbf9420f111835c74)
- Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 23.06.2018
![Castle Hills 23.06.2018 091 resize.JPG (668.33 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Comma - Castle Hills 23.06.2018](./files/thumb_10101_6895c46526d1ac09ed11d4f923233fe5)
- Comma - Castle Hills 23.06.2018
A trip over to Fermyn Woods towards the end of the month produced a good number of Purple Emperors, although nowhere near the numbers I saw reported from Knepp which looks like it has now become THE premier place to see these.
![Fermyn Woods 28.06.2018 081 resize.JPG (877.65 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Purple Emperor - Fermyn Woods 28.06.2018](./files/thumb_10101_1d094d04cb7685db47ae25d96bb1bae2)
- Purple Emperor - Fermyn Woods 28.06.2018
Fermyn also produced White Admirals and Silver-washed Fritillaries amongst the usual woodland species, all of which were very mobile on what was a very hot day and a harbinger of what was to come over the next few weeks.
I was also pleasantly surprised to find a handful of (very worn) Black Hairstreaks at Fermyn. I had been reading reports that these appeared to be having a good year all over their limited range and also about the discovery of the previously undiscovered colony in Sussex, but had thought I would miss this species this year due to using my limited time elsewhere.
Early July saw some very hot and dry weather settle over most of the country and my part of the midlands was no exception. Large Whites were everywhere in good numbers although some of the grassland species were beginning to show signs of burning out quickly in the unusually hot conditions.
Essex Skippers had joined the Small Skippers locally but both of these species seemed to be down in numbers this year and both had a fairly short flight period compared with previous years. Ringlets had practically finished and Meadow Browns also seemed to be going over quicker than usual.
![Wagon Lane 04.07.2018 014 resize.JPG (552.46 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Essex Skipper - Wagon Lane Solihull 04.07.2018](./files/thumb_10101_8918242bd330a503368d6aec373e80a4)
- Essex Skipper - Wagon Lane Solihull 04.07.2018
Gatekeepers also appeared in early July but numbers were well down this year around my local spots and this was another species that seemed to go over quickly in the summer heat.
A couple of trips to Snitterfield Bushes and Oversley Wood produced good numbers of Silver-washed Fritillaries along with the usual summer woodland species although many were already looking worn and faded, no doubt due to increased activity in the hot weather.
![Snitterfield 04.07.2018 036 resize.JPG (614.62 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Large White - Snitterfield Bushes 04.07.2018](./files/thumb_10101_1fdeaf950cef0e5ff4833d4e60ec09b9)
- Large White - Snitterfield Bushes 04.07.2018
![Snitterfield 04.07.2018 101resize.JPG (677.26 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Silver-washed Fritillary - Snitterfield Bushes 04.07.2018](./files/thumb_10101_c947e1d5ab972eb138301e2e37e502c1)
- Silver-washed Fritillary - Snitterfield Bushes 04.07.2018
Like the Small Tortoiseshells, summer Peacocks were scarce and I only saw a few this year including just one in my garden.
![Coverdale 10.07.2018 087 resize.JPG (682.98 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Peacock - Coverdale 10.07.2018](./files/thumb_10101_8a757d9f278c02a0f4f270d9f070af08)
- Peacock - Coverdale 10.07.2018
I have heard it said that both these species went into hibernation early to avoid the hot weather and this would make sense, particularly for Small Tortoiseshells, as I didn't see many of those last summer either and yet they were out of hibernation around my local patch in reasonable numbers this spring.
Purple Hairstreaks appeared to be having a very good year all over and I saw loads of photos taken of individuals seen low down although my own experiences were of sightings high up around the tops of oaks, mostly due to my available time usually being in the afternoon rather than earlier in the mornings which seems to be the optimum time to see them lower down.
At the end of July we headed up to Arnside for a couple of days and after seeing no rain for weeks it finally came down by the bucket load on the day we travelled up. Despite this rain, it was obvious that the vegetation on Arnside Knott had become very parched over the preceding few weeks and some species had suffered under these conditions. Scotch Argus numbers were well down from what I have seen in previous years (although I believe they did well at their other English site at Smardale Gill) and Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper numbers were also nowhere near what I would normally expect to see there.
![Arnside 07.2018 323 resize.JPG (654.72 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Scotch Argus - Arnside Knott 31.07.2018](./files/thumb_10101_4c32aa30247a585841a689cd0597211f)
- Scotch Argus - Arnside Knott 31.07.2018
In contrast, I saw more Small Coppers at Arnside Knott than I have ever seen there before and a female Wall Brown was a first for me at that site. Also a single Northern Brown Argus was a pleasant surprise given that I expected them to have finished there given the conditions and the fact that many species seemed to be going over early this year.
![Arnside 07.2018 300 resize.JPG (543.44 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Small Copper - Arnside Knott 30.07.2018](./files/thumb_10101_638bbb75ba69937e9a09da883f28e44b)
- Small Copper - Arnside Knott 30.07.2018
![Arnside 07.2018 396 resize.JPG (805.75 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Wall Brown - Arnside Knott 31.07.2018](./files/thumb_10101_dfdeb1841e0cad29b5a09efbbf99391e)
- Wall Brown - Arnside Knott 31.07.2018
![Arnside 07.2018 073 resize.JPG (624.93 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Northern Brown Argus (salmacis) - Arnside Knott 30.07.2018](./files/thumb_10101_812eefc6e048387f3ff2afd174d8bca9)
- Northern Brown Argus (salmacis) - Arnside Knott 30.07.2018
A handful of Painted Ladies were also seen scattered about the Knott which meant that, although not exactly a 'Painted Lady Year', I had been seeing them steadily at most places through the summer. In fact so far I had seen more Painted ladies in 2018 than summer brood Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells put together.
![Arnside 07.2018 093 resize.JPG (673.26 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Painted Lady - Arnside Knott 30.07.2018](./files/thumb_10101_77daa16d52a28bee6474761578b12863)
- Painted Lady - Arnside Knott 30.07.2018
After seeing a good sprinkling of Red Admirals earlier in the summer these had also fizzled out with just the odd one or two showing up here and there. This left Commas as the only summer vannesid appearing in reasonable numbers.
Going into early August, although the weather had become a bit more unsettled, there was still not much rain about and temperatures remained relatively high. Speckled Wood numbers were building up locally and this seemed to be the only species with grass feeding larvae that was actually doing well. Second brood Common Blues, Small Coppers and Small heath were all flying at my local spots in varying numbers, with Common Blues in particular looking like they were having a good year. On the other hand, summer brood Holly Blue numbers seemed to be down after a good spring brood. The high numbers of Large Whites earlier in the summer had tailed off but Small Whites were on the increase with Green-veined White numbers seeming to be about average.
![Blythe Valley 06.08.2018 008 resize.JPG (517.99 KiB) Viewed 3317 times Common Blue female - Blythe Valley Solihull 06.08.2018](./files/thumb_10101_9798224822875c3a910945faba81051b)
- Common Blue female - Blythe Valley Solihull 06.08.2018
After an unsettled start to the summer in early June it had settled down to be an unusually hot and dry July before the weather became a bit more changeable again at the end of the month when more cloud would build up. After a bit of heavy rain at the end of July it reverted to warm and dry conditions again for the first couple of weeks of August, albeit not quite as hot as it had been, with more cloud about on some days.
Whilst in some ways it seemed to be a good summer for butterflies with the overall impression that lots were flying, many sites had become very dry with parched vegetation and this seemed to have adversely affected some of the grassland species with lower numbers being observed and some shorter flight periods than usual.
I probably won't get time now to wrap up my looking back until the new year so let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Neil