Padfield

[Wurzel]

Great Commas Guy It did think the Tree Pipit was mighty early - mind you you've got photos of Woodlark now which in my book is an even better bird - Tree Pipits are two a penny in the summer

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Beautiful Comma shots Guy, the Green really stands out in their abdomen Goldie

[Padfield]

Thank you Wurzel and Goldie.

A couple of days ago I saw a butterfly I couldn't identify at all - a very rare experience for me! I saw it in flight only - briefly and in some wind - but all the signals I got were contradictory. It didn't even look like anything British. My best bet is a somewhat tatty painted lady. Anyway, yesterday back to more familiar territory: my first small white of the year, in the garden.



My father thinks he saw a holly blue too.

Today this interesting bug appeared in the house:



I took it outside:



It wasn't in any of my insect books so I did some research on the web and found it is Leptoglossus occidentalis, a very recent introduction from North America, first found in the UK in 2007. Rather a magnificent insect.

Guy

[Jack Harrison]

Guy says:

My father thinks he saw a holly blue.

Be careful paying attention to old beggers like me (and your father - a similar age).

Jack

[Padfield]

... Be careful paying attention to old beggers like me (and your father - a similar age).

Jack

Mm... As a logician, I find heeding your advice problematic, Jack (remember Epimenides the Cretan?)!

Guy

[MikeOxon]

Even I am not old enough to remember Epimenides personally but this Wikipedia article is quite informative. He seems to have become famous because St.Paul assumed that all Cretans could not be trusted (i.e. were liars) but, If we assume the statement is false and that Epimenides is lying about all Cretans being liars, then there must exist at least one Cretan who is honest. This does not lead to a contradiction since it is not required that this Cretan be Epimenides.

I think that Jack is right to recommend caution, not just with information given by old people but for all second-hand information, unless it is well-corroborated.

This website remains a good source of thought-provoking comment

[Wurzel]

I don't think it wise for me with my lack of seniority to enter into the fray about whether or not to accept the word of old beggers so I will just say that's a cracking shot of the Small White, really good white balance on it with no bleaching

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Jack Harrison]

Wurzel

I don't think it wise for me with my lack of seniority to enter into the fray about whether or not to accept the word of old beggers

Very wise. It is PC for only the elderly to be ageist. So all you youngsters - be careful what you say

Jack (octogenarian - and counting)

[David M]

That's a beautiful, fresh male Small White, Guy. Surely it can't be long before Orange Tips emerge too?

Looks like a mild week to come so I daresay by next weekend there could be double-figure numbers of species flying.

[Padfield]

Thanks for your comments, Mike, Wurzel, Jack and David. I must remember not to be diverted by Jack’s little asides! At least I’ve brought that contradictory character, Epimenides, back into the public eye, if only for a moment.

I’ve taken a week off from my filial duties and flew to Málaga last night. The forecast for today was not good, except in the sense that it came true: it rained from dawn until midday, after which it was solid cloud until 15h00. Nevertheless, I went up into the hills with an umbrella and when the clouds suddenly broke at 15h00 managed to find a few butterflies. The sun lasted until about 16h15, after which it occasionally reappeared. My tally for the day was: Spanish festoon, large white, small white, Bath white, Provence orange tip, clouded yellow, green hairstreak, black-eyed blue, long-tailed blue, Polyommatus celina, painted lady, red admiral, wall, meadow brown (yes, that’s right - meadow brown ...), Spanish marbled white and monarch. Although the sun was shining while I was at my Provence hairstreak site, I saw none. It was nearly 18h00 by the time I visited my Ziz Knys site so I was less surprised to see none of them. I think the big surprise was the meadow brown. Has anyone else seen one anywhere in March?

These pictures are processed on my iPad. I’ll do a better job on the computer when I get home.


(Monarch)


(Spanish festoon)


(Painted lady)


(Meadow brown)


(Long-tailed blue)


(Spanish marbled white)


(Provence orange tip)


(Bath white)


(celina roosting in the rain)


(Little egret standing in the rain)

And does anyone know what species of parakeet this is?



The forecast is for better weather tomorrow. There’s nothing really good for the whole week - Málaga can be a little demoralising when it’s under cloud - but I should be able to discover if the Provence hairstreaks are still on the wing. I was very surprised not to see them today, but even more surprised to come across that meadow brown.

Guy

[False Apollo]

I was in the Costa Blanca last week and the weather was sunny every day bar one, and even on that day it brightened up later on. I managed to find Provence Hairstreaks which looked pretty fresh, so hopefully the weather will improve so they make an appearance.

Regards
Mike Gibbons

[Jack Harrison]

Monk Parakeets, apparently becoming a pest.

Jack

[bugboy]

Yes, Monk Parakeets, saw them in Seville. For once I see lots of familiar butterflies despite them being all foreign . It was raining the day I left Malaga so I think I timed my trip just right

[Wurzel]

That was a pretty cracking haul Guy and a March Meadow Brown I hope the weather plays ball for the rest of your visit as I look forward to your reports

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

You found more than 'a few', Guy, by the looks of it.

Shame the weather wasn't kind, but some of those species are highly desirable, especially the Monarch and the Spanish Marbled White, both of which I'd love to see.

[Padfield]

Thanks Mike. It’s difficult to judge the Provence hairstreak situation with this weather. I know they fly where I was looking but it seems to be an exceptionally early spring and it’s not impossible they’re over. For example, every previous time I’ve visited, in February and March, there have been several species of bee orchid, including the lovely yellow ones, in flower. This year, none at all. As it poured with rain all day today, I have no further news!

Thanks for the ID, Buggy and Jack. I don’t recognise the category of ‘pest’ unless it is understood to include Homo sapiens, so for the time being I’ll simply rejoice in their noisy, cheerful greenness.

Thanks David and Wurzel. Monarchs are now firmly established in the south of Spain, David. If you’ve never seen one in the wild, you could probably Easyjet to Málaga, spend a happy day’s photographing them and Easyjet back home again all for less than the price of a day trip to London. Unless, of course, you have to go to London to catch the plane. It doesn’t really matter when you go. I’ve seen them there in February, March, April and July.

That said, you’d be taking a gamble on the weather. Today, despite a favourable forecast, it rained almost all day. I went up into the hills with high hopes but the skies never cleared for more than ten minutes at a stretch and I was caught in downpours on several occasions. It was still raining at 16h00 after I had finally given up in the hills and set off for the bus station to get timetables for later in the week. Up till then my catch for the day was meagre: painted lady, clouded yellow, Bath white, long-tailed blue and wall. I saw a few large whites and small whites and three monarchs in town on my way to the bus station, but didn’t really have anything to show for the day. Then the sun came out and looked as if it might stay out a while, so I headed back to my Ziz Knys haunts on the offchance. No show for Ziz Knys but I did get my first (amazingly) green-striped white of the holiday:



I have a strong emotional attachment to this butterfly, dating back to my days in Gibraltar in 1983.



While I was there I took some more shots of monarchs. This is the same one I photographed yesterday, with a hairline fracture in the right forewing:



This is a different individual (a female, lacking the sex brand on v2 of the hindwing):



Here is an underside of that second individual (I think - there were at least three flying around):



And another upperside:



Quite magnificent butterflies.

Guy

EDIT: Evidence that this really is an early spring. I thought the green-striped white looked a little different from usual. I now recognise it is because it is a second brood individual, with more diffuse, slightly yellowish underside markings.

[bugboy]

Regarding your Provence Hairstreak (lack of) sightings, the ones I was seeing two weeks ago a bit further south were mostly quite fresh looking and I would happily bet they are still on the wing there... unless they're like Black Hairstreaks and vanish in a blink of an eye that is!

Edit: just realised I'm giving Guy Padfield advice on continental butterflies after one butterflying trip abroad...

[Padfield]

Regarding your Provence Hairstreak (lack of) sightings, the ones I was seeing two weeks ago a bit further south were mostly quite fresh looking and I would happily bet they are still on the wing there... unless they're like Black Hairstreaks and vanish in a blink of an eye that is!

Edit: just realised I'm giving Guy Padfield advice on continental butterflies after one butterflying trip abroad...

Don’t worry, Buggy! Advice is always welcome! I agree - I would expect them still to be flying and I shouldn’t draw any conclusions until I’ve had some decent sun, and earlier in the day.

This was the view over Málaga as I climbed into the hills this morning:



I noted that some people seem to have their own private clouds. At least I share.

Guy

[essexbuzzard]

I’m glad you have managed to get down to Malaga, Guy. If anyone deserves it, it’s you. Congratulations on getting a green-striped white picture, not an easy task for me when I was there a few years ago. I wish you luck with the Provence Hairstreak, they are at the top of my wish list...even more now I’ve seen Bugboys pictures! Hopefully the sun will come out...

[Wurzel]

More brilliant stuff Guy I hope this early spring doesn't mean they'll all be over by the time I get to Portugal in August

Have a goodun

Wurzel