I can certainly believe that Jack and from personal experience I can confirm that the immature stages are predated in even greater numbers, the extent of which has shocked me even though I had previously read as much.
Thank you Wurzel. How have I never come across this before? Before exposing my ignorance publicly in future I shall send you a PM first
Thank you for your sympathy and suggestions Nick. I went for a lovely meal yesterday with a friend and returned to find the cat had had a female blackbird in the garden. I managed to retrieve the bird and put it in an aviary overnight but sadly it did not survive. I do have a covered run where I can shut the hens but I prefer them to be free range and get a bit of grass and grubs so I shall work my way through the ideas everyone has provided and for which I am very grateful.
What a fascinating report David and some amazing research. It has raised quite a few issues in my mind but I shall do a bit more reading on the subject before I pose further questions. It seems quite surreal to be reading about butterfly seminal fluid and mating plugs over my morning coffee!
David M wrote:Awful to see a precious female Brown Hairstreak taken like that, Pauline, but given her worn condition I'm confident that her job for the future generation had been all but completed.
It is always distressing to see this David but it is nature I guess. Earlier in the day I had seen half a dozen Spotted Flycatchers (I think) catching all manner of insects including what I suspect was another BH amongst the many other insects in the 'Triangle'. Once the season draws to a close I suspect that the butterflies are less alert, and having done their duty I imagine they are easy picking for the many other creatures that see them as food. Anyway, as the Flycatchers are another first for me I’m including a few of the shots I took. Not sure what the last one is – juvenile?
Around this time (mid September) Small Heath were undoubtedly the most numerous of butterflies and entertained me in between the birds and Brown Hairstreaks. As I don't take many shots of this little butterfly I thought I'd throw in a few for good measure