Neil Freeman

[Pauline]

Very nice shots of Marsh Fritillary Neil. I rarely see them so I hadn't realised there was such a variation in the markings. Is that because you have captured male and female or is it just a natural variation?

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Pauline, I don't see Marsh Fritillaries that often myself, that is the first time I have visited that site which is the closest one to me and that is a two hour drive with other locations being much further away. It is a very variable species, to the point that every time I have seen them every individual is different.

Friday 24th May

Friday arrives and although there was a lot of cloud around it was pleasantly warm so later this afternoon I decided to have a wander down to the area of waste ground to the side of my local park.
I had seen a few Common Blues and a Small Copper here last year so was on the look out for these but without success. In fact it was very quiet butterfly wise with only a single Green-veined White seen briefly and a worn Peacock still hanging in there.

Peacock - Wagon Lane 24.05.2019

Garden Moths.

A catch up on some of the moths that have come to my garden trap recently.

I haven't actually had the trap out that much over the past couple of weeks, just four times in total. Some chilly nights have kept total numbers low but there has been a steady trickle of species turning up.

A new species for the garden was a Sallow Kitten, a small relative of the Puss Moth, which turned up on 14th May.

Sallow Kitten - Coverdale 14.05.2019

I get a few Flame Carpets each year and these appear in two broods from May up until September.

Flame Carpet - Coverdale 14.05.2019

I think the one above is a male and the one below a female.

Flame Carpet - Coverdale 14.05.2019

I always get plenty of Brimstone Moths but never get tired of that bright yellow colour.

Brimstone Moth - Coverdale 14.05.2019

Common Swifts started appearing this week and are another species I get every year in good numbers.

Common Swift - Coverdale 22.05.2019

I was about to take a photo of the Seraphim below on one of my bits of wood when it made a break for it. It only went a few feet though and settled in a more photogenic position on a fading bluebell.

Seraphim - Coverdale 22.05.2019

And finally a nice Herald Moth was only the second one of this common and widespread species I have seen in my garden.

Herald Moth - Coverdale 22.05.2019

That brings my garden moth species count so far this year up to a total of 49 which is made up of 37 macro species and 12 micros. Looking at my past records this is about average for me by this time of year.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

You guessed right Neil
Another great selection of Moths Neil - especially liking the Flame Carpet from this offering Good to hear that you reckon counts are about average - all the Moffers I know seem to reckon that it's not been too good down this way

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

You get some real stunners of the moth world chez toi, Neil. I'm familiar with the lovely Brimstone moth but that Flame Carpet is a new one for me.

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, It has been a very stop-start season with the moths, much like with the butterflies, but overall it seems to be about where it should be. Having said that some species are doing better than others which is pretty much what you would expect.

Thanks David, I am sure I have posted photos of the Flame Carpet in previous years, I usually get a few each year.

Saturday 25th May

The weekend arrives and on cue the clouds are set to roll in again but before that a pleasantly warm Saturday morning saw me pottering around a bit in the garden. A large pale butterfly fluttered into view and fooled me for a minute into thinking it was a Large White until a closer look confirmed it to be a female Brimstone which stopped briefly for a top-up on one of my small Bowles Mauve plants that were grown from cuttings taken last year.

Brimstone female - Coverdale 25.05.2019

A fresh male Speckled Wood was staking his territory down by the brambles. He is first of the second brood to appear here and would be a descendant of the first spring brood which emerged here at the end of March this year. This is actually quite early for me to see a second brood Specklie in my garden and means that I will not have a slight gap between these broods this year as often (but not always) happens.

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 25.05.2019

By early afternoon the clouds were building up but it was still feeling warm with temperatures nudging 20 degrees so I decided to pop round to my local spot at Castle Hills by Solihull to see what was about. As is usually the case at this time of year I was keen to see if Common Blues, Small Coppers and Small Heaths were flying there yet as these species tend to be later to get going around here than other spots around the midlands, including many further north than me.

Within a hundred yards of setting off down the first path I saw a Small Heath which promptly started chasing another one. This first small area produced about half a dozen and this proved to be the way of things today as I wandered around the site with various corners of fields having similar numbers flying.

Small Heath - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

Small Heath - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

I thought one individual looked a little different and just managed the one shot before it took off to chase another one. It wasn't until I looked at the photo afterwards I realised that it was missing the eye-spot on the underside of the forewing. I tried to relocate this one without success which was a pity as I would have liked to confirm whether it was the same on both sides.

Small Heath - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

Common Blues were flying with fresh males seen scattered about the site although no females were seen today which confirms that they are just starting here.

Common Blue - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

Common Blue - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

Common Blue - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

Small Coppers have been thin on the ground here in recent years with just one or two seen in 2018 and 2017, and those usually being second brood. I was pleased therefore to find four different males and a female here today which is the highest number of first brood individuals I have ever found at this site and seems to tally with reports I have seen from all around the country that they are doing well so far this year.

Small Copper - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

Small Copper - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

The female was an abberration with a golden sheen to her left forewing which I believe is caused by temperature fluctuations in the pupa - I could be wrong here so happy to be corrected.

Small Copper female - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

I was also pleased to find a couple of Brown Argus as I have only ever seen one (second brood) example here before. One of them (below) was quite faded but the other one looked pristine, but sods law meant that the better condition one wouldn't sit still for a photo.

Brown Argus - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

A couple of male Orange-tips were seen patrolling the hedgerows but despite the thickening cloud it was still warm enough to keep them mobile and they didn't stop. A search of various cuckoo flower and garlic mustard plants produced quite a few OT eggs and first instar caterpillars. I tried to take a few photos of these with my sigma 105 lens but the plants were bobbing about too much in the breeze to get any good results.

As is often the case at this time of year, various day flying moths were much in evidence with Mother Shipton, Burnet Companion, Latticed Heath and Small Yellow Underwing all seen around the site.

Mother Shipton - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

Burnet Companion - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

Small Yellow Underwing - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

Small Yellow Underwing - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

By around 3.30pm the cloud had become 100% grey overcast and the wind was picking up so I decided to head home.

Bye for now,

Neil

[Pauline]

That's a really interesting and unusual Small Heath Neil - you've got to get out there and keep searching It must surely deserve a place as an Ab?

[Wurzel]

Great shots as per always Neil That is a really interesting looking Small Heath as not only does it like the the most obvious 'eye' but there are no spots on the hind wing either so it's totally 'blind'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Great Small Heath Neil, at least you got the shot even if it's only the one Goldie

[David M]

Some interesting subjects there as always, Neil. Like others, I am intrigued by that 'blind' Small Heath. I certainly don't remember ever seeing one like that myself.

The moths are fabulous, especially the Mother Shipton, which is a personal favourite of mine.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for your comments Pauline, Wurzel, Goldie and David.

Unfortunately, with the deterioration in the weather here during last Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, that was the only time I got out last weekend.

I had a look through my other photos from the Saturday and noticed this other Small Heath which seems half way between the 'blind' one and those with normal sized eye-spots.

Small Heath - Castle Hills 25.05.2019

More Moths.

With the overnight weather over the past week or so being either clear and cool or with a blustery wind, I have only had the trap out a couple of times. Saturday (25th May) night produced my highest count so far this year with 59 moths of 26 species (41 of 17 macro and 18 of 9 micro) including NFY of Light Emerald, Clouded Silver, Small Rivulet, Grey/Dark Dagger agg, Large Yellow Underwing and Turnip.

Light Emerald - Coverdale 25.05.2019

Mottled Pug - Coverdale 25.05.2019

Common Marbled Carpet - Coverdale 25.05.2019

A bit of a breeze last night (Thursday 30th May) kept the numbers down a bit despite the mild overnight temperature with a result of 36 moths of 17 species (29 of 14 macro and 7 of 3 micro) which included another NFY of Figure of Eighty...no prizes for guessing how this one got its name.

Figure of Eighty - Coverdale 30.05.2019

Setaceous Hebrew Character - Coverdale 30.05.2019

Clouded Silver - Coverdale 30.05.2019

Yesterday afternoon after work I found a little Mint Moth (Pyrausta aurata) living up to its name settled on some mint growing in a pot in the back garden.

Mint Moth - Coverdale 30.05.2019

It's looking to be quite warm here tomorrow, I won't have time to go far but hopefully will be able to get out for an hour or two before rain is forecast to arrive on Sunday...we'll see.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Good luck getting out tomorrow Neil - I'm destined to take the family to the beach - Lulworth Cove it is then Another great set of Moffs - especially glad to see the first one as I found a dismembered wing matching this species in Bentley Wood this morning and now I can put a name to the (possible) Bat victim

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Some cracking moths in the absence of butterflies, Neil. Thanks to you I'm ever keener in regard to the day flyers....saw several in the French Pyrenees last week which has made me, for the first time, consider buying myself a guide book.

[Pauline]

Another interesting Small Heath Neil which has got me flicking back and forth in your diary. Well spotted. A butterfly that I don't usually pay much attention to but perhaps I should!

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, I hope you had a good time at Lulworth. I've not seen Lulworth Skippers for a few years no and won't get chance this year. One to look forward to next year maybe.

Thanks David, I bet there are some cracking moths flying on the continent, I've no idea how many specie are there but if the ratio is anything like that with butterflies there must be thousands.

Thanks Pauline, the more I look at our butterflies the more I am finding that they have a surprising degree of natural variation.

Saturday 1st June.

The first day of meteorological summer and the forecast was for it to be potentially the hottest day of the year, at least for the southern half of the country with the transition in conditions looking to be somewhere across the midlands. After the grey and gloomy bank holiday followed by a week stuck indoors at work I was itching to get out, although I knew I would not have the time to go far and would have to stick to my local patch.

During the morning, as I was keeping on top of the household chores, I kept an eye out in the garden as usual and spotted a male Speckled Wood in residence. As mentioned in my previous report, the spring brood of Specklies has merged into the follow on brood here in my garden this year which means I am not seeing the short gap between broods that I sometimes do.

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 01.06.2019

By late morning I had done all that I was going to do around the house for the day and after grabbing a quick sandwich I went out. I wanted to check out a spot I had first visited in August last year and where I had found the highest numbers of Common Blues for any of my local sites. This is by a business park on the outskirts of Solihull where there is a lot of building development going on but where some pathways have been retained through woodland and meadows around the perimeter of the site. I believe these are going to form the basis of a 'country park' when the development is finished.

On arrival, I walked along a path across a first grassy meadow, seeing a couple of Common Blues and Burnet Companion Moths but didn't linger long as I wanted to carry on through a wooded section to another area that had been far more productive last year. Going through the wooded part of the path I spotted a couple of Speckled Wood dancing about in the dappled shade and coming to a long sunny stretch I noticed a rather worn Comma basking at the side of the path.

Comma - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

During the afternoon I also saw a couple of elderly Peacocks still hanging in there, although by then it had become rather warm and muggy under thin high level cloud and they where very active and kept their wings firmly closed when they did settle.

Peacock - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

I also saw a few Orange-tips, at least a couple of males patrolling the edges of the wooded areas plus two or three females, although these were all looking like they were getting on a bit now.

Orange-tip male - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

Orange-tip male - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

Orange-tip female - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

Orange-tip female - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

Anyway, I had come here to look for Common Blues and hopefully Small Coppers and Brown Argus, these being about as exotic as it gets around my local patch in what is actually a rather species poor area compared to the more favoured parts of the country.
I was happy to find good numbers of Common Blues, approx 25-30 all told scattered around various parts of the site. These were mostly fresh looking males with just two females seen, one of which was part of a mating pair, the other one flying off across a pond before I could get a photo but she looked to be very fresh and a of the typical half brown/half blue type.

Common Blue - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

Common Blue - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

Common Blue pair - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

A couple of Small Coppers were seen, both of which were a bit worn around the fringes. These were both males and although like everything else they were very active, once you spot their favoured perches they will keep returning to the same spots.

Small Copper - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

Small Copper - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

Small Copper - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

I was particularly pleased to find a Brown Argus, these being very hit and miss around Solihull with some years not showing up here at all. This is the second local site where I have found them already this year which is better than normal as I usually only find a few second brood around here, that is when I find them at all.

Brown Argus - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

Brown Argus - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

A few passing whites were seen with some of them proving to be female Orange-tips but at least one was confirmed as a Green-veined White albeit a rather faded one..

Green-veined White - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

I have still only seen a few of these so far this year, maybe half a dozen at most with Large and Small Whites being even scarcer with only a couple of each seen.

Burnet Companion Moths were all over the place during the afternoon and very flighty in the warm conditions making them even more difficult to approach than usual. I didn't count them but they were the most common lepidoptera seen during the afternoon with loads flying in all the open grassy areas of the site.

Burnet Companion - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

Burnet Companion - Blythe Valley 01.06.2019

There were also a few Mother Shipton Moths seen but nowhere near the numbers of the Burnet Companions.

After wandering about for a couple of hours, it had become very warm with the temperature in the low to mid twenties plus a fair amount of high level cloud was making it feel muggy and uncomfortable so I decided to call it a day and head home.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Pauline]

More great shots from you Neil but it might surprise you that my favourite is that last shot of the female OT - just everything about it appeals to me. I think it is a lovely composition.

[Wurzel]

I'm with Pauline Neil - that female OT is a cracking image, mind you the Coppers and Blues give it a close run Also what is that Comma doing still hanging around? The H Commas aren't that far away now

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Interesting that you're still seeing Peacock, Comma & Orange Tip in June, Neil.

I've given up on these three in south Wales, though like you, we still have the likes of Small Copper, Common Blue and Brown Argus to compensate.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Pauline, I was pleased with that shot of female OT myself. I prefer a bit of out of focus vegetation like that in my photos when I can get it.

Cheers Wurzel, I often find one or two elderly Commas hanging on into June around here most years.

Hi David, its not unusual to still be seeing those species into June around here and this season has developed into a rather stop-start one which has prolonged the flight periods of some of the spring species somewhat.

Friday 7th June.

Well I hope we don't have many more days like today, its been 'orrible. The only difference has been in how heavy the rain has been.

Although there was some pleasant weather during the week when I was stuck in work there has also been plenty of cloud about and I haven't seen a single butterfly since last Saturday.

The moth trap has been out a couple of times with a few more new for year species turning up but mostly the usual common species with nothing particularly outstanding. Last Saturday night in particular turned cloudy and stayed mild after a warm day and produced my highest total so far this year, 72 moths of 26 species (51 of 18 macros and 21 of 8 micro).

The most common 'trap filler' at this time of the year is the Heart & Dart but these can still be worth a closer look with quite a bit of variation and some nicely marked examples to be seen.

Heart & Dart - Coverdale 01.06.2019

Another common species is the Marbled Minor, or rather one of three species (Marbled Minor, Tawny Marbled Minor, Rufous Minor) that cannot be reliably separated without expert examination and so are recorded as agg (aggregate).

Marbled Minor agg. - Coverdale 01.06.2019

I also had another Figure of Eighty on Saturday which was in slightly better condition and better marked than the one caught the previous week so I took a few photos of it from different angles.

Figure of Eighty - Coverdale 01.06.2019

Figure of Eighty - Coverdale 01.06.2019

Figure of Eighty - Coverdale 01.06.2019

The weather over the next few days looks to be rather changeable and on the cool side. A far cry from 'flaming June' so far, I can think of another word that describes it but better not say it...there may be children reading.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

A lovely set of Moths again Neil I can actually see where a couple of these get their names which isn't always the way

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

You keep pulling rabbits from the hat with these moths, Neil.

That Figure of Eighty is particularly striking.