July 2019

[MrSp0ck]

I'm only casual on here, (mainly a birder), but surprised there's no mention of the Pale Clouded Yellow that was present the other day. Likely to be the real deal or not?

Probably just another Helice [Pale white form of the female Clouded Yellow], even in books eg "Devon Butterflies" it shows the Helice as a "Pale Clouded Yellow". The pale clouded yellow i saw in 1996 was a male, so no confusion.

[bugboy]

Hi David,

Thanks for your comments. This is actually the second flavimaculatus that I have seen in recent years and I think that it is probably quite a regular aberration in quercus. I suspect that quercus is probably one of our commonest butterfly species in the UK but because we only see a tiny proportion of the population come down from the canopy, this reduces our chances of coming across aberrations, which of course makes it all the more exciting when we find one.


All the best, Nigel

Coincidentally I had that exact conversation with Millerd a few weeks ago!

[Matsukaze]

Aberrant Meadow Brown seen at Edford Meadows, Somerset, earlier this month. There were plenty of normal-looking Meadow Browns as well.

[David M]

Meadow Brown, Hedge Brown, Speckled Wood, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Marbled White, Small White, Green Veined White & Peacock seen at Castle Meadows in Abergavenny this morning.

[Brianch]

not in date order but a beautiful and quite rare high brown fritillary from Cumbria on 8th

[Greenie]

The cloud cover rolled in at High Elms LNR this morning .
But at least it kept this Comma still for a while .

Looking at the species abs , it looks most like ab. reichstettensis .

[David M]

...Looking at the species abs , it looks most like ab. reichstettensis .

Superb find, Greenie. Your heart must have skipped a beat!

[millerd]

My first Silver-spotted Skipper of the year seen on the north side of Aston Rowant today. Just the one...

Dave

[David M]

My first Silver-spotted Skipper of the year seen on the north side of Aston Rowant today...

Lovely, Dave, but a sure sign that summer is on the wane.

[Pauline]

Hi Greenie - that's a smashing shot of the Comma Ab. Like the 'Black' Admirals there seems to be a few of them around this year but that does not detract from your great find and lovely image

[Pauline]

Hi Dave - might just be the first but the first of many hopefully. With only a couple of dozen on my local site I have had no success yet but hopefully won't be too far behind you

[badgerbob]

A very hot day spent looking for Grayling at Deep Dene today. Unfortunately it was so hot the Grayling were sheltering out of sight. Just 3 seen. 2 males that gave me the trouser and shoe visits and a female that quickly landed in the shadow of a small Wayfarer bush.
However, all was not lost as I came across this Gynandromorph Chalkhill Blue. As it flew past me it was clear that one wing was very dark so I suspected this was something I hadn't seen before.
It did land a couple of times but due to the heat it wasn't going to open up, that was until it got buzzed by a male, it then opened very briefly and I was lucky to get a quick grab shot showing the male/female split right down the middle.
An underside shot of the male side was also interesting as it shows the female side is slightly larger, as would normally be the case in a normal female.

A Summer brood Dingy Skipper was also spotted on sheep poo along with a fair number of Chalkhill Blues.

Gynandromorph Chalkhill Blue.

Gynandromorph Chalkhill Blue male side.

Summer brood Dingy Skipper with Chalkhill Blues.

[millerd]

That gynandromorph was a good spot in amongst the multitude of other Chalkhills, Bob! Your shot also shows the warped abdomen reflecting the different size and shape of male and female anatomy. A terrific find.

Cheers,

Dave

[Greenie]

However, all was not lost as I came across this Gynandromorph Chalkhill Blue.

What a fantastic find , and just reward for staying out in that heat . Well done .
Greenie

[David M]

...all was not lost as I came across this Gynandromorph Chalkhill Blue. As it flew past me it was clear that one wing was very dark so I suspected this was something I hadn't seen before.
It did land a couple of times but due to the heat it wasn't going to open up, that was until it got buzzed by a male, it then opened very briefly and I was lucky to get a quick grab shot showing the male/female split right down the middle.
An underside shot of the male side was also interesting as it shows the female side is slightly larger, as would normally be the case in a normal female.

That's a fabulous find, Bob, one of the best I've ever seen on here.

What a bizarre insect it is (yet strangely beautiful too).

[Jack Harrison]

25th July. Last night's moth trap (I use only occasionally) had a Garden Tiger.

Jack

[badgerbob]

Many thanks for the great comments concerning the Gynandromorph Chalkhill Blue.

I did manage one other shot of the butterfly that I will attach here. It basically shows why the insect opened its wings as it rejects the advances of a male fluttering over it. I got the one shot that just shows only the Gynandromorph, and this one with the male bothering it. Just after these were taken a group of 4 males were fluttering around it and they all took off together and the Gynandromorph was lost in the mayhem!!

It was just a shame that due to the very hot conditions the butterfly was not going to open its wings for any other reason.

Gynandromorph Chalkhill Blue.

More of the story on my blog https://bobsbutterflies.blogspot.com/20 ... -year.html

[David M]

Interesting how the males were paying it attention even though it was only half female, Bob!

[David M]

Spent two hours this morning at Mumbles Head on the Gower where I saw 7 Graylings:

Plenty of Hedge Browns about, easily outstripping Meadow Browns. Other species were Small Skipper, Common Blue, Small White, Red Admiral, Peacock & Ringlet.

[Jack Harrison]

Lazy, hazy, crazy days of [Tortoiseshell] summer.

What a day for Small Torts along the Nairn and Moray coasts! No actual counts were made but when simply driving along country lanes the sighting rate was one per minute or so.

And they keep coming indoors. A centrally heated house is not a good place for a Tortoiseshell to hibernate. So as they clearly are ready to hibernate, I catch the indoor ones when possible (but at least one is lurking somewhere – behind the furniture perhaps?) and box them and put in the fridge at +5C to be awakened late next March. It’s a tried and tested technique for Torties and Peacocks.

Jack