Thanks for all the comments about the dramatic Comma pupae 'V' wasp scenario
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
, I was very lucky to be there to see it unfold. The wasp is I believe a member of the
Pimpla genus which specialise in lepidopteran pupae. I've done a bit of reading up on them. It seems they aren't fussy over the species, it just needs to be big enough to feed their larvae. I think I witnessed her judging the size of the pupae too. She spent a bit of time fussing around on it with her antennae curled over so just the tips touched the pupae (you can see this most clearly in the second set of images). Looking back she seemed to be using them like a pair of calipers, judging the size and giving herself a 3D image of the pupae before she actually laid the egg. Unfortunately for the Comma, it was judged good enough for her baby
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
. A very useful technique when pupae are often hidden amongst foliage.
20th August
I still had two days before heading down to Dorset and with nothing planned but chasing butterflies all I had to decide was where to go, back to Bookham or Ashtead looking for these damn Brown Hairstreaks or heading further south where reports were now coming in thick and fast of Long-tailed Blues. The latter won out, to be honest it wasn’t much of a competition!
Shoreham and Southwick were the chosen destinations. There was a slight autumnal nip in the air when I arrived at Southwick, a little before 9, but this wasn’t putting the local butterflies off, Small Whites were plentiful but it was the Painted Ladies that caught my attention. So far, I’ve not really had the pleasure of experiencing the major influx of them this year. They have turned up more often than average but no more than three or four in a day, now I had the pleasure of at least fifteen and probably more in varying degrees of age and wear & tear. A few were feeding on the knapweed on the slope at the centre of the site, but the majority, along with a couple of Red Admirals, were gorging themselves silly on the Buddlija’s near the oil storage plant at the eastern end.
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- 4 in this image
As the sun continued to warm the air a female Clouded Yellow appeared, my first on UK soil this year. She allowed a few shots before vanishing over the fence.
Obviously, I also spent a fair bit of time picking through the BLEP, where it was clear I wasn’t the first person, judging by the trampling around it. It had mostly gone over with well-developed seed pods far outnumbering flowers and buds, but hopefully there’s some hungry LTB larvae munching away inside. A male Common Blue did cause a minor cardiac arrest and a couple of male Clouded Yellows provided a bit of exorcise for me. The only other species seen here was a female Meadow Brown.
Next it was on to Mill Hill. My usual route around the horse field providing me plenty of reasons to stop and point my camera at things. Fresh Red Admirals invariable saw me first and darted off but there were also oodles of Holly Blues today who were much more cooperative. They seemed to be mostly females and there was a fair amount of ovipositing going on.
Once on Mill Hill other Blues hogged my attention, some not too shabby Adonis with the occasional shabbier Chalkhill.
I disturbed a mating pair, the male doing all the flying work so it was clear he was a Chalkhill but with fresh female Adonis around it was worth checking to see if I could ID the female, from a distance she looked in good nick, did I have a hybridisation in front of me? A closer view showed she wasn’t as fresh as I had first thought but I needed an upperside view to be sure of what she was. To my surprise, almost as if she could read my thoughts, she obliged as I was thinking this and showed that she was indeed a Chalkhill female.
Meadow Browns and Small Heath were both rather frisky and just a single tatty female Wall was seen, basking here and there in-between helping to sort out the third brood. I caught this Small Heath during a cloudy spell practicing some sort of yoga move.
I sometimes wander further afield when I’m in this part of the world if I have time. A lane which runs under the underpass is lined with bramble and nettles with a couple of large Buddlija is always worth exploring if time allows. There wasn’t a great deal here today but a Painted Lady and a couple of Commas meant I didn’t leave empty handed.
Still with a bit of time on my hands I headed back to the harbour to see if anything else had turned up. Nothing new was seen but the Painted Ladies were still out in numbers and with increasing cloud cover they were willing to pose nicely for me
So no LTB but no less a good day
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)