Yes, Dave, you're right. Part cloudy and cool conditions are good, as are activities such as mating or laying eggs. In some ways, this species is quite 'Hairstreak-like' in its behaviour, meaning that you need patience and/or good fortune.millerd wrote: ↑Fri Apr 10, 2020 10:34 pmYou're right, David - having a lot of Holly Blues to choose from really does enhance the chances of getting shots as good as yours are. I generally find the best opportunities for getting good photos of females are when they are laying. They tend to take a breather between bouts and will often bask while doing so. Both sexes will also bask open-winged when the weather is cooler and there is sun with passing cloud. You can stand for a long time next to a butterfly waiting for the sun to pop out again.
Interesting Holly Blue behaviour….
On the subject of Holly Blues, it was my great fortune to find not one, not two, but three mating pairs whilst at Cwm Ivy last Tuesday.
In spite of this woodland area being a paradise for them, I had never seen this before.
The first two pairs were in cop in full view of the maelstrom of males circling around, and every now and then one would descend to check things out:
Strangely, this behaviour remained watchful, rather than participatory. At no stage did the additional male make any attempt to physically interrupt the paired couple:
At all times, the wings of both the males and females remained tightly shut, although I did get a glimpse of the apex of this female’s upf as this pair moved along the branch of this evergreen: