Pauline

[Wurzel]

Woah brilliant stuff Pauline - I could really do with this species in my 'In cop' collection

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice to see the female Brimstones have found your buckthorn, Pauline, even if you didn't observe them in the act of laying.

Even better is the sight of mating Dukes. Unless we have restrictions partially lifted in a couple of weeks, I fear I will miss out on this species as it does not occur in Wales. Good to see things going well on that front from afar.

[Pauline]

Cheers Wurzel - your 'in cop' collection must be quite substantial by now?

Ah, but I've seen them egg-laying before David. By far the most exciting for me was seeing those eggs on the Buckthorn. Having said that I do feel sorry for folk who are going to miss out on a number of species this season ( and I include myself in that). However, whilst watching that mating pair of Dukes yesterday I was lucky enough to spot what I think is an Ab. Gracilans. I saw one last year and in 2013. Please shout if I am wrong.

and another shot of the happy couple:

[millerd]

I think it is gracilens, Pauline. They are so much lighter in colour they almost look like a different species. I saw one at Noar Hill a few years ago and it took me a while to work out what it was. Those are terrific shots as well.

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Looks good for the ab to me too They are a cracking looking ab. - as Dave says almost like a different species As for the 'In cop' collection I'm doing okay for most of the groups but I'm missing Aristocrats and Hairstreaks and the Duke would be a great one as that would be a whole group completed in one!

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Those are lovely shots of the Dukes Pauline, keep them coming, your shots of them will do me good ab's has well Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you Dave, Wurzel for verification of the Ab. I thought it was spelled Gracilens Dave but I looked at British Butterfly Abs site and it was spelled as Gracilans - old fashioned spelling perhaps?

Thank you so much Goldie - I don't intend going there too often as it's a 10 min drive but I sometimes need to go over that way for animal supplies.

I wonder if I could possibly ask the experts out there to take a closer look at the shot of a Brimstone I posted earlier in April. It has been tentatively suggested to me that it looks a little like something else and I would appreciate other opinions. Thanking you in advance.

[David M]

..I wonder if I could possibly ask the experts out there to take a closer look at the shot of a Brimstone I posted earlier in April. It has been tentatively suggested to me that it looks a little like something else and I would appreciate other opinions. Thanking you in advance.

Do you mean the one in your post from 11th April, Pauline?

The only similar species in western Europe is Cleopatra.

[Pauline]

That's the one David (11 April) and some similarities to Cleopatra were mentioned to me recently. Personally, having looked at photos of both species I am struggling to tell the difference but I am sure those who are more experienced can explain what the differences are. I imagine you have seen Cleopatra 'in the flesh' so to speak which presumably makes it easier to differentiate.

[David M]

The females of these two species are very difficult to separate with any certainty (unless you happen to see a mating pair!)

The apical 'spike' on Cleopatra is usually a bit blunter than that of a Brimstone, though each individual butterfly might display a range of variation from what is considered normal.

I note that your female's spike does look a little blunt, but then the one I photographed on 22nd March is quite blunt also, and given that 5 minutes after taking this she was in-cop with a male Brimstone then there is no doubt as to her identity:

Also, factor in the distribution of Cleopatra. It is common near the Mediterranean but gets scarcer as you go north in France. Looking at the most recent 'repartition' charts, it is completely absent from the northern half of France, so the only likely way it could arrive in the UK would be either via a breeder or importation of a mediterranean buckthorn plant with early stages attached.

[Pauline]

Thank you for this David. An 'orange stripe' was mentioned to me but I am not sure how significant this is. IF this was the female that laid eggs in the garden (and I don't know as I wasn't there) are there any significant differences in their larva?

[Pauline]

Just in case anyone happens to be following this thread I thought I'd post the shot again so it is easily accessible:

[Wurzel]

I think the 'blunt' part of the wing is actually a trick of the light as it were...if you zoom in it looks a lot more pointed its just that the petal behind it is perfectly positioned making it look blunt...if that makes any sense whatsoever I'll go and buy a hat to eat it but you might get what I mean...

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Thank you for this David. An 'orange stripe' was mentioned to me but I am not sure how significant this is. IF this was the female that laid eggs in the garden (and I don't know as I wasn't there) are there any significant differences in their larva?

There are notch-like orange markings at intervals along the costa but both species exhibit these. The larvae are very similar too, so one can't rely on that like in Pale/Berger's Clouded Yellow. Both feed on rhamnus species too, making differentiation even harder.

[Pauline]

Thank you David, Wurzel - I am much better informed than I was a couple of days ago

A few images from a very pleasant walk yesterday. Small Copper are now fairly numerous but were very lively in the heat and reluctant to open wings:

Green Tiger Beetles, an agile predator of caterpillars amongst other things, scurried ahead of me on the path, occasionally taking short, distinctive flights. I've photographed these before but their dazzling metalic colours warrants a couple more shots I reckon:

I wondered if it was permissible for me to pause and spend time watching the Dartford Warblers (I think that's what they are). I did so anyway. They weren't very close and you all know what my bird photography is like but I thought I'd give it a try anyway:

Last but not least were the tiny lizards - Common Lizards I believe, declining in numbers and protected by law:

[millerd]

Thank you Dave, Wurzel for verification of the Ab. I thought it was spelled Gracilens Dave but I looked at British Butterfly Abs site and it was spelled as Gracilans - old fashioned spelling perhaps?

I wasn't correcting your spelling, Pauline - I always put ab. names in italics! However, I always thought it was "ens" and hadn't noticed you'd spelt it "ans". In the folder of images on UKB https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/aberrat ... ies=lucina it has the "ens" spelling. I suspect that this is the correct one, as "gracilens" (meaning slender) is a Latin word, whereas "gracilans" does not exist at all in Latin. (Hooray for online dictionaries... )

The Tiger Beetles are splendid creatures - I've never yet got close enough to one to get a decent shot, so a definite for those.

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Scroll down to pages 76 to 78 on this PDF to see some of the key ID points between the Brimstone and Cleopatra

http://static.malaga.es/malaga/subidas/ ... 884_v4.pdf

[Wurzel]

Great shots of the Darty Pauline - they're cracking looking birds when they eventually stop skulking around

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice find with the Dartford Warbler, Pauline. You seem to be doing pretty well with the reptile-life this spring too.

[Pauline]

Thank you Dave. I think those Green Tiger Beetles are quite sensitive to any vibration so a great deal of stealth was required on the approach - not sure my speed at that point would have counted towards my 'exercise' tho'!

That is exactly what I was searching for Buggy - thank you. I found a Corfu site where Dr Dan Danahar had promised to upload a document which highlighted the differences and also included the Powdered Brimstone (if I've remembered that right) but I couldn't locate the actual document.

There were 2 of them Wurzel, working together, stripping the gorse of larva of some sort.

I suppose my focus is usually primarily on the butterflies David, but being restricted to local sites means I am taking more notice of other wildlife too which has to be a good thing. Today just a few from the garden. I had to top up the pond with the hose as it was getting a bit low for the resident frogs:

Presumably it was whilst I was doing this that another Brimstone laid more eggs on my little Alder Buckthorn I went to check on the first batch and noted they had changed colour. This is from 22/4:

and now, 4 days later:

If they all survive I may have to provide supplementary feeding as it is just a tiny sprig and from my experience last season, it was clear that the larva stripped the plant then moved onto the next one.