David M

[David M]

Sunday 26th April 2020 - Dingy Skipper....

The last warm, sunny day for a while (or so the forecast said) so I went and did some shopping and given the proximity to my workplace I thought I'd pop in to the expanse of waste ground across the way, which is the best place I know of for Dingy Skippers in my area:

I'm not sure what used to be on this site, but the rubble from the demolished buildings is still about, and birds foot trefoil abounds, which is what presumably attracts the Dingies.

I saw about half a dozen; they were all highly active but I managed to get a few images:

They've built several units adjacent to this waste land, so I'm not sure how much longer it'll be before they decide to do likewise here. If they do, it'll be another rich butterfly habitat destroyed.

[Maximus]

You're lucky to have a Dingy Skipper site adjacent to your workplace, David, lets hope that this site will be spared from further development

[David M]

Yes, Mike. Few people know about it so the butterflies thrive. Like you say though, there are always dangers lurking - the site could be developed at any time.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi David,

I hope your Dingy site survives. Truth is, it is a tricky balancing act, many conservation bodies urge the development on brownfield sites to try and save greenfield ones but the brownfield sites can be important habitats in their own right.

Cheers,

Neil.

[David M]

Correct, Neil. It's often a case of concentrating on the most valuable areas whilst simultaneously taking the occasional 'hit' on the ones deemed to be able to be 'traded off'. Sadly, each one of these trade-offs slightly depletes the overall available habitat and the detriment over a period of many years is equal to what we've all seen since we were kids - devastation.

Sunday 26th April 2020 - Small Heath

I had been hoping to perhaps see Common Blue, Small Blue and Brown Argus at this site today, but I hadn't factored in seeing Small Heath, which I don't think I've ever encountered prior to May.

Just the one seen, and I think he had freshly emerged, as he wasn't too keen to fly and his wings looked a little floppy:

This species prefers more open habitat, which was where he was seen:

[David M]

Saturday 2nd May 2020 - Bizarre moment....

A trip to Crymlyn Burrows on the Swansea coast saw plenty of butterflies, as is usual at this time of year.

There were Orange Tips aplenty:

One individual stood out though:

Although the colour was abnormally pallid, it was clearly a male, but I suspect that it fooled other 'normal' males into thinking it was a female, as it was constantly harassed:

Normally, a mated female will bend her abdomen upwards signalling rejection, or she will try to drop into the vegetation to escape unwanted advances. This butterfly behaved differently - it was determined to carry on nectaring and made no obvious signals with its abdomen, and was thus pursued with zeal by several other males, only to repeatedly come back to the same patch of cuckoo flower where he had left off:

I've never seen anything like it before, and doubt I ever will again...

[Pauline]

Great sighting David - probably once in a lifetime! Not sure what to say as I haven't seen anything like that before but perhaps others will have more intelligent observations. Thanks for sharing - great shots!

[trevor]

An exceptional male Orange Tip, David. I think all of us on here would have
had to look twice at it just to try and comprehend what the eyes were seeing.

As a bonus it obviously hung around for several shots, very nice work.

Keep well,
Trevor.

[David M]

Great sighting David - probably once in a lifetime!

Thanks, Pauline. I'm sure it WILL be a one-off; I've certainly never seen anything like it before.

Even more interesting was the behaviour of the attendant OTs, which were clearly fooled into thinking this one was a female!

[millerd]

That's a bizarre Orange Tip, David. I've heard of examples where the orange is replaced by yellow, but in that one it's such a pale shade as to be almost invisible. No wonder the other males were confused! However, it shows that they rely heavily on sight to identify females, rather than smell, as you'd assume this one was emitting male pheremones as normal.

What a great sighting. in abundance!

Cheers,

Dave

[Katrina]

Great find! I haven't seen any OTs this year so great to see your unusual one

[David M]

Thanks, Trevor/Dave/Katrina.

Certainly made me do a double-take, and a reminder that no-one ever knows what strange creatures are lurking in the commonest places.

[Maximus]

An amazing Orange-tip, David, that's part of what makes this pastime so enjoyable - you never know what you're going to find

[David M]

Absolutely, Mike. There may not be exotic new species to discover, but there are occasionally exotic forms of commonplace butterflies to stumble upon.

Saturday 2nd May 2020 - Small Blue...

After the excitement of the freak Orange Tip, I moved to the more open side of this large site, and was pleased to find my first Small Blues of the year, one male and one female:

A couple more Small Heaths were seen, but no Common Blue or Brown Argus yet. Another visit over the Bank Holiday weekend should see them on the wing.

[Neil Freeman]

Just seen your Orange-tip ab. David, what a great find

And then following up with a pair of Small Blues, great stuff

Cheers,

Neil

[David M]

Thanks, Neil. Was a good day, that's for sure.

[Goldie M]

That's an amazing find David, lovely shots too I thought I'd posted to you already about your ab but mustn't have pressed the Submit Button Lovely Small Blues as well, your making me long Goldie

[David M]

Thanks, Goldie.

It'll be all white.....

Since Easter, I have tried to spend some time concentrating on Green Veined Whites, given that everybody else seems to have them eating out of their hand on here

They haven't been about in huge numbers, but with a bit of patience I managed to capture a few, and a bonus female Large White too!

I'll leave Small Whites till later in the summer, as they are equally frustrating.

[David M]

Wednesday 6th May 2020 - Brown Argus....

Another fabulous spring day, so I popped out for my daily exercise to Crymlyn Burrows again where I was hoping to find my first Common Blues of the year.

Strangely, there were none, but compensation was had when I stumbled upon this lovely little fellow:

I was particularly taken by the little white 'eyeball' around the black discal spot. I don't see too many of these round my way.

Small Heaths starting to build in number, though I only saw four Small Blues.

One Dingy Skipper and six Small Coppers added to the usual suspects, such as Orange Tip, Peacock, Brimstone and Whites.

[Allan.W.]

I found my first Brown Args today ……..fifteen ,in fact on my "new " patch ,a stones throw from home ,watched several laying females , I think your white spotted individual is AB;Snelleni. Nice shots David !
Regards Allan.W.