Bugboys mission

[Neil Freeman]

Great find with you local Green Hairstreak

I look for them around my patch every year but no luck so far. I live in hope that being such an overlooked species that I will strike lucky one day but they are quite localised in Warwickshire with all the colonies that I know of currently out of range for me.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

That is a fantastic find Bugboy I wish my local patch had some Greenstreaks Where did it come from I wonder? Love the action shot of the interacting Whites

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Janet Turnbull]

Been catching up with your diary, Bugboy - going back to those first gorgeous Orange tips. I admit to spending quite some time looking for the camouflaged one but I did find it in the end. The egg-laying sequence is amazing - I'd have felt very privileged to have witnessed that. I'm enjoying the Brimstone saga too. I planted an alder buckthorn last year but Mrs B doesn't seem to have found it yet. And I love the reed warblers!
Stay safe. Janet

[bugboy]

Thanks Guys, I do have to be careful not to get too excited with my Green Hairstreak, I can't rule out an unofficial release since my patch does have 'form' in that respect. There was that Brown Hairstreak that randomly appeared 6 years ago with zero evidence of their presence before or since and a small group of Brown Argus appeared in a small corner of one of the meadows, all in mint condition and once again never seen there again. However there is a known colony of GH a few miles east of me so it's not beyond the realms of possibility it is a natural colonisation. I'll just have to wait and see how things develop
Thanks Janet, I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time with that Peacock and those Brimstones are still going strong with more eggs still appearing on a daily basis from the looks of things
May 2020
Tuesday 5th. My local patch is entering a very quiet spell with regards to butterflies. The adult hibernators are rapidly vanishing and the first generation of the pupal hibernators are starting to look somewhat tired with Speckled Wood becoming particularly thin on the ground too. With no Coppers, Common Blues or Brown Argus on the wing as yet (and they are mostly found in single figures at the best of times here) I’m finding myself paying more attention to the birds, at least until the Skippers and summer Browns begin to emerge.

Today was significantly cooler and windier and I wasn’t surprised not to find any sign of the Green Hairstreak, the patch where he was flitting around in yesterday was taking the full brunt of the wind. Even the local Kestrels were taking the easy option! In the usual sheltered spots I found a couple of Green-veined White but nothing else.

Male kestrel

Apart from the odd White flitting or getting blown past that was pretty much it for a while. Overhead Swifts and Sand martins swooped around, the Swifts being particularly noisy. I’ve never attempted trying to photograph them, my first efforts aren’t brilliant but at least they’re recognisable (all heavily cropped mind). The attempts at Sand Martins were a complete failure

Swifts

Somethings about to get eaten!

I’m having a pretty good run with Warblers this year so I took a wander to where the Sedge Warblers normally hang out to see if they’ve arrived. They certainly had, I could hear them a mile off! I got lucky finding one that was busy looking for food rather than singing on a swaying reed stem, one of the best views I’ve ever had and certainly my best set of photos! I've always felt the guide books send to over egg the 'streaking' on the back

Sedge Warbler

By late morning a few Peacock started to appear, all licking the ground. I’ve noticed this in previous years, do they go a bit senile in their twilight days . This one eventually flew up into an overhanging Hawthorn to feed on the blossom.

A few more Whites settled and I found a pair of House Sparrows who obviously had some hungry mouths back at the nest.

Male House Sparrow

A slightly worn Orange-tip and a sunbathing Robin finished my stroll for the day

[Wurzel]

It could be a natural colonisation - I''ve seen them in the Eastern Clearing before now and the nearest other colony was a mile or two away - fingers crossed Hopefully you won't have to wait too long for the odd Blue to turn up but in the meantime those are cracking bird shots

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Well done with finding your local Green Hairstreak, Buggy. Despite extensive searching I have failed on my patch (though I know one was seen in 2019). It does make you wonder what is hiding out there waiting to be found. I reckon the Greenies may well be far more widespread than we realise and are there in small numbers all over the place. They are easy to miss and against the light flying along a hedgerow they are almost indistinguishable from Holly Blues.

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

Sorry to hear your local patch is a little bereft at the moment, Paul. However, you now have the opportunity to travel a little further afield should you wish.

Good news regarding the Green Hairstreak though. This species does have a habit of turning up unexpectedly. I've found them in places on the Gower where I wouldn't have anticipated their presence before now.

[bugboy]

Thanks guys I do wonder if they've been there all along. If it's a small colony of less than a dozen adults every year they could have been flying under the radar for years!
It's the way of my Local patch David, it dies a death once the first flush of butterflies have gone, even more so these days with stuff like Orange-tips peaking in April rather than the traditional May. It's all over for the year by September too hence why under normal circumstances I tend to ignore it for most the season . Today in glorious sunshine and warm weather I didn't make it into double figures! The new regulations may not be much help to me either, you're forgetting how I get about the country

May 2020
Wednesday 6th. This was a rather quiet day. There was a bit of a chilly breeze blowing and my lunchtime wander at work presented me with just a single, tired looking Red Admiral.

The walk home through the marshes was also rather empty with only a single tatty looking Peacock landing in front of me.

I did have a quick look at the Peacock eggs which must be getting close to hatching being 12 days old, only to find a snail had set up home on them. I know some snails are somewhat omnivorous so I decided to remove it in the hope it hadn’t done too much damage. Initially they all still look healthy, certainly no obvious ‘grazing’ that I could see, I think the brown mass may be snail poo but I would risk damaging the eggs trying to remove that as well.

Thursday 7th. Another quiet day at work, this time the single encounter was with my old friend the Brown Argus, looking a little more worn than when I last stumbled across him two weeks previously. I've not seen any others so I think he's going to live a very lonely life

A sunbathing Robin allowed for a close approach.

Due to a Traffic accident on the way home (not involving us I hasten to add) the walk through the marshes didn’t happen but I was welcomed home by finding two hatchling Brimstones larvae on my window shelf. I’d found a broken twig on the Buckthorn I regular inspect a few days previously which had three eggs on it so I stuck it in some water and now I have two babies to look after (the third egg failed)

[Wurzel]

Do you reckon we could smuggle you across country in the boot Bugboy If you sat on the back seat passenger side would that make you 2m away from the driver? If you both had the windows down for ventilation? There has to be a solution somewhere to getting you to somewhere outside of London? That Red Admiral does look very washed out - normally there are blues and reds and silvers to be seen on their under wings but they looks more brown and grey It also looks like it's come with a price - 8p or 88p?
Here's hoping the Brown Argus doesn't remain a lonely pony

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel

Do you reckon we could smuggle you across country in the boot Bugboy

I am getting to the point where this would be a viable option

If you sat on the back seat passenger side would that make you 2m away from the driver? If you both had the windows down for ventilation?

I have thought that myself actually... There is talk about two households becoming a single 'bubble' which would help, but this is just talk at the moment... fingers crossed

May 2020
Friday 8th. My last day at work before another pre-covid booked break, this time I have 10 days of thumb twiddling rather than PBF and SPBF chasing. Anyway I didn’t have a lunchtime wander at work today as we had a mini VE celebration with copious amounts of cake which took priority!

I did find a few bits and pieces on the walk through the marshes at the end of the day, all in the one little sheltered Spot where the Comma’s fighting over just a few weeks ago and where the Peacock eggs are discreetly developing. Oddly this is the only spot I ever see Large Whites do anything more than flutter past on my patch. This one (only the third I've seen this year) settled a few times in-between being harassed by other unidentified ones.

A Comma was also still hanging on and A Holly Blue was paying a lot of interest in the Dogwood.

The Peacock eggs are either starting to show developing larvae or are dying (possibly a bit of both), only time will tell what’s really going on here .

Actually I already know the outcome of these but you'll just have to be patient

[Wurzel]

WRT the Peacock eggs you needed to start that last post with 'Not Quite a Spoiler Alert' Bugboy You did well to still see a Comma - round here they seemed to be doing okay to start with and then just disappeared Fingers crossed we get a bit more easing and clarity with it

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

You'll have to wait for the next post for the Peacock eggs update Wurzel . Same here with the Peacocks and Commas, I am still stumbling across the odd female, though although butterfly numbers in general have fallen off a cliff on my patch now. I was out for 5 hours today in perfect springtime weather and I may have scraped into double figures assuming all the Whites I saw weren't the same one!

May 2020
Saturday 9th. Although I’ve said I was going to sit out sunny weekends on my local patch due to it being impossible to social distance from the idiot picnickers etc, I figured there may be a few sore heads from VE celebrations the night before and if I left early I would avoid the rush. Indeed I did and it was a lovely quiet morning. This was my first chance to properly check on the Green Hairstreak situation since my find, having been at work during the intervening days but there was no sign of any first thing, even a wandering Holly Blue failed to flush any out.

The Peacock eggs were in much the same state as yesterday. I’ve also got a Red Admiral larvae that I’m keeping an eye on but today I couldn’t locate him. The stem he was living on looks like it was felled by him but his original tent was empty and there was no other knitted together leaves… hmmm.

Being so early it was rather quiet, but on the other hand what I did find wasn’t overly active.

There was still a good amount of Brimstone larvae but my original one was MIA, a couple of freshly laid eggs where all I could find around his original leaf.

MIA?

Freshly moulted 4th? instar

1st instar

Things were starting to get a bit busy by late morning so I made the move to go home, stopping off only to find another Green Hairstreak at Hairstreak Corner, or rather as my earlier photos would later show me, the same individual.

[Wurzel]

Love the GVW shot Bugboy - reminds me of David Bellamy; "Let's peer through the vegetation and see what we can find" So could your Greenstreak be a female - the abdomen looks quite chunky? If so fingers crossed you might have some more next year

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

...I figured there may be a few sore heads from VE celebrations the night before and if I left early I would avoid the rush. Indeed I did and it was a lovely quiet morning.

Good philosophy, Paul. I have tended to go out very early at weekends and save weekdays for lunchtime visits. Seems to work very well.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel. I did think that about the Hairstreak myself when I was taking the pictures but the single spot 'streak' and all the wear and tear match up to the first time I saw it and it was definitely behaving male-like then, holding a territory and vigorously chasing away Holly Blues so
Thanks David, it's at times like these that I really wished I didn't live in the big smoke

May 2020
Monday 11th was a rather chilly, breezy affair and I wasn’t overly expectant of finding a great deal. I did manage to re-find my errant Red Admiral caterpillar, here’s his new home which had been constructed on an adjacent Nettle stem to his previous home. The poo on the leaves underneath indicating a rather fat occupant!

The lack of butterflies recently has seen me taking more interest in the summer birdlife and I’ve picked up a new hobby, trying to get a decent picture of a Swift, it kills the time if nothing else . I actually surprised myself when I got the pictures back on my computer, there’s a good bit of definition on some of the results. Only some mind, most were barely recognisable blurs or wingtips vanishing off the edge of the frame.

As I was stood there watching dozens of Swift a largish butterfly swooped over my shoulder and settled on the ground in front of me. My first Painted Lady of the year was quite a fresh example, if not homegrown it must have emerged in northern France fairly recently.

Next stop, Brimstone tree. My original had re-appeared after going MIA a couple of days ago, looking very chunky now, 4th instar I think?

A range of instars and more fresh eggs still littered the lower twigs.

After watching the Dabchicks (and wondering when I’ll see the chicks riding around on mum and dads backs) I wandered back finding a Small white and a tatty old Red Admiral willing to sit, I think the Red Admiral was just relieved to be taking a breather to be honest!

Early afternoon and it was still a bit breezy, I’d seen a few more Whites and the occasional Holly Blue but nothing to point my camera at so I spent another 15 minutes pointing it skywards at the Swifts again, remarkably some more in focus!

As I was about to leave to go home, I caught sight of the now familiar jinking flight of my Green Hairstreak (yes, it does seem to be the same individual).

I’ll finish on a peacock egg update which I’d checked on first thing. Another (or perhaps the same) snail had parked on them again. Upon removing him I discovered they had been significantly reduced in number, as I suspected the snail had been snacking on them.

Since I’ve become quite invested in these, having watched them being laid, I decided to take the remaining eggs home. Snails can use their slime trails to re-find good feeding spots so the remaining eggs were far from safe. Time will tell as to how, if any, are still alive. (I already know but you’ll just have to wait )

[Wurzel]

Great find with the Painted Lady Bugboy - quite a dark one and with the blue pupils in the hind wing spots Last year was brilliant for them so they could be at a premium this year

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Good luck with the Peacock ova, Paul. If I could find any myself I'd probably do likewise - been a while since I reared anything.

Nice Painted Lady too. There haven't been too many around so far this year so hopefully they'll start showing up in greater numbers soon.

[millerd]

Great to see a Painted Lady, Buggy. A really nicely marked one as well. I hope Wurzel is wrong about famine following feast and that the current southerly airstream will waft a few (or even a lot) over from the continent. I don't know if any numbers have been reported over there this year yet.

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, yes it was a rather dusky individual, lets hope its the precursor to a nice influx, the current weather is on our side if nothing else !
Thanks David , more about the Peacock eggs below... and some !
Thanks Dave, like you say, the weather's conducive for an influx but also like you I've not seen any news as to whether we're in for an invasion like last year

May 2020
Tuesday 12th. If anything there were even fewer butterflies around this morning, just the occasional White. The Red Admiral larvae had moved homes, moving upstairs on his stem.

I did some more Swift watching and then switched to see if my newfound skills would work on the Sand Martins here.

Sand Martins bottom left

They tend to fly much lower which makes them a lot more difficult to track with the camera so I switched to trying to get them as they flew around their nest sites. There’s no sand bank for them to use, instead they nest in holes along the side of the canal, completely unphased by the people walking along the path above them. This method turned out to be fairly effective although next time I’ll try earlier in the day when that side is still in full sun.

Sand Martins

Sand Martin

Yet more Brimstone eggs had been laid since yesterday. My original larvae was once again MIA but others are now getting quite fat too.

It was warming up as lunchtime approached but nothing more than a few more Whites were encouraged into activity. I did have one final pleasant surprise which delayed my journey home. Right on the edge of a well-used path I found another female Peacock busy laying her eggs. Her chosen site wasn’t really what you would call a nettle bed, just half a dozen stems, precariously leaning out towards the path and any unprotected legs walking past, not the safest place to choose.

After getting some close ups I left her to it with the intention of returning tomorrow to rescue them before the nettles got flayed by another passer-by. That plan however had to be moved forward when I got home, my other batch of eggs had started to hatch.
When I got back, I found the batch of eggs rather on the small side but at least it hadn’t been destroyed already. Anyway the eggs were carefully snipped off once I got home and my new hatchlings were given a nice fresh stem to munch on.

New batch

Babies!

[millerd]

Amazing to think those tiny little green worms will in a few weeks time have transformed into ravenous black spiny monsters getting on for 5cm long! And that by some minor miracle they will eventually convert a pile of dull green nettles into the extraordinary thing of beauty that is a fresh new Peacock butterfly. It never ceases to fascinate me... I shall follow them with interest, though you're going to be hard-pushed to name them all!

Cheers,

Dave