David M

[David M]

Thanks, Goldie. Even the darkest clouds have a silver lining!

[kevling]

Cracking diary as always David. You are certainly rattling through the species in your neck of the woods. Going back to 9th May that must be the beautiful female Common Blue I have seen.

Regards Kev

[David M]

Thanks, Kev. Yes, she was a real beauty, although I find that the 'bluer' females are becoming commoner by the year.

Friday 15th May - Wood White

On the subject of clouds having a silver lining, this visit fulfilled that epithet to a tee.

I left Ewyas Harold Common with clouds building, and by the time I had arrived at nearby Haugh Wood the sun was practically obscured.

I haven't been to this site since 2013, mainly because of the numbers of biting flies, but one thing I remembered was that several rides had wide margins full of vegetation so there was a chance of seeing a Wood White roosted.

This proved to be a sound theory, as the only butterfly I saw was a roosting Wood White:

This was the overcast overview at the time of the sighting:

Amazingly, a minute or so later the sun came out for 2 minutes, and the butterfly quickly got active and flew a short distance. It very soon came down on the opposite side of the ride:

So, no interaction between the sexes which is what I was hoping to see, but this is the first time I've seen Wood Whites in the UK for 7 years, and I won't leave it so long again!

Heading south

Skies were leaden by the time I left Haugh Wood, but there were obvious clear breaks further south so I headed to Stroud, arriving at Rodborough Common about an hour and a half later. I made my way to the Duke 'hotspot', but the first butterfly that caught my eye was one I wasn't expecting - a Marsh Fritillary. I hadn't previously been aware that they are present here:

As ever, there were good numbers of butterflies of many varieties in this spot:

There were quite a few Dukes, a lot of which were still in good condition:

I managed to find this mating pair:

This image was revealing as it shows the six legs the female possesses compared to the male's four:

After spending a while concentrating on the Dukes, I went off to try and find some Adonis Blues. The first I found was this male aberrant:

The only other male I found was normally marked:

I never tire of the iridescent uppersides:

[David M]

Wednesday 20th May - Pleasant surprise....

Another visit to the coastal dune site at Crymlyn Burrows produced all the usual suspects, Common Blue, Small Heath, Small Blue, Brown Argus, Small Copper, etc, but it also provided a real shock.

I've been visiting this site extremely regularly since 2013 and today was the first time I have ever seen a Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary there:

This may prove to be a one-off (I once saw a solitary Marsh Fritillary here but have never witnessed any since) but the habitat looks quite good for them, with plenty of damp, wooded areas as well as copious violets growing all over the site.

The only other butterfly to stop me in my tracks was this beautiful female Large White:

[Sylvie_h]

Hi David,

Strangely enough David, I was at Crymlyn Burrows on Monday 25th this week and there were butterflies in good numbers :

Small and common blues
A very tattered small copper
Small heath
Small skipper
Orange tip
Brown argus
Peacock
Large white

and then I saw a fritillary flying pass me and I knew it was not a dark green. Unfortunately, it did not stop and although I did follow it, it carried on over the trees ….. Reading your thread I am pretty sure now that it was a small bordered fritillary. There must be a colony there surely.... something to explore.

The ponds were quite dry and I wonder how the dragonflies will flare this year as a consequence. I saw only 2 Azure damselflies....

Sylvie

[David M]

Yes, Sylvie. I'm sure it would have been a Small Pearl Bordered. I was there again yesterday but there were no Dark Greens (I expect them to emerge next week), so it couldn't really have been anything else (unless it was another rogue Marsh Frit like the one I found there in 2013!)

I'm glad you mentioned the Azure Damselflies, because there were a few buzzing about the bramble growth on the track by the university car park just before it loops round towards the beach. The tree cover is quite dense so there's no way the swamp will dry out.

PS - I presume you meant Large, rather than Small, Skipper?

[Sylvie_h]

Hi David,

Now you tell me, I've had another good look again at my picture and I mistook it for a small skipper because the markings are hardly visible on the specimen I saw, but looking at an enlarged level you are right it is a large skipper. Thank you for questioning this otherwise I would not have had a second look.
Sylvie

[David M]

No problem, Sylvie. I generally don't see Small Skippers till around midsummer's day, so I suspected it might have been a Large Skipper instead.

Monday 25th May - Fritillary count....

I spent a couple of hours on Fairwood Common this morning attempting to count Fritillaries. I was a little disappointed at 17 Marsh and 21 Small Pearl Bordered, although to be fair a large swathe of the Common was torched in late March, destroying much of the breeding habitat.

I did manage to find my first female Marshies however:

I then drove the short distance to Prior's Meadow at the NE end of the Common, where I bumped into my first Meadow Browns of 2020:

Another welcome sight was this fresh, summer brood Small Tortoiseshell:

[David M]

Wednesday 27th May 2020 - Fritillaries peaking....

I always know when my local populations of Marsh and Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries are peaking because I suddenly start to see plenty of females.

This morning, I concentrated on the area lying about 10 minutes walk from my home, as it has copious ragged robin blooms and I fancied they might harbour a Frit or three.

I was right - 26 Marsh Frits and 16 SPBFs in just over an hour. I love the way these insects practically bury themselves in the flowers:

This female Marshie could barely fly so laden was she:

She happily walked onto my finger which I offered when she was embedded in the gorse:

Nice to see several female SPBFs too. They'll still be around in a fortnight but by then the Marshies will probably all be gone:

[Goldie M]

Your so lucky David, being so close to these lovely Butterflies Lovely shots of them has well Goldie

[David M]

Thanks, Goldie. Yes, I'm aware of how lucky I am to have these on my doorstep; in fact, the latter half of May is when I'm luckiest of all!

[Janet Turnbull]

I would feel so honoured if a butterfly voluntarily walked onto my finger! And the one you have there is such a gorgeous specimen!

[David M]

I was indeed honoured, Janet. It happens every year. Some of the female Marshies are so weighed down with their load of eggs that they struggle to fly. They are normally quite amenable to a helping hand!

[David M]

Thursday 28th May 2020 - Large Skipper

A routine couple of hours spent at Crymlyn Burrows. All the usual suspects, but a new species for the year was Large Skipper:

The other interesting moment was when a male Common Blue persistently harassed a notably blue female of the species. It took several minutes for her to finally shake him off. Perhaps this is why the bluer females seem to be becoming more common - the males take a particular shine to them:

[Pauline]

That's a great photo David - wish I'd taken it Smashing action shot which grabbed my attention because of my interest in them. Could it be that the males are attracted to them because they are more active (and therefore obvious) than their brown counterparts?..... and of course there's the colour. Perhaps the initial intention was to chase off a rival male but on approaching couldn't believe his luck

[David M]

Thanks, Pauline. Yes, it was an interesting spectacle, particularly remembering that Silver Washed Fritillary males are reputed to be far less interested in valezina females than they are nominative form ones.

Of course, it's hard to know what a nominative form female icarus is these days. Perhaps, as you suggest, the males are initially confused into thinking it's another male that they must chase off but then realise it's actually a female and pursue them with zeal? Certainly, you'd expect the more brightly coloured females to be more visible from distance so maybe fewer of these are 'missed' by the males leading to more pairings?

[Chris L]

Lovely photos as ever David. That was lucky to have the Marsh Fritillary walk on to your finger like that. Reminds me of March - April time when I wished a Comma would sit up for a photo instead of flying off and a few minutes later one landed on my hand. Alas my camera was in the same hand.

[David M]

Thanks, Otep. The longer you spend in the field the more opportunities will come your way!

Certain species are quite approachable in the right conditions.

[David M]

Sunday 31st May 2020 - Dark Green Fritillary.....

The earliest I had ever seen Dark Green Fritillary was 9th June, but given the prolonged hot spell, I fancied there may be one or two about at Crymlyn Burrows on the coast today.

I was right, there were four in fact, although only the first one settled for any length of time, justifying my decision to arrive early:

The lack of rain has seen even this normally damp area begin to look jaded:

It's rare for a Swansea resident to wish for some rain, but a healthy dose would do wonders right now.

[David M]

Tuesday 2nd June 2020 - Painted Lady....

Finally, I got to see my first Painted Lady of the year today. A welcome sight even though it wasn't in the best of shape.

Hopefully the first of many: