Kev Ling

[kevling]

Thanks Guy,

I had two pupae last year. One on a twig like yours and one stayed and pupated on the Garlic Mustard stem. I kept them in my courtyard with a some wire fencing around to stop Millie the spaniel getting to them (as the previous year she found the twig and played with it, inadvertently eating the pupae into the bargain). I filled a jam jar with soil and stuck the twig in and that pupa reached adulthood. The garlic mustard stem was place in a jam jar of water and lasted all winter too. The pupa did show signs of life, but then perished for some unknown reason.
I have the exact same pupation scenario this week and will do nothing different.
Visited our exotic park this morning. A single Little Blue was seen but no Marbled White just yet.

Kind Regards
Kev

[kevling]

Here is the early difference in colouration for Orange Tip pupae. The first one was taken just after pupation was complete a week ago. Seven days later and there is already a marked difference. (NB: Same pupae from different angles).

Kind Regards
Kev

[kevling]

Landseer Park - Ipswich

One of my home town's local parks has been receiving a lot of conservation investment in recent years and now boasts a fantastic wildflower meadow area with chalk banks added. For the second year in a row we were treated to Little Blue (named in homage to Guy Padfield, with whom I had the pleasure of observing them with on 25th May). Egg laying females were spotted which hopefully bodes well for next year too.

I returned to the park on the afternoon of 17th June (if the boss asks, I was at work!) to observe a couple of fresh Dark Green Fritillaries. These have been introduced, but for the non-purest, a delight to see as the nearest official colony is some 40 miles away.

Also emerging in large numbers were the resident Marbled Whites.

There was also an explosion of skippers and Meadow Browns in attendance and I was pleased to get a shot of Small and Essex Skipper in each other's company before it was time to leave.

Kind Regards
Kev

[Wurzel]

Whether those DGFs are introduced or not they're still cracking to see and judging from the other shots the habitat looks perfect for them. It must be great to see this species in your local park

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Lovely when Marbled White season is in full swing, Kev. They are literally plastered all over the purple-coloured nectar sources on the best sites.

Your last image is excellent as well. Those two have temporarily put aside rivalries to simply drink and be merry.

[kevling]

Thanks Wurzel: It certainly is nice to have a bit of exotica in the area.
Thanks David: You are right about them being on all the purple flowers. Up to 150 Marbled Whites enjoying the knapweed now.

24/6/20 - Martlesham Heath, Ipswich
It is those unexpected moments that make my love of Butterflies so memorable. When you least expect it, something happens to brighten your day.
This can be said of yesterday, when I broke away from the office and took a walk around the grounds of my workplace, looking for butterflies nectaring on the large swathes of bramble. Apart from a respectable number of Meadow Browns hardly settling, I was surprised to see very few butterflies.
Suddenly my eyes focused on some bramble no more than 3 feet away from me, where to my astonishment sat a White Letter Hairstreak. A few minutes were spent watching it hop from flower head to flower head, before it was off into the trees.

Kind Regards
Kev

[Padfield]

Hi Kev. Great to see the white-letter hairstreak at Martlesham Heath. I've been on lockdown for about a week while my bike has been serviced (chain and various other bits replaced &c. &c.) but it was ready today so I walked to Evans Bikes at Martlesham then decided to have a zoom around the heath myself. I didn't see white-letter but I did see at least half a dozen silver-studded blues. I posted a couple on the June 2020 page. Is it normal for the silver-studs there to have such narrow borders? The ones I saw in my childhood (nearer to where Tesco now is) had normal, thick borders, and the ones I found nearer to the coast last year did too. All those I saw today had linear borders on the forewings.

Guy

[David M]

24/6/20 - Martlesham Heath, Ipswich
It is those unexpected moments that make my love of Butterflies so memorable. When you least expect it, something happens to brighten your day.....Suddenly my eyes focused on some bramble no more than 3 feet away from me, where to my astonishment sat a White Letter Hairstreak. A few minutes were spent watching it hop from flower head to flower head, before it was off into the trees.

I quite agree, Kev, and it's unanticipated appearances by elusive Hairstreaks that are amongst the finest of those unexpected moments.

[kevling]

Thanks David and Guy.

Guy, that's an interesting observation about the wing margins on the SSB. I have noticed that there is variation on both the outside wide border and the inner black ones too. Comparing some photographs, this doesn't seem to be site specific either.
Here are some comparisons from two seen at Purdis Heath, Ipswich
1. (Strong black margin/Narrow White Margin)

2. Strong black and white margins

I have looked for SSB by Tesco but not seen any. The colony at the far end of the heath, where part of the runway still exists (which I assume is where you went?) had a set back last year due to a large heathland fire. We estimate that over 50% of the population was lost.

Kind Regards
Kev

[Wurzel]

That was a great lunch break Kev - I bet your productivity was well up that afternoon

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[kevling]

Thanks Wurzel: It actually had the opposite effect, All I could think about was getting back out there and finding it again

It's been bit gloomy these past few days, however the grassland species don't seem to mind and there have been plenty of browns and skippers to enjoy. A breakfast walk last weekend with Millie the Spaniel led us up to a hilly field with long grass around the edges. With nothing more than my iPhone with me, I hadn't anticipated much in the way of photographs.
A freshly emerged Ringlet caught my eye, so I crouched down and took a picture. When I viewed it later I was taken aback by how stunning this often overlooked species is. The bottom edges of the forewings had a beautiful purple sheen to them, something I had never seen before. With all the exotic species on the wing at the moment, this might just be my photo of the year so far.

Kind Regards
Kev

[millerd]

That is a lovely Ringlet, Kev. When they are absolutely new like that, you do sometimes get the sheen you mention - unfortunately it doesn't last long. At least its one butterfly that doesn't mind the cloud and a bit of rain (perhaps that's why it appears in midsummer in the UK... ).

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

"Thanks Wurzel: It actually had the opposite effect, All I could think about was getting back out there and finding it again "

Ringlets are cracking value for money butterflies in my book Kev - cracking shots of them especially as they were from an iPhone

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[kevling]

27th July 2020
I was lucky to enjoy another of those moments yesterday when something unexpected happens. The sky was a heavy grey and rain was falling as I took Millie our spaniel for her morning walk. During our 90 minute jaunt I didn't see a single butterfly, until Millie flushed something up from the grass by the edge of the meadow. As it settled on a leave just above head height, to my astonishment it was a female Brown Hairstreak. Small colonies have appeared in Ipswich in recent years, but sightings of this elusive species are few and far between and I had yet to see one on my local patch.
She was agonisingly out of reach for a photo on my iphone, so a quick call was made to Mrs L, who popped down with my camera. I was pleased to observe the Hairstreak for almost 30 minutes. It was only a glimmer of sunshine that warmed her up sufficiently for her to take off to a higher spot in the trees. Here she is.

Kind Regards
Kev

[millerd]

It's great when something totally unanticipated happens like that, Kev. What a great sighting.

Cheers,

Dave

[trevor]

The unexpected ones are always the most exciting.
Brown Hairstreaks seem to be emerging everywhere at the moment.
Usually they are an August species.

Well found,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

A cracking find Kev - the unexpected ones are always the best Hats off to Mrs L for her very swift courier service

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Kev,

Great find with the Brown Hairstreak on your local patch, especially given the conditions. Just goes to show that you never know what might turn up.

Mrs L sounds like a diamond too, a keeper I reckon

Cheers,

Neil.

[kevling]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Mrs L certainly bagged some brownie points from me that morning, that's for sure.

The following day beckoned with much improved weather conditions. Still cloudy but warm. Perfect conditions to go looking for Grayling. I visited Sutton Heath, Woodbridge which is a normally a reliable site. Sightings of this species are reducing in Suffolk, so I hope they stabilise soon. I am always intrigued by how good they are at camouflage. Sometimes you don't know they are there until you disturb them.

Kind Regards
Kev

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots of the Grayling kev I've only ever seen them on trees in Portugal but it makes for a shot when you can actually be sure what you're looking at/photographing

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel