Bugboys mission

[bugboy]

Haha, maybe Wurzel, I must have been channeling something to get them to behave for once!
Thanks David, from what I've seen locally I reckon Peacocks will eclipse all those if the weather ever calms down a bit.
Thanks Neil, with them behaving I just couldn't resist a group shot, contrived as it was
Thanks Pauline. It would have been a better image had I not had to increase the ISO to levels I rarely use just to get anything useful. I found a Green Woodpecker chick poking his head out the hole the other day but you'll have to wait a while to see that, only just got them off my camera!

June 2020
Saturday 20th. A day I’d been looking forward too all week, my first chance to escape the confines of the M25 since lockdown started and a welcome change of scenery to the familiarity of Bookham .
Before that though a quick update on the Holly Blue larvae, they’d begun to pupate, some in the corners of the cage but most were using the leaves.

My final three Peacock pupae had all emerged when I wasn’t looking, two overnight and one whilst I was at work

At Bookham I very quickly started adding a few new species to the yearly tally. I’d seen a random Marbled White on my local patch a few days previously but today I managed a few snaps, they are a recent coloniser here and are now breeding in small numbers on the plains.
Ringlets were a new species for the year too and I was pleased to add Silver-washed Fritillary (no pics though) and White Admiral to the list

All the other usual suspects were around, Red Admirals, Commas, Meadow Browns and various brands of Skippers as well as a few glimpses of Purple Hairstreaks.

I also spent a bit of time trying to follow one of two Cuckoo who were calling, the best image I got was a distant shot just as it took flight.

I left at noon because I wanted to go and find the Black Hairstreak location at nearby Epsom Common. With more open habitat here, Marbled Whites were more numerous.

After wandering around for a bit, pretty sure I was close to the spot, I bumped into a fellow enthusiast who showed me the area I was after (I wasn’t as close as I thought I was). Unsurprisingly no Black Hairstreak were seen, I was long past the peak, but as I scanned the Blackthorn a small silvery butterfly fluttered down to settle down in front of me and later did his best impersonation of a Black Hairstreak, hiding in the Blackthorn.

So good to get out of London !

[Wurzel]

I bet you were like a dog off the leash Bugboy A cracking set of photos and some really well deserved stunning shots of the Purple Hairstreak - welcome to the real butterfly world again

Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel

[trevor]

A mrgreen for that Purple Hairstreak
The prime patch of bracken where most of my sightings have been in past years
has had a lorry load of wood chips dumped on it. A certain law at work there!.

Take care,
Trevor.

[David M]

A mrgreen for that Purple Hairstreak

From me too, Paul.

I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've seen a Purple Hairstreak at head height or below.

Even more enviable is any kind of photo of a cuckoo. I hear them regularly round my way but never actually see them.

[kevling]

Lovely photos to the Purple Hairstreak Bugboy. I haven't seen one down in the grass before. My normal encounters result in a stiff neck looking up.

Kind Regards
Kev

[bugboy]

Oh you have no idea how good it felt just to be on the better side of the M25 Wurzel
Thanks Trevor, sorry to hear about your prime spot, I'm sure they're around somewhere though, just have to keep your eye's peeled
Thanks David, that surprises me, the woods I go too in Purple Hairstreak season seem to be teaming with them and there's always plenty coming down, this year is so far no exception... getting pictures of them is of course another matter!
Thanks Kev, the trick with Purple Hairstreaks is to find a sunny glade early in the morning and keep your eye's out for emergents. Off course this now coincides with Purple Emperor season so people have minds of other things.

June 2020
Sunday 21st. Excited by my new-found freedom I was back at Bookham the following day . A Purple Emperor sighting was the hopeful prize but like the previous day, they were a no show again. Nevertheless the supporting cast made it another worthwhile trip .

Amongst all the life I found a female SWF earnestly egg laying. I never managed a shot of her in the act but when she was cornered by a rather excitable male, she adopted a very aggressive stance. The male was rather determined though and didn’t seem to get the message.

The finale of the day was a Black Admiral, which annoyingly I disturbed from a perfect position of waist height on a bramble patch as I rounded the corner. She spent the rest of the time at the top of said bramble patch which led to me getting several odd looks as I stretched on tiptoe and attempted to get a clear shot of her. Most of my shots ended up with a 'soft focus' effect . I eventually lost her when an amorous male sniffed her out and chased after her.

[David M]

Whoa!!!! That's one of the most stunning aberrations I've ever seen posted on here, Paul.

What a spectacular find!

[millerd]

That is a terrific Black Admiral, Buggy. I don't think I've seen one so completely black, nor have I ever seen an underside - which looks quite extraordinary.

Brilliant.

Cheers,

Dave

[kevling]

What a fantastic Black Admiral you've found. The underside looks like a tropical butterfly. Brilliant

Kind Regards
Kev

[trevor]

Yes, well done from me too. When I found a similar White Admiral ab I was showered with mrgreens.
I must return the complement.
Seriously some great underside shots, which my example failed to reveal.

Keep well,
Trevor.

[bugboy]

Thanks guys , I'm still kicking myself for disturbing her before seeing her, almost as unforgivable for putting up a grounded Emperor! You're right about the underside though, the upperside looks unusual but if you find one of these you do need to try and get a view of the underside

June 2020
Monday 22nd & Tuesday 23rd. A few more sunny days that allowed me to go for a wander during my work lunch breaks. Nothing out of the ordinary but a rather nice bi-pupiled female Meadow Brown played hide and seek in the long grass.

All three species of common Golden Skippers could be found and one male Large Skipper thought he’d found the love of his life. She didn’t reciprocate.

In the shadows there was also a Comma busy laying eggs

At home, the Holly Blue larvae were now mostly pupae, just a few rather large larvae were left. Flower petals of the Goat’s-rue were, as far as I could tell, the exclusive diet of these mature larvae.

[bugboy]

June 2020
On Wednesday 24th I went for a morning wander in Epping Forest, arriving around 7.30 to try and beat the heat of the day. Even so the Small Skippers were already active and by 8.30 I was lucky to find anything willing to sit still! Along with the Skippers (Large & Small) Ringlets and Meadow Browns were out in force. One female Meadow Brown had a quirky tri-pupiled eyespot. A Marbled White also wandered past. I’ve been told by some local enthusiasts that there is a small but growing population here apparently.

Oak Processionary larvae are an ever-increasing problem down here in the south east. It’s a notifiable pest species but to be honest it’s most likely here to stay now after being accidentally introduced about 15 years ago. I found this lot crossing the path with a secondary group caught in the caterpillar equivalent of an M25 style road to nowhere.

I managed to catch a Cardinal Beetle at the moment of lift off, with a little help from the flash on my camera.

Speckled Wood were thinner on the ground than previous visits here, must be inbetween broods, but a particularly well marked female caught my eye, looking more like an early spring example rather than a mid-summer one.

A fresh Peacock (that I didn’t rear) and a Large White (not seen one of them for a while) both obliged as midday approached

And as I was leaving I could hear a young Green Woodpecker practising his yaffling. A nosey Nuthatch pointed me in the direction of the padawan Yaffler.

[Wurzel]

Interesting images of the Silver Washed refusing courtship Bugboy and that aberrant is truly magnificent Love the Cardinal caught in mid-take off

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel

June 2020
Saturday 27th June. Thank god for social bubbles! This time I was able to go east outside the M25 to Leigh-on-sea. The main targets were White-letter Hairstreak and Heath Fritillary, both of which were very much at the tail end of their flight period and the weather wasn’t going to help a great deal.

First though an update on the Holly Blues, all of which were now pupae. Most had pupated on the Goat’s-rue leaves which had now died and was shedding leaves at a rate of knots, so here’s a little flotilla of Holly Blue pupae .

Mid-morning found me perusing a certain bramble patch close to Leigh-on-sea station but the only butterfly on show was a Red Admiral. It was overcast but still warm and given that I was photographing WLH in light drizzle last year, I could only conclude I was late to the party.

I spent the rest of the morning seeing what else was about, finding all the usual suspects lounging around under the cloudy skies.

An Essex with one pale antennae tip

Same Essex, no doubt as to it's identity.

After lunch it was off to explore some of the nearby woods to see if any Heath Fritillary were still clinging on to life. At the first wood some extensive wandering eventually turned up one, the proud owner of three and a half wings!

Not a great deal else was flying here apart from some energetic Ringlets, they never let a cloudy day get in the way of some frolicking, so we moved on to Hockley Wood in the hope a few more were around. Sadly even a few bright spells didn’t tempt any out so it would seem that I was once again late for the party. There was enough else out though so it wasn’t a complete waste of time .

Very fresh!

[Pauline]

Hi Paul

Good to see you're getting out and about again. I was interested to see those Oak Processionary larva. I had read about them but didn't realise they were notifiable. Nice Woodpecker shot again.

[bugboy]

June 2020
Sunday 28th was another day escaping the confines of the M25 (which is becoming a bit of a habit), this time to the public transport black hole that is Chiddingfold. I’ve never been here during Emperor season (although a female did surprise Millerd and I a couple of years ago by briefly settling in front of us whilst we were counting the hundreds of second brood Wood Whites). The road works of that weekend sent us round to the Tugley Wood entrance. From what I can gather Purple Emperors have been rather thin on the ground this year, not helped by the collapse of the weather no doubt, so the day would probably involve much careful walking along the rides keeping eyes peeled for black and white ‘shark fins’ up ahead. It was decidedly breezy which did help to break up the cloud cover but sunny spells were still at a premium and vanished as quickly as they appeared. Nevertheless the shelter provided by the trees did allow the supporting cast to keep me entertained whilst hoping for an audience with you know who .

It took a while for an appearance from HIM but eventually persistence and patience paid off, not without a bit of frustration though. Twice my chauffeur disturbed him before I saw him but I finally got my reward after she wandered off leaving me to hang around a few piles of horse dung, as you do at this time of year . He was a bit flighty and my first pictures were through the grassy edge where he’d found something to lick.

Having him all to myself at this stage, after a few snaps, I coaxed him onto my finger to try and get him better positioned but he had other ideas and flew off to sit looking down at me. Clearly, I’d overstepped my place in the scheme of things and he was just letting me know of my minor infringement of the rules .

Another enthusiast appeared at this stage shortly followed by a third and together we waited for him to play ball. He was flying around the edge of the path but I managed to keep eyes on him and was able to creep up on him when he finally settled on the path. No four-wing purple for me today, it was actually starting to spit rain now, but with the way my season was looking a few months ago I wasn’t complaining. Zooming in on MIllerds final encounter it turns out this was the very same male.

Amongst the various people loitering around with cameras were a couple of familiar faces, the first I've seen this year, so it was good to catch up with Benjamin and Katrina
When I got home that evening I noticed one of the Holly Blue pupae had darkened off...

[trevor]

Well done with that Purple Emperor. Paul.
It was a tricky old year for them at Chiddingfold, most that I saw were skittish.
Plus I spooked one ( something I don't talk about ), I tell myself there's a first time for everything!.
Out of all who attended I think Dave had the best luck, a certain law dictated that I was
always in the wrong area when groundings occurred.

Still I'm pleased your visit was successful, great stuff.

Keep well,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

As the yoof say Bugboy "I'm well jelly" of those shots of His Nibbs Mind you as I'm on year 2 of my three year cycle I'll give you a run for your money in 2021 Have you been buttering up your chauffeur in preparation for a possible trip to Shipton - not too distant a prospect now

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Pauline. I didn't notice you'd commented until today. Yes notifiable but I think they're fighting a losing battle to eradicate them. I saw somewhere that they're looking at introducing a bio-control from southern Europe now, fingers crossed that works out ok...
Thanks Trevor, my one was rather skittish and didn't really settle properly, still I got him !
Thanks Wurzel, we'll just have to hope that we get a good season with HIM next year, these last two have been decidedly mediocre, partly I'm sure down to the weather collapsing at the start of the flight period both last year and this year. Not sure If I'll make it to Shipton this year, not actually broached that destination yet... . It's a funny old season though with Brown Hairstreaks out and about already in places (I had a possible flyby at Bookham the other day), who'd have thought Brown Hairstreaks before Chalkhill Blues !

June 2020
Monday 29th. I was at work today but the weather wasn’t much use so I didn’t go for a lunch time wander. Arriving home though I had a couple of Holly Blue waiting for me. One I’d seen in the morning having emerged overnight and the second had waited until I was at work. I wouldn’t be able to release them until the Wednesday so they were having to make do with a bit of sugar water. It was just as I was about to go to bed that evening I noticed some movement, I’d missed the emergence by seconds but a freshly emerged male was racing across the floor of the cage. Here he is inflating his wings after I’d enticed him onto a bit of dead Goat’s-rue.

The little flotilla is now two lighter with three more rapidly darkening off.

[Pauline]

Well done Buggy. To catch the actual emergence can be difficult but you still have a few more chances