Bugboys mission

[millerd]

One aspect of Holly Blues I've yet to see, Buggy - great shots! Looking forward to some more emergences, hopefully. Also interesting that you came across the same Emperor as I'd seen a few days earlier. Obviously he felt he needed an extra dose of noxiousness from the path to help impress the ladies...

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking sequence Bugboy The colour on the wings in the first shot is unbelievable

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Wonderful images of the emerging Holly Blues, Paul. With four to go, I hope you will get chance to see at least one breaking the pupal case open. Fingers crossed!

[bugboy]

Thanks Pauline, unfortunately it seems I'm either asleep, at work or out chasing butterflies when they emerge
Thanks DaveHe was only a bit further down the path from where you found him from what I can gather so he definitely had a territory, perhaps it was more to defend the large amount of horse dung on the path there
Thanks Wurzel best I could do given the time of night and rushing around to grab the camera and get him set up before his wings expanded
Thanks David but there's a lot more than four, they was the first of twenty three I ended up with!

July 2020
Wednesday 1st. In the intervening day another seven Holly Blues had emerged (all when I wasn't looking, at work mostly) so on my day off I left early to release all ten back onto the Marshes. At 7.30am I figured at least one or two would hang around allowing me to grab a few pictures but no, every single one fluttered off without so much as a toe settling on anything, ungrateful little buggers! To be fair it was already quite warm and other butterfly life was already active including my first Gatekeeper of the season.

A trip to Epping Forest was the main event for the day, hoping for another purple experience which as it turned out, I was going to get. As usual Meadow Brown and Ringlets were out in numbers, joined by Large Skippers and the first of the second generation of Green-veined White plus the occasional Large White. I’ve been taking more of an interest in the more ‘mundane’ species this year for obvious reasons. Much like Wurzels mild obsession with Gatekeepers, I’ve been getting slightly obsessed with looking for extra ocelli on Satyrids . I’m finding the double pupiled ocelli on female Meadow Browns, ab. bioculata, is relatively common, almost to the point where I’d say its within normal variation.

The Ringlets were as far as I could tell all very much normal except for one half of this mating pair which had the beginnings of an extra ocelli on the hindwing growing out of another one.

A few fresh Brimstones were now out to join the summer butterfly bonanza

And the Comma’s, who are having an excellent season, were to be found on every patch of flowering Bramble. They provided constant distractions for the few male Silver-washed Fritillary who were zooming around, repeatedly feeling the need to check each one just in case one had miraculously turned into a female SWF. Adding a splash of colour was the odd fresh Peacock and a rather nice Red Admiral doing its best Purple Emperor impression

One Purple Emperor did put in an appearance, a fleeting visitation through the lower canopy by the side of the path but the Purple experience for the day was left to the Hairstreaks, which when the sun shone, seemed to be literally everywhere. Most of them didn’t settle (or didn’t settle anywhere useful) but with so many raining down from the trees there always going to be enough to train the camera on.

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of shots Bugboy especially the male down on the deck This year has been very good for Purple Hairstreaks coming down- I had on on the side of a Down on nettles today

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

ps have you broached Shipton yet or are you playing the long game; "softly, softly catchy monkey"?

[David M]

I'd love to be somewhere where it's raining Purple Hairstreaks. Sadly, it's just raining water here in south Wales.

Nice to see a few summer brood Brimstones. I think I've only seen two and that was in mid June. They tend to disappear pretty quickly after feeding up so it's touch and go as to whether I'll come across any more.

Good luck with what's left of the Holly Blues, and how ungrateful for those you released to just zoom off immediately.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, I had several dozen more of those Hairstreaks come down again today, including a corker of a female
Thanks David. There was more purple rain today in my part of the world. This is the third year in a row now where the only issue I've had with them is getting one to sit still! As for the Holly Blue's, see below

July 2020
Friday 3rd. Another four Holly Blue had emerged since Wednesday’s release. I finished work early today so it wasn’t too late to release them and hope they would have more manners than the last lot! It was cool and mostly overcast but despite this two still buggered off but the other two sat, proudly showing off their beautiful undersides . No uppers from them today, maybe next time.

Also around and posing irresistibly during a brief late afternoon sunny spell was a Comma.

[millerd]

It's becoming quite a Purple Hairstreak year, Buggy, and something is enticing them down from the oak trees of Southern England. Some more great shots there - the one on the ground could at first glance be some kind of Blue!

Splendid fresh shiny and impeccable Holly Blues, immediately enjoying the pink brambles I see. You'd have thought they'd have opened up a wee bit in gratitude...

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

Those undersides are indeed beautiful, Paul. They must lose that brilliant white effect pretty quickly in their lives as it's rare to see it as intense as in your released specimens.

[Wurzel]

Great to hear about more Purp shots in the offing Cracking Holly Blues - they're brilliant when that fresh - almost as if they've been painted in chalk paint

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Dave, if the sun catches a PH when its on the ground with closed wings it does a pretty decent Holly Blue impression from a distance . Still got a few more Holly Blue pictures waiting in the wings, happy to say no parasitoides have emerged
Thanks David, yes you rarely if ever see them looking so snowy unless you've watched them emerge
Thanks Wurzel, yup, no shortage of Purple Hairstreaks again this year

July 2020
Monday 6th. The start of two weeks off which had initially been booked for some UK travelling, weekends away etc but luckily nothing had been booked before the apocalypse arrived.

My first day out was the short trip over to Epping Forest for a morning stroll. The new generation of Green-veined White were now getting into full swing, here’s a particularly fine looking female.

Meadow Brown and Ringlet were also still out in numbers which kept me busy looking for extra or reduced ocelli. Apparently if a female Meadow Brown is lacking black spots on the underside hindwing then that’s an ab. infra-impuncta, which makes a high proportion of Meadow Brown I’ve ever seen this aberration, which is a bit of an oxymoron surely .

An extra spot under the upperside forewing ocelli probably qualifies though. Ab. addenda perhaps.

Another had some curious faint mottling

This one was just an eye catching deep chocolaty brown

All Ringlet were pretty much normal, just one with an embryonic ocelli on the hindwing

Comma’s once again were plentiful and I also stumble across a pupae hanging in plain sight.

For most the morning there was more cloud than sun but reaching one of the open meadows a large opening in the cloud cover appeared and suddenly Small Skippers appeared from everywhere and began using the time to gorge on the plentiful supply of thistle. Not a single Essex Skipper was seen amongst them.

Also coming out with the sun were the now ubiquitous Purple Hairstreak, mostly ovipositing females as far as I could tell.

No SWF were seen today but Large varieties of Skipper and White popped up here and there. The final note worthy sighting was this very attractive Oak Hook-tip Moth

[millerd]

That Comma chrysalis was a good find, Buggy. They are usually well tucked away.

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Thanks Dave, I find them one of the easier pupae to locate, they quite often pupate close to where the larvae last fed. I checked on it today, hoping to find an empty case but sadly it's still in place and going a rather unhealthy shade of black from the abdomen down.

July 2020
Tuesday 7th. I went back to Bookham for the morning, keeping one eye out for a silly early Brown Hairstreak, but mostly looking for extra ocelli on the many Satyrids that flocked around the bramble blossom. This female Meadow Brown was particularly well endowed in the ocelli department, possibly ab. anticrassipuncta.

And this ringlets second ocelli had given birth to a new one, still attached by an umbilicus of black scales.

Others were catching the suns rays just right to produce an attractive oily sheen.

White Admirals and Silver-washed Fritillary were looking increasingly worn but fresh Gatekeepers, Commas and Peacocks popped up regularly, often adhering to government approved social distancing .

As is now customary, Purple Hairstreaks could be seen flitting along the sunny edges of the rides but very few settled within reach and any that did were rather camera shy today. Green-veined and Large White were equally camera shy but I managed to get a Holly Blue as he homed in on something rather nasty looking, those flies weren’t there for the scenery!

Now the White Admirals were starting to look tatty it was time to go looking for eggs and larvae, the usual spots coming up trumps for both. Three eggs were located and a single 1st instar larvae, already decorating itself in poo.

2 eggs

Killing a bit of time waiting for my train I came across a rather nice Small Copper, my first in good condition this year, and a couple of nicely marked Comma

[Wurzel]

Lovely looking WPC Bugboy There do seem to be plenty of Peacocks around this year - they're all over the place at the moment

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, I knew peacocks were in for a good year even before they appeared, having found eight larval masses on my local patch alone without even looking for them . They'll be plenty more before the season is out too, I saw several today holding territories and fighting/courting so get ready for a big second brood

July 2020
Tuesday 7th (part 2). For the afternoon it was my first visit of the year to Box Hill, the main target being the Dark Green Fritillary who were most likely going to be rather worn by now, having been out for a few weeks already. It had become somewhat overcast so hopefully any that were around wouldn’t be zooming around like idiots!

I was surprised to see a good few Marbled White still in good shape, they’re a species that seem to fall apart after just a few days but perhaps the cooler conditions during June have helped to extend their flight period a bit.

I soon found the Fritillaries, nine times out of ten only seeing them fly up from the short turf in front of me before I saw them, it may have been overcast but they were still rather flighty. They are always easier to approach when feeding though.

As suspected, they were in general somewhat worse for wear but a few males were still in surprisingly good nick. A few females, who tend to look after themselves a bit better as they skulk around avoiding the ginger missiles, were also disturbed but never quite settled right for decent shots. I’m pretty sure at least one I saw was freshly emerged, not the one in the picture though.

I wasn’t expecting any Silver-spotted Skipper on the slopes overlooking Zigzag road but I was hopeful for a first sighting of a Chalkhill Blue. In the end I found just a single female Chalkhill. Still early days for them it would seem.

I couldn’t resist a few shots of this pretty grass moth, Oncocera semirubella before leaving for home

[bugboy]

July 2020
Wednesday 8th. I didn’t go out today, a bit on the cloudy side so time to catch up on other more mundane stuff but as luck would have it, one of my remaining Holly Blues decided to emerge. Like last time I missed the initial breakout but was quick enough to see her before she’d got round to inflating her wings.

Thursday 9th. This was another rather overcast day but with five Holly Blue now awaiting freedom I took the opportunity to see if any would sit for me again. At last I was in luck, a gorgeous female (perhaps the above female) sat and basked in the weak almost nonexistence sun. Many MANY pictures were taken of this dusky beauty !

There remained still three pupae at home but those all emerged unseen and none of them hung around upon release, but I’m happy to have her as finale of my rearing Holly Blues this year, of which I had a 100% success rate, all twenty three pupae emerged successfully .

Although overcast it was still relatively warm and on a nearby patch of Knapweed some Small and Essex Skippers jostled for nectar. Here a Small is getting photo bombed by a sneaky Essex

and a definite Essex Skipper.

[Wurzel]

Wow that Holly Blue sequence is stunning Bugboy - such vibrant colours, fantastic!
Interesting to see the DGFs are such a mixed bag at the moment - there are still some intact, nice looking ones about but they're getting fewer and further between No Brostreaks on Friday but I'll try and get there again mid-week ...

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

The emerging Holly Blue female sequence is terrific, Buggy. I'm pleased to see she was prepared to sit for you afterwards as well. They really are a most beautifully marked butterfly, and to see the perfection of a newly-emerged individual is just fantastic. For all the hundreds I see, none is ever as new as that...

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

Congratulations, Paul. That's unequivocally the most gorgeous Holly Blue I've ever set eyes on.

[bugboy]

Thanks for the comments guys I was very chuffed when she decided not to fly off like nearly all the others and even more so when she opened up those wings

July 2020
Friday 10th. Another wander around Epping Forest with most of the usual suspects in attendance, although Gatekeeper numbers were now starting to build. Less in the way of sun meant the regular Purple Hairstreak show was few and far between and none settled anywhere useful for a picture

A few fresh Speckled Wood did pop up and close examination of many Ringlets found several of what I think can be classified as the minor ab. marpurgensis with that small extra ocelli on the hindwing. It seems like a fairly common ab.

All the Gatekeepers looked very normal but being fresh, still irresistible.

A male Meadow Brown was reasonably well endowed with hindwing ocelli,

And I couldn’t resist this pose normally reserved for the Essex version .

Fresh hutchinsoni Commas could still be found and in the mostly overcast conditions, easy to approach.

My highlight for the day though was one of a couple Large White who was surprisingly approachable and sat at the perfect height on the edge of a bramble patch for quite some time