millerd

[David M]

Female Dark Green Fritillaries are particularly lovely when they sport those silvery tips, Dave. The Marbled Whites are impressive too. Shame they've such a short flight period. I guess they'll disappear within the next week or so.

[millerd]

Some more female DGF coming up, David...

On Saturday 11th July, I started out early with a drive up to Aston Rowant. Still too early for Silver-spotted Skippers, but as recompense the afore-mentioned Dark Green Fritillaries were behaving quite well. With these dusky females, it is easy to appreciate how they came by their name - they have a distinct green tinge to them.

Compared to the chalk hillsides of the North Downs, this Chiltern slope (which faces northwest rather than south) is much lusher at the moment, with an abundance of flowers. The butterflies are more concentrated, less spread out, and there seemed to be a much greater variety than recently seen at Denbies for example: DGF, Peacocks, Red Admirals, Commas, Small Tortoiseshells, Small and Essex Skippers, Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns, Small Heaths, Marbled Whites, Speckled Woods, Large, Small and GV Whites, Brimstones, Small Coppers, Brown Argus, Common Blues and Chalkhill Blues. It was quite often tricky to decide at what to point the camera.

Just before leaving, I spied another DGF nectaring in the midst of a patch of thistles. Its struggle to share the flowerhead with a large bee made what I felt was quite a nice sequence of shots.

As can be seen, an amicable compromise was reached.

Dave

[millerd]

Back home for lunch and a quick look locally. There's always something to see...

Finding a Small Tortoiseshell, albeit a rather worn one, was a bit of a surprise as I'd only seen a couple since the middle of June.

For the afternoon of 11th July, I headed south this time, to Dawneys Hill near Pirbright to see if the Graylings had started to appear. Close to the entrance to the site, I quickly came upon a couple of blue butterflies. Confusingly, these turned out to be different species - one Silver-studded Blue and one Common Blue.

I found a few more SSB elsewhere, though the males were all more worn than the first one. I also spotted a couple of females, one of which was really quite fresh.

Further on, I came across this deer - I'm not sure who was more surprised as unusually it stayed long enough for me to get a quick shot in.

Finally, on the patches of open ground at the far end of the site, the target species discovered me. In typical fashion, one bounded over the gorse and heather to investigate the mobile tree that had appeared in its world. Having circumnavigated me, it dived to the ground and (almost) disappeared.

spot the Grayling... not a difficult one this time!

A successful trip!

Dave

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Dave - brill DGFs - it's great when the light catches them in the right way to make those white spots shine silver Those Silver-studs are holding up well - when I go to find my Graylings there are usually a few about but they're invariably on their last legs
Still no Brostreaks - I tried again with no luck and none have been reported today...still thrid time lucky next time then

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel! I seem to have more luck than usual with the female DGFs this year - they seem to have been more inclined to sit still for some reason. I was surprised to see relatively fresh SSB with the Graylings, as they are (as you say) usually very much past their best by then. There were no Brostreaks at Bookham today either, so maybe they are going to confuse us by going by the book this year for a change.

Sunday 12th July was my birthday, and I actually managed not to photograph any butterflies despite excellent weather!

However, on Monday 13th July, I was out again and back down at Bookham. The main point of note about this visit was the number of Purple Hairstreaks that were down low. They just kept appearing. Some were on the brambles with the SWF and occasional tattered White Admiral, some sat on the bracken, and one or two were even down on the grass and low plants. The downside was that unfortunately all showed wear and tear from their adventures out of the oak tree tops, but nevertheless I achieved more photos of the species today than on any previous occasion.

First though, a few other butterflies. The SWF were still worth a look:

On the fringes of the woodland I found a Common Blue...

...and a splendid new Small Copper.

However, the Purple Hairstreaks were the main entertainment. Firstly, there were those near or on the ground.

Then, some just sitting on the bracken or finding things to imbibe from it.

Finally, a selection of both sexes that were prepared to sit and bask a bit whilst displaying the odd bit of purple that their worn scales could still manage.

female

male

male

female

female

male

Needless to say, I was very pleased with the morning!

Dave

[bugboy]

Still have no idea how our paths didn't cross that day. We must have been so preoccupied with it raining Hairstreaks we walked straight past each other

[trevor]

Still have no idea how our paths didn't cross that day. We must have been so preoccupied with it raining Hairstreaks we walked straight past each other

I like the sound of ' raining Hairstreaks ', Dave. You really got among them that day!.
Unfortunately my ' hot spot ' was trashed last winter, at least Bracken will grow back.
Why did they have to dump the wood chips in that particular spot!. That law at work again!.

Stay safe and well,
Trevor.

[millerd]

It does seem unlikely, Buggy, as we tend to look for the same things in the same places, and those Hairstreaks were in one of the usual hotspots for the most part.

Bugboy's phrase isn't really an exaggeration, Trevor - you could see them tumbling out of the trees if you stood and watched in certain places. Not all came within reach, or even made it down to eye level, but there were a lot around. Looks like luck really hasn't been smiling on you one way or another: the law of Singular Ongoing Disappointment...

After the purplish hairstruck morning, on 13th July I had the usual stroll near to home in the afternoon, making the priority a count of numbers rather than photography. That never quite worked, of course.

One particularly memorable aspect was a length of bramble hedge close to where I had seen Holly Blues laying on the goats' rue a few weeks back. Along its length were a couple of dozen fresh Holly Blues, some nectaring, some puddling on the path for minerals and some just sitting on the leaves. Amongst these was a mating pair - easy to find because of all the attention from other males that they were getting.

Other new butterflies included a male Brimstone practically welded to this burdock...

...Common Blues...

...and Brown Argus.

Also among nearly 350 butterflies of 18 species seen over about two and a half hours:

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking Hairstreak shots - this has definitely been the year for them coming down low It would be nice if the behaviour was heritable as then we could expect more of the same next year
That's a useful tip for finding mating pairs - watch out for other males trying to muscle they way in on the action - great shots!

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

ps. Brostreaks were seen at Alners Gorse yesterday Shipton is usually about a week later so hopefully some time next week...fingers crossed

[David M]

It's kind of frustrating when Hairssteaks eventually decide to descend when they are nearing the end of their lives, but you should consider yourself fortunate, Dave, for seeing them like this at all.

I'd willingly swap the majority of what I see in south Wales for a few Hairstreaks posing like that, regardless of how fresh/faded they are.

[millerd]

It is strange that behaviour differs from one part of the country to another, David. They've been doing this at Bookham for several summers now, though this has been my best experience of the phenomenon.

Maybe it is inherited behaviour, Wurzel - I shall be expecting it again next year certainly!

Monday 14th July. The weather was much less sunny today, but still quite warm. I stayed within walking distance of home, but started with another wander down to Staines Moor. The purple rain of the previous day was washed away by a sea of copper - the second brood of Small Coppers was in full swing. The advantage of bright (rather than sunny) conditions came to the fore again, as the butterflies basked with open wings to maximise their heat input. There is so much variety in this species, you start to wonder what a "typical" Small Copper would actually look like. I think each of these is a different individual.

There were other butterflies, but I'll keep those for another post.

Dave

[Goldie M]

Love the Small Coppers Dave, I managed Just one all the time I've been here Funny thing is I've seen some Butterflies I've not seen for years but I've not seen any Brown Argus or Small Heath they're usually at Temple Ewell so I'm not sure why.
I'm not lightly to see them now but the SH could be at home. ( hope fully) Goldie

[David M]

What a gorgeous array of Coppers, Dave....almost 'Hoggersesque'.

Nice to see a quality caeruleopunctata amongst them.

[millerd]

Thank you, Goldie! Aside from the legendary Dungeness, Staines Moor is pretty well the only place I've ever been to with double-digit numbers of Small Coppers. Everywhere else, my experience has been the same as yours, Goldie, with the odd one here and there. It is odd (and a shame) you didn't get to see Small Heath and Brown Argus - they are usually out at the same time as the Common Blues (both are near me at the moment).

Cheers, David - "Hoggersesque" is probably an undeserved accolade, as Hoggers always managed to depict them indulging in a variety of different behaviours as well as showing off a wide selection of variants and aberrations that puts this little group somewhat in the shade. That said, most of these were quite fresh, and one or two really stand out as being a bit different. And as you mention, there was a nice caeruleopunctata in amongst them.

There were other butterflies at Staines Moor on Tuesday 14th July.

Male and female GVW...

...a rather worn Small Tortoiseshell...

...Gatekeepers (the second of which seems to lack the small hindwing eyespots)...

...what I think is a Small Skipper...

...and several new Brown Argus.

Curiously, despite the presence of good numbers of trefoil plants, I saw no Common Blues. However, not far away on my local patch, it was a different story.

Dave

[millerd]

With what little sunshine there was disappearing, I spent a scant hour during the afternoon of 14th July on my local patch. I still managed to see 16 species, but didn't count their numbers today, and with poor light, took very few photos. However, I disturbed a series of female Common Blues, which I've noticed are more ready to bask in low light levels than the males are. I'm guessing that they seek every opportunity to warm themselves sufficiently to go egg-laying, and their darker colouring absorbs more of whatever sunlight is getting through. Males aren't concerned with such matters, of course.

The first one is unusually brown - almost all the females I see are more like the third of these three.

Dave

[millerd]

Wednesday 15th July was particularly dismal, with no sunshine and the temperature only reaching 19 degrees at Heathrow. A few butterflies braved the conditions - I actually counted around 80, of 16 species - including one I've seen very few of here this year, as they only rarely stray down from their colonies just to the north: a Marbled White.

Common Blues could be found roosting, risking a tentative opening of the wings occasionally. The first of these had unusual hindwing marginal black spots, and hints of them on the forewings as well. There's probably a name for this!

One or two of the roosting butterflies turned out to be Brown Argus.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking sets of Blues and Browns Dave but the stars of the show have to be the fantastic Coppers - looks like your very own Police Force Looking at their 'uniform' it looks like there's a Sarge and a Detective Inspector in the collection

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel! I love the fantastic variety on offer with the Small Coppers - you never know what may turn up next.

Thursday 16th July was a much warmer day (up to 25 degrees here), but there still wasn't much actual sunshie. Nevertheless, on a deliberate attempt to count the butterflies locally today, I achieved the highest total of the year thus far - 376, made up of the following 17 species:

Gatekeeper 68
Common Blue 64
Meadow Brown 64
Small White 49
Peacock 23
Essex Skipper 20
Holly Blue 18
GVW 13
Brown Argus 11
Comma 11
Red Admiral 11
Large White 9
Speckled Wood 6
Small Skipper 5
Small Heath 2
Marbled White 1
Small Copper 1

The Essex/Small Skipper totals are based on the 4:1 ratio from dip-sampling of the 25 butterflies seen. I'm more confident that the Small White/GVW total is what was actually seen as the behaviour and flight is different and on each occasion I checked I found I had ID'd correctly.

The middle of July in 2019 was also the peak in terms of numbers - it will be interesting to compare the individual species totals at some point.

Meanwhile, I managed to fit in a few photos... :)After all those Coppers down at Staines Moor, the single one seen today managed to be different again, with a real burnished sheen to it.

Some of the Brown Argus were absolutely new, deep chocolate in colour with their marginal lunules standing out in bright vermilion.

Only two individuals from all those Common Blues - a dark female and a male with strong marginal markings.

New Speckled Woods today - the six seen is the best showing since May and the third highest total of the year. Not a very good season at all.

Lots of Gatekeepers, though. I managed a shot of a female at last - they are a surprisingly difficult target - plus a male with hints of extra spots.

A typically posed Essex Skipper, a fresher example than most are now. The few Small ones seen were even more tired.

A couple of mating pairs were seen: First spotted were the Meadow Browns, both looking quite fresh.

Second were a pair of Small Whites, so closely joined that it was initially difficult to tell that there were actually two butterflies there.

Finally (though I think they may have been the first butterflies I actually saw today) were the Holly Blues. Initially nectaring on the brambles, one female decided to sit on the leaves and open up in front of me.

What more can you ask?

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave,

A cracking selection of butterflies from your local spots recently.

...There is so much variety in this species, you start to wonder what a "typical" Small Copper would actually look like...

Indeed, in fact variation is something I notice with a lot of species these days and is something that makes me a bit cynical regarding trying to put a name to every little difference. I am convinced that many so called named abs in some species in reality fall within normal variation. Our aurelian forebears were obsessed with fitting everything into it's own little box but nature is more fluid than that.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Another cracking collection Dave That first Copper does have a touch of verdisgris about it You can't beat a mint condish Brown Argus in my book...well maybe with a Gatekeeper

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel