millerd

[millerd]

The Painted Lady was a very welcome find, Wurzel - and such a fresh one as well. Overall, things are about two or three weeks behind in that bit of Yorkshire, and perhaps a bit more over in the northwest where most of the sunshine and warmth have been replaced by rain and wind (as Goldie will attest!). The fresh Essex Skipper was also a highpoint because of its novelty value in this part of the world.

After a couple of days break from butterfly-related excursions, on Sunday 9th August I set off for a site completely new to me, but highly recommended as the best place in England to see Scotch Argus: Smardale Gill just over the border in Cumbria, but geographically part of the Yorksire Dales. It was mostly sunny, but with sensible temperatures - on arrival at around 1100 it was a comfortable 18 degrees and only rose to about 22 by the time I left in the afternoon. There was a pleasant breeze as well. The nature reserve basically follows the track of a disused railway along the side of a valley, and eventually onto an impressive Victorian viaduct that crosses the stream at the bottom. However, the guardrails on this structure have been ruled unsafe, so you have to divert off along a path along the valley side - which turns out to be a bonus as far as the butterflies are concerned. Signs in the reserve advertise two highlights: the presence of red squirrels, and the presence of the Scotch Argus butterfly. Unfortunately, I didn't glimpse any squirrels, but there were excellent numbers of the highlighted butterfly.

The track from the car park passes under a famous bit of working railway - the Settle & Carlisle Line - and immediately after this bridge, the Scotch Argus started to appear along both sides. In fact they were numerous enough for walkers I passed to comment on how many butterflies there were. The numbers gradually increased as the viaduct was approached, and the track opened out a bit, and then the slope of the hillside down to the stream in front of the structure was full of them - if they had been blues, they would have shimmered, but you were aware of the constant movement. The view...

What I found deceptive is that the stream flows left to right (top photo); towards the camera in the other two.

I took a lot of photos. There were only a few other species around: Notably Red Admirals, Peacocks and a single Large White along the initial enclosed path and then Small Heaths and Small Skippers on the open slopes. I couldn't ignore this bright new Red Admiral.

Now for the main attraction. Both males and females were present, with the latter somewhat fresher on average.

A few behavioural shots:

This female appears to be egg-laying, a fact I didn't notice until I went through the photos that evening.

A bit of context!

An indication of abundance.

A couple of males puddling.

A female (l) and male (r) sharing a scabious.

It was an incredible day, with some great butterflies in ideal weather at a terrific spot to visit (and of course no lengthy discussions about which species of Erebia they actually are... ).

Dave

[Katrina]

What a fantastic looking place. I love the Scotch Argus photos they make me think of chocolate orange - must just be the colours!

[trevor]

I can only offer a stack of mrgreens, Dave for all those Scotch Argus.
I've read and heard that the place is heaving with them, and you caught them just right.
That viaduct was part of the Stainmore route from Tebay, a very wild and desolate line
at the best of times.
That location is on my itinerary, it's the likely bad weather in that area that's always put me off.

Great stuff, and images!.
Trevor.

[bugboy]

Those pictures bring back happy memories . I only spent a morning there a couple of years ago but I could have easily have spent an entire week there!

[David M]

...After a couple of days break from butterfly-related excursions, on Sunday 9th August I set off for a site completely new to me, but highly recommended as the best place in England to see Scotch Argus: Smardale Gill just over the border in Cumbria, but geographically part of the Yorksire Dales.

So glad you managed to get up there, Dave. It's a wonderful site, surely one of the most picturesque locations in Britain to go looking for butterflies.

As you say, there is no shortage of aethiops there; in fact, I would say that Smardale eclipses Arnside for this species by some degree. When I went there in 2014, they were all over the scabious blooms in the last 200m or so of the linear path prior to the viaduct, and there were well into three figures on that stretch of steep grassland that you have depicted in your images.

Nice, fresh specimens too. You clearly picked a good day.

[Wurzel]

Fantastic stuff Dave - brilliant shots of a butterfly I've still to see Especially jealous of the 'indication...' shot although I can see how that might actually be a problem - which one to focus on but what a problem

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thank you, Katrina - I know what you mean about the chocolate orange! However, if there's a butterfly that evokes that image more though, it has to be the female Brown Hairstreak...

Cheers, Trevor - if you can get there at some point, you really should. To do it justice you need an overnight stay somewhere - I started the day at my sister's near York, and it took exactly two hours with favourable traffic.

Thanks, Buggy - your descriptions of the place were part of my inspiration for making the effort to see Smardale, and it was well worth it.

Many thanks, David. It is one of the most scenic spots I've been to butterflying and thoroughly to be recommended. I was lucky with the weather on the day I picked, considering it had been planned a week ahead. The forecast kept changing, but as the day approached it improved, and the reality was probably better than the forecast. A bit of luck is always welcome! There were lots of butterflies, many were reasonably fresh, and they presented good opportunities for photographs including some aspects of behaviour.

As you say, David, in terms of spectacle and numbers Smardale beats Arnside hollow - I was able to make a direct comparison as you will see shortly. It is rather curious that the species hasn't spread into other parts of the Dales, considering that it clearly flourishes here at Smardale. I wonder what the key factor is?

Cheers, Wurzel - you really should save a few (hundred?) Brownie points and do a Big Trip North one day. Scotch Argus are worth seeing. You're right as well - sometimes it was difficult to decide which one to concentrate on next.

9th August (continued): Dragging myself away somewhat reluctantly from Smardale mid-afternoon, I drove on another hour to Arnside Knott to see how Scotch Argus were doing at their only other English stronghold. (I am aware that there is at least one introduced population elsewhere, but I'm not sure of the current state of play with that so I don't count it! )

Quite a contrast - I really had to search fairly hard to track down the target species over rather more arduous terrain. In fact, there were very few butterflies of any sort flying at all: I found Gatekeepers, one or two Meadow Browns and a Small Heath or two.

Finally, I tracked down only around a dozen Scotch Argus in two distinct hotspots - one up by the trig point, and the other toward the bottom of the southern slopes.

The last one I tracked down nectaring in Heathwaite meadow

The plan now was to stay the night down the road at Lancaster, and come back up to the Knott in the morning before it got too warm. Originally this was to allow two bites at the cherry should the weather be hit and miss, but in the end there were no worries on that score.

So on the morning of Monday 10th August I headed back to Arnside, with rather similar results. However, this time I managed to stumble upon a rather worn Grayling. They emerge early at this site (rather like the subspecies on the Great Orme in North Wales to which it has been suggested they may be closely linked), so this was right at the end of their season here.

Though the hemp agrimony here was in full swing, there were no Fritillaries left to enjoy it, just a Peacock or two.The Scotch Argus prefer lower-growing flowers, especially the wild marjoram and knapweed.

I left Arnside at around half ten, and headed back for London. When I started, the temperature was around 23 degrees. After an abysmal journey with assorted road closures, alternative routes full of unexpected roadworks, and relentlessly increasing heat I arrived back seven hours later with the temperature nudging 37 degrees outside and even higher in my shut-up house. However, having seen what was forecast for Heathrow over the coming days, I had booked nights in local air-conditioned hotels which were to prove a godsend in relation to getting a decent nights sleep. They were relatively cheap (desparate to fill rooms with the low level of air traffic I imagine), and I could walk home each morning for breakfast.

Phew! Quite an excursion...

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Great reports from Smardale and Arnside Dave and interesting to compare the two. The Scotch Argus at Smardale are certainly doing much better than at Arnside these days but a few years ago the reverse was true with hundreds at Arnside and much lower numbers reported at Smardale. I have not been to Arnside for a couple of years now and like you (and Bugboy at the time) I found Arnside to be much harder work than it used to be.

...I am aware that there is at least one introduced population elsewhere, but I'm not sure of the current state of play with that so I don't count it!..

I have heard though the grapevine that they are doing well there this year. I am not sure if that is due to being topped up or if they are flourishing by themselves.

I have also seen a few random reports over the past couple of years of small numbers being seen elsewhere in Cumbria, closer to Kendall. Not sure if these are wanderers from Arnside or another introduction.

Cheers,

Neil.

[millerd]

Thanks, Neil! Looking back I see that I visited Arnside on exactly the same day in 2019 and found a similar situation with regard to the Scotch Argus, so they do at least appear stable - though not a bit on a par with my first trip about ten years ago. However, there were far more other butterflies last year, including dozens of Painted Ladies!

Interesting info about the species being seen at other sites. I have recently read a couple of times that it is not very mobile, with the females especially not travelling more than a few hundred metres at most - which goes some why to explaining why it doesn't spread from its core sites to other nearby likely areas if there is no suitable intervening habitat. Maybe it once existed in such places, but the "pools" of butterflies have gradually dried up. All this means that any sightings elsewhere can only be (re)introductions unless a tiny residual population or two has gone unnoticed over the years.

Good or bad? I know opinions vary on this subject!

Back to the heat of southern England. Over the next few days, it was too hot to comfortably go out looking at butterflies, and when at last the heat began to diminish, thunderstorms arrived to make things tricky in other ways. I did venture into the woods at Bookham a couple of times, and made one brief foray locally, but saw little of any great interest.

A few shots...

I did like this Brimstone sequence as the butterfly buried itself in the bindweed flower and then was luckily caught in flight as it emerged.

Dave

[millerd]

On Friday 14th August, the weather became more conducive to going out a bit further again. I headed down to Denbies with Adonis Blues and Silver-spotted Skippers in mind. I saw both of these, plus a few Chalkhills too, though the males of the latter species were getting decidedly worn now.

When it comes to the females, now that the Adonis are out as well, it becomes tricky in some cases to decide which species you are looking at. To be honest, I think all of these are Chalkhills, and that the Adonis females were still to appear. As ever, happy to be put straight.

These three had varying amounts of blue scaling, particularly the last one.

I think I saw around a dozen male Adonis - not a particularly high number, but hopefully they will build over the next couple of weeks as females emerge to join them.

That left the Silver-spots - which I think deserve their own post.

Dave

[millerd]

14th August (continued): Silver-spotted Skippers at Denbies - but first a nice fresh Small Heath that seems to have got into the mix.

Now the Skippers...

Dave

[Wurzel]

Another cracking round of reports Dave - Scotch Argus, Adonis, Silver-spots - all brilliant Interesting to read about that Grayling - a possible sub-species/race I tried Shipton on Saturday but could only manage one female - I don't know how many will still be about this coming week but if they are there they'll take some searching out

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Great reports from Smardale and Arnside Dave and interesting to compare the two. The Scotch Argus at Smardale are certainly doing much better than at Arnside these days but a few years ago the reverse was true with hundreds at Arnside and much lower numbers reported at Smardale. I have not been to Arnside for a couple of years now and like you (and Bugboy at the time) I found Arnside to be much harder work than it used to be.

Agreed. When I first visited Arnside in 2010 I was impressed but Smardale in 2014 put things into perspective. I know High Brown numbers have been causing concern at Arnside for a couple of years now and that makes me wonder whether there is a wider issue at this site.

I would hope such negative trends would be addressed at some point as this area is undoubtedly the most species-rich butterfly one north of the Midlands in the UK and deserves special attention.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Dave, you seem to have captured everything I've missed this year Fantastic Scotch Argus, We always used to go to Arnside to see them, I never knew about Smardale, just shows you can live near some thing and not realise it exists , I wish I'd known, my late Husband hated going to Arnside, he always got loads of insect bites Goldie

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - with the weather the way it is, I don't think I'll be venturing out much more this week...

I'm not sure what the issues might be at Arnside, David. I believe the HBF are doing OK at other sites nearby, but I don't know how they performed at Arnside this year as I didn't get to visit early enough to see any fritillaries at all. I know there have been concerns. Scotch Argus numbers have diminished since the first time I visited nine or ten years ago, but seem the same this year as last with around a dozen seen. It's certainly a very warm site for the latitude and obviously has a coastal climate unlike that which must prevail at Smardale. The whole thing needs analysis from someone more knowledgeable that me I think!

I know what you mean about the bites, Goldie! Ticks can be a real problem at Arnside - I deliberately wore light-coloured trousers this year and was able to intercept two of the little so-and-sos making their relentless way up my legs! Smardale is another hour further on, but was well worth it. I shall go again, and with luck I might get to see a red squirrel as well!

Saturday 15th August. It remained pretty warm and muggy, but cloud had now replaced the relentless sunshine of a few days before. I walked down to Staines Moor for the first time in a while. It's surprising how many butterflies you can find in such conditions and some were even flying. Both Small and GV Whites were enjoying the fleabane, which was in full bloom.

male

female

male

male

female

The last of the Gatekeepers were around...

...but Meadow Browns just keep on coming.

female

female - double eye-spot

female

male

Small Coppers do prefer there to be a bit of sun, but I did find one that was prepared to accept mere brightness as a substitute, though the warmth of my finger may have helped.

Not so a Common Blue...

...or a Brown Argus. It's a pity this one wasn't any fresher, as its lack of underside spotting was surely aberrant.

Dave

[millerd]

On Monday 16th August, some sunshine tempted me to make another trip down to Bookham to seek out those elusive female Brown Hairstreaks.

Confusion species had really become almost non-existent now, with the disappearance of the Gatekeepers and there being a much smaller number of Meadow Browns around. However, the presence of Speckled Woods did cause a few moments of misplaced excitement with their habit of flitting just above the hedges. One in particular was quite eye-catching in its own right...

...though others were more run-of-the-mill in appearance.

One curiosity I initially struggled to identify, but it turned out to be a very worn male Large Skipper (oddly enough within a few metres of where I had seen my first of the 2020 season)

A fairly new Brown Argus made an appearance...

...as did the obligatory Small Copper.

Both species seem far fewer in number here than in years past. Eventually, I had all but given up looking, but I made a final search along the border of Banks Common, where scrubby blackthorn is growing up along the line of the old hedge that was grubbed up a couple of years ago (and used to be very productive too). I spotted the telltale flash of orange, and in front of me but almost inaccessible against the barbed wire was a female Brown Hairstreak.

My efforts to get a bit closer inevitably disturbed the butterfly, which luckily only went as far as the other side of the path where she set off purposefully into the blackthorn on an egg-laying mission.

I waited for her to emerge for a breather and hoped she would then bask in a suitable spot. No such luck...

Finally she moved further off, before disappearing over the hedge and out of sight.

She was the only one I saw all morning - the females really have been hard work this year.

Dave

[millerd]

On Tuesday 17th August, I set out round my local patch for my first somewhat more extensive survey for about a fortnight. It was fairly sunny and reasonably warm with a high of around 25 degrees.

Overall, I managed to find 13 different species and a total of around 170 individual butterflies. There was nothing startling in the mix of course, but some interest none the less across a decent variety for the latter end of the season.

Gatekeeper 5
Very much the end of their season - numbers drop off remarkably quickly, mirroring the steep rise at the start. A good year overall, with a peak day count of over 100 in mid-July.

Meadow Brown 50+
Good numbers continue, with fresh females especially still appearing.

Small Heath 19
Numbers seem to be reaching a third peak for the year - always difficult to distinguish specific broods for this species, as it is around pretty well every day from the start of May.

Speckled Wood 3
It seems to be another poor year here for this species - maybe the dry sunny spring didn't suit them.

Small White 32
Good numbers and ubiquitous in all types of habitat here, seen on more days than any other species too.

Green-veined White 8
Nowhere near as common as the Small White, and probably undercounted a little.

One female of each: Small(l) and GVW(r)

Large White 6
Numbers always increase at this time of year, and behaviour changes as they start to be attracted to nectar sources, particularly buddleia.

Red Admiral 1
Only the one seen today, but going out later in the day always reveals a few more. There is a steady trickle of new emergees, which hopefully will step up markedly in September and into October as it normally does.

Painted Lady 1
The first since 1st July, and only the fifth one seen here this year.

Comma 2
Very few around at the moment, either from the summer hutchinsoni form, or from a new set of hibernators-in-waiting.

Brown Argus 5
They haven't had such a good year as they did in 2019 and the second brood is largely over. Hopefully there will be a third.

Common Blue 27
By contrast, this species has made a very good showing in both broods and there are still one or two reasonably fresh individuals around. Females seem relatively dark in the second brood this year.

Holly Blue 11
After a typically good first brood here, the second has been disappointing - maybe their parasite has caught up with them at last.

To finish off, there was another Jersey Tiger moth making a spectacular entrance with a bright flash of its orange underside: rarely on show when it settles, though.

I'm guessing the third brood Small Coppers will soon be making an appearance, and I keep my fingers crossed for a Clouded Yellow at some point, but generally things feel as if they are just starting to decline towards autumn.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Interesting looking Brown Argus form a couple of posts back Dave The female Brostreaks have been hard work this year, not helped by the sudden downturn in the weather just as they were coming out to play, and also not helped at Shipton where the bloody Collector was back again this year - I didn't see him personally which is probably a good thing Your Local Patch still seems to be producing the goods - mind you things have taken an even more Autumnal feel recently so the butterflies will start looking a bit more battered from now on

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Not good to hear about that Collector, Wurzel. Let's hope this curious season caused him to mistime his visits and fail to find anything. I'd have thought attempting to net a hairstreak in a blackthorn bush would present quite a challenge in any case. You're right about the autumnal feel too - things have got a lot more worn since that day last week.

Tuesday 18th August. Another reasonable day weatherwise - at least to start with.

However I had to get the car MOT'd, which meant a trip to Kew Bridge of all places and instead of the usual "while-you-wait" service, COVID regulations involved an additional three hours to allow for the car to be sanitised. I decided to walk down the Thames Path to Richmond, find some lunch and then wander back. I ended up eating on a bench in the Old Deer Park (I looked in vain for the Old Dears) watching a monster of a storm build up over to the north. Aside from a few drops I missed the rain, and actually found a few butterflies between the Park and the River. These were all Green-veined Whites (a dozen or so) except for a single Meadow Brown. I managed a few shots... Having a pocket-sized camera means no excuses for not carrying it everywhere! These two (the first and second shots are the same individual) were both males and both are interesting.

The first has an extra spot on the forewing...

...and the second has strong black scaling along the veins on the hindwing margins.

Good news - the car passed the MOT, and had been cleaned inside and out for nothing as part of the "sanitisation" process. Not so good - I returned home to massive puddles, further heavy rain, and no prospect of any more butterflies today.

Dave

[Goldie M]

Hi! Dave, I saw one in my Garden similar to your Second shot mine was a Large White and turned out to be an ab Goldie