August 2020

[zigzag_wanderer]

Firstly - massive thanks to Allan, Matsukaze and Adrian for your help in ID'ing these moths.

I get how people can become pretty expert on UK butterflies reasonably quickly as there's not that many of them. Even I've reached the stage where I can bore the family with snippets (on the adults at least - there's a yawning chasm in my knowledge of their other stages).

But moths are something else completely. I looked at the Yellow Shell images and the sheer variation out there is amazing.

So my hat is off to all of you and just to say yet again what a great resource this site is to help someone like me (and Otep - who I really hope hasn't been submerged by work again) broaden our knowledge base.

Secondly - I hope the people of Leicestershire and Rutland appreciate their NatureSpot site as much as I do......

Thirdly - I did of course mean a lot of insects come out blurred when i take them, not instincts (possibly a Freudian slip).

[David M]

...But moths are something else completely. I looked at the Yellow Shell images and the sheer variation out there is amazing...

Agree totally. With just 59 species, identifying UK butterflies doesn't pose that much of a challenge, but moths are a different story. Practically every month someone will post a species I've not seen before, and I would struggle to know how to successfully ID them myself, so fair play to the 'moth-ers' on here....they are much appreciated.

[Bertl]

Normally by now I have a few painted lady butterflies visiting the buddlea in my garden. So far I have only seen one in July, any theories out there? I have had the usual small tortoiseshell, peacock and red admirals visiting.

[Deborah]

I was wondering the same thing Bertl. I checked my notebook to make sure and I haven’t seen a single one this year. Lots more Small Tortoiseshells than previous years though.

[Matsukaze]

Firstly - massive thanks to Allan, Matsukaze and Adrian for your help in ID'ing these moths.

I get how people can become pretty expert on UK butterflies reasonably quickly as there's not that many of them. Even I've reached the stage where I can bore the family with snippets (on the adults at least - there's a yawning chasm in my knowledge of their other stages).

But moths are something else completely. I looked at the Yellow Shell images and the sheer variation out there is amazing.

So my hat is off to all of you and just to say yet again what a great resource this site is to help someone like me (and Otep - who I really hope hasn't been submerged by work again) broaden our knowledge base.

Secondly - I hope the people of Leicestershire and Rutland appreciate their NatureSpot site as much as I do......

Thirdly - I did of course mean a lot of insects come out blurred when i take them, not instincts (possibly a Freudian slip).

I've been recording moths for 14 years. You get to know the commoner and more distinctive species, but there's still a couple of times a year when I come across a moth that I not only haven't seen before, but I've never heard of it either...

[Matsukaze]

Normally by now I have a few painted lady butterflies visiting the buddlea in my garden. So far I have only seen one in July, any theories out there? I have had the usual small tortoiseshell, peacock and red admirals visiting.

Here in Somerset, a handful in June, and none since. Numbers of the other vanessids have been a bit low, and the summer peacocks and small tortoiseshells emerged before the buddleia was in bloom.

[Testudo Man]

Observations over the last week = Adonis abs. and sightings of quite a few smaller than average sized "second brooders".

Ive seen both male an female fresh Adonis Blues, that are smaller than average, also male an female fresh Common Blues too. One of the female Common Blues, looked to be the same size as a Small Blue!

Location - Kent. Some highlights of my sightings, cheers Paul. None of these images are cropped.


Small Adonis Blue(male) ab. some slight hind wing damage(opposite side).

Normal sized Adonis Blue(male) ab. (probably the best male ab. ive seen to date).

Small female Adonis Blue (normal markings). Slight damage to forewing.

[millerd]

Normally by now I have a few painted lady butterflies visiting the buddlea in my garden. So far I have only seen one in July, any theories out there? I have had the usual small tortoiseshell, peacock and red admirals visiting.

Here in Somerset, a handful in June, and none since. Numbers of the other vanessids have been a bit low, and the summer peacocks and small tortoiseshells emerged before the buddleia was in bloom.

This morning, I saw only the sixth Painted Lady to appear this year on my local patch near Heathrow. A little the worse for wear too...

The inward migration this spring was clearly a very minor affair (not unusual after a very good year like 2019 was), so there would be very few UK-born individuals around this summer.

Dave

[Matsukaze]

A tan-coloured butterfly in the garden today had me puzzled. At first I thought it was a Comma, but it was too pale and had too much yellow and not enough orange about it for that; for the same reason, I doubt it was a worn Small Tortoiseshell. I wondered about Wall Brown, which I have had here in the garden once before, but before I could get a good look, it flew away and over the hedge, flying with slow flappy wingbeats like an undersized Blue Morpho or Great Banded Grayling.

[Vince Massimo]

Three fresh-looking Painted Ladies in my Lancing garden for several hours either side of 11am today. They were seen nectaring together on Buddleia and Verbina Bonariensis or just basking on the shingle.

Painted Lady - Lancing, Sussex 18-Aug-2020

My feeling is that they are not migrants because they were showing no signs of wear, so most probably emerged locally, but this could change if more reports come in.

Vince

[Stevieb]

A selection from this lunchtime. Beacon Hill

Clouded Yellow 18th August

Adonis Blue 18th August

Adonis Blue 18th August

Wall 18th August

Wall 18th August

Small Tortoiseshell 18th August

Common Blue 18th August

Brown Argus 18th August

Speckled Wood 18th August

Small Heath 18th August

[Deborah]

These are on a hybrid of Fennel and Dill in the garden - not sure whether it’s Dennel or Fill - but they’re happy anyway! (They’d also look better the right way up )

[David M]

..A few days in Lancashire gave me the opportunity to photograph my 50th species of UK butterfly, Scotch Argus.

Glad you managed to get up there, Steve. Had I not been in quarantine I may have made it myself.

[Padfield]

Still under house arrest since my trip to Spain ...

Holly blue numbers seem lower than expected after such a bumper first brood. I've been looking for eggs and today found this hatched one on ivy:



There is nibbling on a nearby flower bud but deeper feeding on a slightly more distant one:



I presume there's a tiny caterpillar in there ...



The only species in the garden since 8th August have been small white, large white, holly blue, small copper, gatekeeper, red admiral and speckled wood.



Guy

[David M]

Still under house arrest since my trip to Spain ...

I feel for you, Guy. I only came out of mine this morning!

Nice images of the Holly Blue early stages. Great that you have this in your garden.

[MrSp0ck]

Brown Hairstreaks are starting to come down low at Hutchinsons Bank now, with at least 4 seen today spread across the whole site, i didnt have time to check the better areas, ie featherbed lane verge for them.

[Stevieb]

Very breezy up on the hill today. Everything hunkered down. Beacon Hill

Clouded Yellow 20th August

♀ Common Blue 20th August

♀ Common Blue 20th August

♀ Common Blue 20th August

♂ Common Blue 20th August

♂ Adonis Blue 20th August

♂ Adonis Blue 20th August

♀ Adonis Blue 20th August

♂ Chalkhill Blue 20th August

♂ Chalkhill Blue 20th August

♂ Wall 20th August

♀ Wall 20th August

♀ Wall 20th August

♂ & ♀ Wall 20th August

Small Heath 20th August

[Padfield]

This morning - my last day of quarantine - I found what I think is a third instar holly blue caterpillar on the ivy (can you confirm the instar, Pete?). My attention was drawn by the burrowed bud, but it's been a while since this caterpillar could fit into that hole:





He was very mobile:



Guy

EDIT: I'm now thinking freshly moulted 4th instar but it seems very small for that.

[Allan.W.]

Thought this may be of interest .A SHORT -tailed Blue was reported along with two excellent photographs on the Sussex butterfly cons;
website yesterday ,apparently from a small site ,on the Sussex/Surrey border.
Regards Allan.W.

[Allan.W.]

A few shots from August ,bits and pieces really ,haven,t been out to much ...........had a couple of Wisdom teeth out ,and
haven,t felt "quite the ticket!" plus the weathers not been up too much either in my neck of the woods (Mid Kent ).
I,ve decided to give one of my regular Adonis sites a miss(at least until next May ) ,having been caught by harvesting vehicles ,down tiny back roads ,once too often ,so have visited another downland site near Hythe in Kent ,and was pleased to find quite a few Adonis and surprisingly high numbers of Wall Browns (+ several Wasp Spiders ,and 2 Chalk Carpet moths.),the Silver Spot is from Temple Ewell.

Been doing a lot more mothing of late ,and have caught some good species this year ,heres a couple of close ups of two of them ,the Yellow one is a Canary Shouldered Thorn (fairly common ) the other is a Gypsey moth ,a moth which is now spreading rapidly . The last is a micro moth. Don,t
think it has a Common name ...........Caloptria Falsella.

Regards Allan.W.