Bugboys mission

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, those over excitable Victorian collectors have a lot to answer for when it comes to what is an isn't a named ab!
Thanks David, not nearly as much as the following day...

July 2020
Wednesday 29th was a long day so I’ll split it into three posts. Bookham was the chosen site and being at the tail end of July with Brown Hairstreaks already turning up in droves at all the best sites the target was obvious. I got an early start, it was set to be a nice day and I wanted to make the most of it. I started off along an east facing path where I regularly find Hairstreak eggs but have yet to see an adult. It is however usually teaming with life and being east facing, always a good place to make an early start at. There was plenty about and nearly all various shades of orange and brown, just not the orange and brown target, but those particular chocolate orange butterflies are starting rather late in the morning this year.

This Gatekeeper sported a rather obvious streak and I found another Meadow Brown with a pupiled hindwing ocelli, maybe it’s more common than I thought.

There were also a couple of Small Copper, one of whom was catching the morning sun perfectly, it’s a shame the pictures don’t show the shimmer it had in life.

Gatekeepers abounded and some so fresh I really couldn’t resist, a male with slightly reduced forewing ocelli, perhaps a bit of ab. antiparvipuncta about him, and a couple of excessa turned up to .

Dragging myself away, I moved on to the hotspot along the edge of Banks Common where I found (for the first time this season) the familiar figure of Millerd, and a rather lovely hutchinsoni Comma.

Just to break up the monotony of the autumnal colours we found a Common Blue before moving back up the path to loiter hopefully around the Ash master tree

tbc

[bugboy]

July 2020
Wednesday 29th (part 2). We had to loiter under the Ash for a while before we started getting sightings, cloud cover had increased and o start with the only activity turned out to be pesky Purple Hairstreaks. Eventually though we started to see slightly larger lycids and finally one landed in a suitable position for ID, albeit half-way up the tree. There was no doubting the identity of this chap when I got my big lens on him!

We continued to watch the activity start and stop as the sun came and went when I noticed a tiny orange spot poking out from behind a leaf. Using my big lens like a monocular I quickly identified her and from the angle we were at she looked pretty fresh but had already lost her tails on one wing.

However I was later to discover when I got home, from photos from a different angle, she did have a full set of tails. It looks like her hind wings were slightly bent, perhaps a twig or leaf had got in the way whilst she was expanding them after emergence.

We stood and watched her for over 15 minutes, she barely moved except to balance when the wind blew, until she left us and fluttered over the hedge, never to be seen again .

After that excitement we separating off and took to working different parts of the hedge. At the far end where it meets Bookham Common proper I happened to see something suspiciously Brown Hairstreaky briefly flutter around some thistle before settling just out of sight. Clambering through a little bit of undergrowth brought the suspect back into sight and yep, my suspicions were correct, a nectaring male. A selection of shots were quickly taken before getting Dave on the phone and within a couple of minutes the engrossed Hairstreak had two fans. They really are bombproof when they get their nose into a flower, nectar must taste like a superfood compared to aphid honeydew to them!

Eventually he did flutter off and with not much else going on with the Hairstreaks we took a wander into the wood. Here it was decidedly quiet, a handful of aged SWF still swooped around and a few Purple Hairstreak taunted us. A few White Admiral feeding platforms and piers were found but only one was occupied. To continue with the constant appearance of abs I seem to be seeing this year, this Ringlet ab. marpurgensis had gone full Mickey Mouse on her hindwings.

We parted company not long after, it was gone 1pm and I wanted to move on to my afternoon site but barely 5 minutes after bidding Dave farewell I found myself another nectaring male Hairstreak, they really have thrown the rulebook out the window this year! As with the earlier male he was nearly oblivious to me, on the odd occasion I did disturb him he would quickly returned to the same flower or sit on a leaf looking at me in disdain.

[bugboy]

July 2020
Wednesday 29th (part 3). I finally made it to my afternoon site somewhat later than planned but the delay, as you saw above, was worth it. I reached the foot of Box Hill at 2.30. (I’m sure the climb up the Hill gets steeper every year! It’s most definitely higher than it was five years ago ). Anyway the target for the afternoon was Silver-spotted Skippers. I hadn’t seen any reports about them being out here yet but they had started turning up at other sites. Happily I discovered they were out here, and in quite significant numbers considering it was still very early in their season.

On the upper slope Chalkhills were about in decent numbers and a mothy Box Hill speciality, the Straw Belle also seemed to be having an exceptional year. I always see at least two or three, today I was well into double figures.

Other notable inhabitants came in the form of this eye-catching male Common Blue ab. nigromaculata

And a few what must be quite ancient Dark Green Fritillary.

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of shots Bugboy particularly the last Silver-spot - I love that pose when they hold their wings out flattish like that Even more aberrants - I think in the 'down' season I'm going to have another read through your PD and check your images against my own so I can get mine correctly labelled - it'll be easier than trawling through the Aberrations website

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Great to see you had some Brown Hairstreak action, Paul. Such an exciting time of year when the females emerge and begin to show themselves.

Chalkhills, Silver Spotted Skippers & Dark Green Fritillary make up an enviable supporting cast too. Those last few days in July (and the first handful in August) are to be treasured because things start to wane quickly not long afterwards.

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots Bugboy, I'm trying to catch up while the weather's bad I just missed the Skipper's this year so it's good to see yours Goldie

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, see below for another small selection of abs , you might like these ones
Thanks David, yup I try and make the most of these end of summer days, even more so this year after the frustrating spring I had.
Thanks Goldies, it's a shame you missed the Skippers, they've had a phenomenal season, still it should bode well for next year

August 2020
Wednesday 5th. I had to wait a whole week before being able to get out again, but after the last successful visit to Bookham at least the heat was off with catching up with some Brown Hairstreaks, hopefully though some females joining the nectaring males this time. Before getting to the sunny hedgerows I found myself another Orange-tip pupae, this time a brown form, not far from where the green one sat. The trick I’ve realised to finding them is to look for the seed spikes with obvious feeding damage.

The hedgerows were once again full of Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns and since it was an hour or two early for the Hairstreaks and I seem to be on a bit of a run with abs. as many as possible were chased and given the once over. For once it was the Gatekeepers that came out on top in the abs stakes. An ab. anticrassipuncta, the forewing ocelli being noticeably large (doesn’t seem to show up so well in the photo but in life it was very noticeable.)

Ab. postexcessa is apparently the name given to one with an extra ocelli on the hindwing (or possibly ab. bimaculata, there seems to be some overlap looking at specimens making the two names probably synonymous)

But the winner goes to this one, ab.lugens

The downside for the day was a particularly strong wind that was coming from such a direction as to make the usual Banks Common hedgerow hotspot virtually unusable as far as photography was concerned. However there are plenty of other places around Bookham that I regularly see Hairstreaks that provide a modicum of shelter so I concentrated on these this time. The first one of these came up trumps straight away, a fidgety female nectaring away allowed me a few grabbed shots before leaving me wanting more, the little tease!

No more were seen for a good time and it was only whilst killing a bit of time waiting for my train that a second female fluttered over my shoulder and settled nearby at the perfect height. Closing in for a closeup, finger poised over the shutter button, a stupid bee decided to try and land on her. The bee was immediately cursed for the rest of its life but thankfully the Hairstreak didn’t flutter far and I managed enough shots in between annoying gusts of wind to keep me satisfied .

As with my previous day out, I planned to go to Box Hill for the afternoon where a few Adonis had recently been reported, another springtime species I’d missed out on this year. I only managed to find a single male but like last time the Silver-spotted Skippers were everywhere, even more so if anything. They were spread far wider than I can ever remember them being and in numbers I’ve never witnessed here before, easily into three figures based on the numbers I saw walking along the path through the center of the slope. Despite the wind I managed a fair few decent images. A few Common and Chalkhill Blues were also present but pinning any of them down with the gusty wind proved near impossible, as did any of the windswept Meadow Browns who regularly got blown past me.

[Padfield]

Very interesting that you find orange tip pupae on plants with feeding damage, implying that these cats haven't wandered. Almost all the cats I've followed have wandered when they've reached maturity. Do the situations you find them in have something in common too, in terms of aspect, shade, other vegetation?

Guy

[bugboy]

Very interesting that you find orange tip pupae on plants with feeding damage, implying that these cats haven't wandered. Almost all the cats I've followed have wandered when they've reached maturity. Do the situations you find them in have something in common too, in terms of aspect, shade, other vegetation?

Guy

Hi Guy. Both these pupae were found along the same shady woodland path that runs roughly east/west. One was found on the north side and one on the south side. I wasn't actively searching for them either time, they just happened to catch my eye, but since then I've not found anymore despite finding more feeding damage. There was plenty of dense vegetation they could have moved into close by. I used to presume they'd always move off to pupate on something more sturdy to survive the winter until Vince posted a picture of 3 he'd found on Garlic Mustard a year or two ago. I can't imagine the survival rate would be particularly high on those which choose to stay put though. I've since taken both pupae home to spend the winter in my fridge since vehicles use the path, particularly in the winter when management is done at Bookham so the chances of either making it through to April were very slim.

[trevor]

Good to see that you have also had some great experiences with Brown Hairstreaks this year.
A couple of shots there!.

On another matter, it is good to read that Orange Tip cats. wander from the food plant
on maturity. Because the old railway, in Hailsham, is regularly flailed every June, right
where the Garlic Mustard grows. I did worry that a large number of pupae would be lost
to the flail, but it would seem that they pupate away from the edge of the path and danger,
as the site is host to a good population each Spring.

Stay well,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

A great set of Brostreak shots Bugboy - glad you didn't miss out on them and that you could get them nearby; " We're local butterflies, for local people" Mind you for me the highlight would have been the ab.lugens

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

...But the winner goes to this one, ab.lugens

That's amazing, Paul. I actually thought whilst first scrolling through that it was a Brown Hairstreak. Upon letting go of the cursor and seeing the still image though I realised it was a Gatekeeper, although unlike any I've ever seen.

A really notable specimen and well done for finding it.

[bugboy]

Thanks Trevor, it's pretty much all over now for another year but since my diary is a few weeks behind I still have a few good Hairstreak days to come, stay tuned
Thanks Wurzel, yes staying local (relatively speaking) worked well this year .
Thanks David, she really stood out in life too, wasn't sure what I was seeing when I first saw her flutter past

August 2020
Friday 7th. After a few successful days over at Bookham I figured a change of scenery would be nice whilst chasing the same target and went to nearby Ashtead Common, where I had a bit of luck last year with them. It’s close enough to Bookham to probably be part of the same meta-colony of Brown Hairstreak so I figured there should be another bumper crop of sightings to be had here as well. I got there early to recce the site and pinpoint some likely nectaring spots and also to pinpoint some areas of shade for me, the blistering heat looked to be getting rather silly again.

As it turned out I saw very little at all during the morning (I planned to leave by midday to avoid the very worst of the heat). Not a single Brown Hairstreak showed itself and only a few of the usual suspects posed in any way usual, most were trying their best to stay cool whilst breakfasting or attempting to hold territories. I found another of those Meadow Browns with a pupiled hindwing ocelli which, after a bit of trawling, have discovered is known as ab. infra-pupillata.

Elsewhere I found a pair doing some synchronised tip-toeing to keep cool

A Roe Deer, probably heaving with Ticks!

The only Lycids I found was a Small Copper and a Brown Argus missing the diagnostic spot on the hindwing.

[Wurzel]

That is a cracking shot of the Small Copper Bugboy - would have almost made the trip for me getting that Another Meadow Brown ab to check back in my collection for, cheers for the doing the research

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, hope you find some Meadow Brown abs in your back catalogue. From what I've seen this year it would seem they're relatively common

August 2020
Saturday 8th. After the no show at Ashtead I decided to return to Bookham for more Brown Hairstreak action. It had even more to live up to today, not only to make up for the poor previous day but also this was the day I’d planned to visit Shipton Bellinger until those plans fell through a few days previously.

There was significantly more cloud cover than the previous day but it was still going to be uncomfortably warm and muggy so I had no plans to stay all day. Arriving at around 9.30 I saw very little save a few Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper, most of which were ignored for once this year. I couldn’t resist a Common Blue on some Fleabane though.

An hour after arriving I came across the first of the targets, a male (it would seem to be all males this year). This one seemed so obsessed over the Thistle that he proved to be almost undisturbable (not sure that’s actually a word).

5 minutes after finding him, and nearly a hundred pictures of every conceivable angle, I left him to see if I could locate some more, returning an hour later empty handed to find he hadn’t moved from his flower, it’s almost as if after generations of licking up Aphid bum juice they’ve suddenly discovered nectar this year!

He was there for at least another 20 minutes when I left him for a second time to go looking for more, this time coming up trumps. Just a short way from him I noticed a sandy shark fin sat on top of some Hogweed. This one was a particularly tatty individual so after a few snaps I moved on a bit more and saw another. A few steps closer and I noticed a second on the same flowerhead then a little closer I saw a third on a neighbouring Hogweed. I wasn’t able to get all three in shot at once with my camera but my phone came to the rescue.

The third one fluttered off after a while but the other two were as equally as bomb proof as the first one I’d found, the only disturbance that really seemed to bother them was when a hornet came nosing around, which I think is a fair enough reason to be disturbed.

Looking at the pictures on the way home I noticed one of them was, you’ve guessed it, an ab! uncilinea, where the inner white streak on the hindwing curls back on itself to form a hook.

Whilst taking these pictures the first female of the day turned up nearby bringing my running total to six.
1pm came and went and gradually the Hairstreaks vanished back to the tree-tops so I began a slow meandering walk back to the station, not getting very far when I noticed a female fluttering around some mint with a few Gatekeepers. Seven in a day is pretty good going by anyone’s standards.

Reaching the station I still had a bit of time to kill, enough time to go for another little wander, a Brimstone stopped briefly and nearby I found Hairstreak number eight, another male obsessed with a thistle flowerhead.

There was another male a bit further along sat on Hogweed who didn’t really settle for me and then just returning back to the station I found a couple taking a picture of something in the hedge. The lady showed me the picture on her phone, a freshly minted female Hairstreak. All I saw of her in the flesh though was her rear end vanishing over the hedge. Still, a grand total of ten in one day (including an ab) was way more than I was expecting and ample compensation for the cancelled trip to Shipton .

[trevor]

Some great BH action there Paul. Creeping Thistle does act as a magnet for the males.
It would seem that those who have made the effort to see BH this year have been rewarded.

Great stuff, keep well.
Trevor.

[millerd]

Extraordinary numbers of Hairstreaks, Buggy! The males this year have been exceptional in their accessibilty down low and you managed some great shots there. Nice to find an ab - well spotted too as I think I'd have missed that one... They certainly seemed to have coped fine with the hot weather as well.

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of Brostreaks there Bugboy - it has to be considered a 'good' year when you can get shots of multiple males They certainly do 'lock in' on those Creeping Thistles - I had one last year that didn't move for 45 minutes and this was after another observer had watched it for almost 2 hours prior to that

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Katrina]

Great brostreaks and well done for spotting the ab

[David M]

Still, a grand total of ten in one day (including an ab) was way more than I was expecting and ample compensation for the cancelled trip to Shipton

A double figure tally of Brown Hairstreaks is extremely impressive, Paul. Some nice, fresh ones in that selection too which must have been very satisfying to find and watch.

Seeing even two simultaneously is a feat but to get three in your viewfinder is amazing. Sounds like it was an excellent day for you.