Bugboys mission

[Neil Freeman]

You have been getting some great Orange-tip images lately, difficult to chose any favourites but the behaviour shots are definitely up there .
Unlike yourself and Dave (millerd), I am finding Orange-tips to be a bit thin on the ground around my patch this year.

Cheers,

Neil

[bugboy]

Thanks Dave, yes perfect for getting Orange-tips to sit still if nothing else!
Thanks Wurzel, disappointingly not much different from 1G
Thanks Neil, to be honest they’re not as common for me either this year, it’s just the weather has made them much more approachable than normally.
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May 2021

The 5th. Despite the weathers best attempts at ruining my week off, I ignored threats of heavy showers and headed for Abbots Wood in search of my first Pearl-bordered Fritillaries since 2019. I’d already had word from Trevor that they had started appearing the week before so all I needed was a bit of sun. As is traditional with my first visit to this wood of the season, I missed the turning up to the main hotspot and was well on my way to Hailsham when paths started to look unfamiliar .

Anyway I soon re-orientated myself and got to the clearing to find the familiar sight of Trevor already filling his boots with them. Sunny spells with plentiful ‘fair weather’ cloud proved to be perfect weather to keep them the right side of active without the mad hyperactivity we’d have had to deal with on warm cloudless day.

After an hour or so I left Trevor to explore other areas I’ve found them in the past. Red Admirals were reasonably plentiful but I found no more Pearls, probably due to increased cloud cover. An hour later I had returned to the main clearing. Trevor called me over to a roosting one he had but I already had one at my feet, still doing his best to soak up some warmth from the path. With no sunny spells on the way I decided to move him onto a nearby bluebell for his own safety which, coincidentally, also made for more pleasing images .

Trevor’s roosting one was also a perfect poser and when the sun eventually reappeared it opened up to reveal the first female of the day, and a very attractive dusky ab at that. For a split second I thought she was a SPBF until I reminded myself we’d been staring at her underside for the last 10 minutes.

As a Brucie bonus Trevor also relocated a mating pair of Grizzled Skippers that had paired up shortly after I’d gone off for my wander, something to add to my in-cop collection. The female was also an ab. possibly trans ab. taras.

All in all a great day, and barely a drop of rain. Thanks for the extra pair of eyes Trevor . Here's a few of the supporting cast.

[trevor]

You had great value from your rail ticket that day Paul.
Every thing was just right, Sun and cloud, fresh Pearls and mating Grizzlies.
Haven't been back since that day, but must visit soon for the elusive Green Hairstreak.

Great stuff, pleased the trip was worthwhile,
Trevor.

[millerd]

Excellent Pearls, Buggy! Posing on bluebells as well - what a great sight.
(Incidentally I know for certain if I turned up at Aboots Wood I'd be lost almost instantly. I cannot picture the layout at all...)
An extra for the nicely marked female, and another Grizzly pairing involving a bit of an ab. Quite a day.

Cheers,

Dave

[Katrina]

Nice pearls and for the Grizzlies

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Paul
That closed wing image of the mating Grizzles is stunning. The atypical specimen is ab. intermedia Oberthur 1910. 'trans ab. taras' is just a convoluted way of describing intermedia. Pedantry aside, I wish I'd seen it!
BWs, Neil

[David M]

You've managed some excellent returns through this period of drab weather, Paul. That Orange Tip sequence from earlier in the month is exceptionally good - perhaps the best I've seen of this species.

Any pair of mating Grizzled Skippers would be noteworthy, but to capture an ab. with a normal form in cop is pretty impressive too.

[Wurzel]

A cracking set of shots Bugboy - those Pearls really pop out of the screen, a dusky ab and Grizzlie ab as well - that must be pay back for all the legwork you did earlier in the season

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

gutted to hear that 5G isn't up to much I'm getting 'fitted' next week

[bugboy]

Thanks Trevor, yup a very worthwhile trip, one of the few days this year when the weather was favourable.
Thanks Dave, there’s two laws in butterfly photography, no such thing as too many Orange-tip pictures & everything looks better in the company of a Bluebell!
Thanks Katrina
Thanks Neil. I had the Grizzlie ab down as either scabellata or intermedia but after posting the picture on the Sussex sightings page it got labelled trans ab. taras. I have Trevor to thank for seeing it.
Thanks David, I put it all down to dogged perseverance and stubbornness. I’ve got the last week of May off and anything short of biblical extreme weather won’t deter me!
Thanks Wurzel, just payback indeed. I think the 5G is the same as a software update on your computer where when you turn it back on nothing seems to have changed but you just carry on in the hope somethings improved.
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May 2021

Friday 7th. After a day resting from wandering the countryside, I wanted to make the most of the last day of my week off and after reading Essexbuzzards report on here and Katrina’s on the Sussex sightings page, Mill Hill seemed a very attractive option.

The first sighting was something to write home about, a Sussex Small Tortoiseshell and not only that, a female looking to lay. I had half a mind to erect a protective fence around this patch of nettles!

After that the species came thick and fast. Dingy and Grizzled Skippers were plentiful all along the bottom of the slope and upon reaching the sheltered corner Green Hairstreaks joined the fray of argumentative little butterflies.

Next to appear as the morning slowly warmed up were my first Common Blues of the year (eventually reaching about half a dozen males) and a very frisky Small Copper.

Small and Green-veined White Whites were both positively identified and a solitary male Orange-tip was doing the rounds. Brimstones were also here but I was a little too late to catch them breakfasting and had to wait until the afternoon to grab some snaps, two males had located a female and I managed some synchronised flying.

Peacock numbered around half a dozen and there were perhaps four or five Red Admirals, one of whom looked like he’d entered the country via Jersey judging by it’s battered state. A Female in somewhat better condition was laying eggs near the top car park.

It was up near the top car park that I finally managed to pin down a Wall, two or three had been active on the bottom slope which were my first of the year. Despite the official temperature being somewhere in the low teens there was no basking going on. It would seem they’ve recalibrated their settings in line with 2021 and spent all resting time behaving like they were overheating. The only glimpse of upperside I managed were some snatched shots whilst one was feeding.

With so much going on with so many species it’s difficult to pick a highlight but a mating pair of Dingies are high on the list. They always make good posers, allowing close approach, and I was able to get close enough to clearly show the males fold on the leading edge of his wing where he stashes his pheromones to woo the ladies with.

The fourteenth and final species seen was a Comma, something I’ve not seen for a good few weeks. It was only a fleeting sighting, I lost sight before I could get a shot and I couldn’t tell whether it was an early hutchinsoni or a late hibernator, given the weather situation I'm hedging my bets with the latter. Still fourteen species in one day on one site must be some sort of record for this year , and that’s without seeing species like Holly Blue or Speckled Wood which in any normal year would certainly have been added to the list.

[millerd]

An excellent array of butterflies from Mill Hill, Buggy - highlights for me would be the Tortoiseshell (which looks impossibly fresh for a hibernated butterfly), the pairing Dingies, and the multiple Brimstones. Your visit inspired me to divert there a few days later, which turned out to be a very good move...

Cheers,

Dave

[Benjamin]

What a brilliant trip and fascinating report from Mill Hill Paul. I’ve been watching it turn gradually yellow from the A27 in recent days and must now call in - I guess you just missed Adonis, but I guess we mustn’t be greedy!

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of images Bugboy - brilliant Brimstones and wonderful Walls and also something that I've seen so rarely in the couple of weeks - the sun

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Loving these mosaics, Paul. Early May is a time when so many species are on the wing and you've bagged yourself a fair number of those available.

Those mating Dingies have to be the pick - I can't recall if I've ever seen this species in cop, and given that I'm only seeing singletons this spring, it's unlikely that will change.

[bugboy]

Thanks Dave it was a particularly good day with more than enough to keep me entertained. I think my pictures caught that Tortoiseshell in a good light, there was some wear and tear scratches on the surface of the wings.
Thanks Ben, There was a fair bit of Horseshoe vetch there on my visit, I’m sure all the rain we’ve had since then it must be carpeted in gold now. Yes, perhaps a few days early for Adonis but there’s always next week, a week off and some much longed for settled weather at last !
Thanks Wurzel, yes the sun, it was almost wall to wall blue sky that day, if it wasn’t for all the butterflies I’d have had to sit down to get over the shock !
Thanks David, still a couple of May species to get but hopefully next week my species list will increase. That’s the third time I’ve had Dingies on cop, the first time was actually the same day I saw my first ever Dingie .

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May 2021

Tuesday 11th. I had two options in mind for the day, traipsing across the Chiltons to find some Dukes or a return to Abbots Wood. The weather chose for me, as it’s doing for most of us. Walking through a lowland woodland was a much more appealing option than a windswept hillsides with the current weather patterns. As it turned out the weather was pretty good with a decent amount of blue sky and no passing showers, which made for a pleasant change! There was also the mass Painted Lady immigration to enjoy and they didn’t take long to appear, pretty much every glade or path with some nectar sauce nearby had some, I’d estimate I saw between 40 – 50 over the course of the day.

A handful of Peacock and a couple of Red Admirals also made a welcome appearance, looking particularly nice as they did gymnastic moves to feed from Bluebells.

Of the two Green Hairstreaks I came across, one sat for me and there was just a lone Grizzled Skipper today.

Off course the main reason for travelling all the way to Abbots Wood in early May is for the Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and once again they didn’t disappoint, albeit in lower numbers than there should be at this time of year, perhaps around 15 in total. I took the time to explore further afield than last time and found them in three separate areas, the first ones on the path adjacent to the newly cleared area close to the lakes.

The majority though were in the main clearing and the smaller one a little way to the southeast. As well as patrolling males, a few females were found discreetly avoiding male attention as best they could whilst laying eggs along the edges of the paths.

I think I was spotted!

I don’t think I’ve ever stayed here beyond mid-afternoon. Today I made a point of staying with the intention to watch the Fritillaries head up to roost. I’m not sure if it was the time or whether it was a cloud obscuring the sun (probably a combination of both), but on the stroke of 4.30 I saw the first suddenly head up into an Oak. He was followed by another and another…. I lost sight of most but I managed to track two who sat and basked when the sun returned from the other side of the cloud. One had found a dead Oak leaf whilst the other found a fir tree ‘flower’ spike.

They do go quite high up. The red circle is where the one I photographed was sat but others investigated the top shoots of these fir trees..

[Katrina]

Great report, interesting to see how high they roost.

[millerd]

That was another terrific day, Buggy! To have coincided with the arrival of all those Painted Ladies was a piece of luck - I've only come across them now they've dispersed in ones and twos. The Pearls are a splendid sight too, and I've always found it fascinating how they all look at their watches around half four and head for the trees! It's a real difference between them and the Small Pearls, which roost much lower down.

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Thanks Katrina. It really is and it’s very sudden as well, like a switch goes off in their tiny brain .
It was a good day Dave, something that’s come at a premium so far this year. Apart from the travel I really didn’t have to work hard at all to find something. It really does look like a bell that only the PBF can hear goes off somewhere.

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May 2021

My next weekend off ended up being an almost complete washout. All sorts of weather, none of which was particularly butterfly friendly, gave me the chance to sort through a few days’ worth of pictures. I did however venture out locally on Sunday the 16th during a relatively bright spell, primarily to see if I could find some Orange-tip cats on Rape in the wild so I could compare them to those currently living in my front room. On that front I was unsuccessful, I couldn’t even find any feeding damage on the patch of Rape where I’d located the 9 eggs a couple of weeks ago.

I was slightly more successful in finding some Brimstone cats, not as many as in past years which leads me to suspect (unsurprisingly) they’ve had a poor spring, like many other spring species.

The only adults I saw were a handful of Whites two of which posed for me, a male Small and a female GV. I must say it’s so much easier photographing Whites when they choose to settle amongst a snowy cloud of Cow Parsley flowers!

[Katrina]

Some beautiful photos on the florets.

[Wurzel]

Those White shots are so ethereal Bugboy - beautiful Really interesting to see the Pearls going to roost when they did. I've managed to photograph them later than that before but that was during a nice warm spell so perhaps temperature has a slight influence on roosting?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Great shots Bugboy, I couldn't believe it when I saw the cluster of Grizzlies Goldie