July 2021

[Stevieb]

Friday 23rd, morning spent at Savernake Forest, near Marlborough, Wilts:

Might be heading there tomorrow morning (weather dependent!)
Were the sightings around the column David ?

[David M]

Very nice, Steve. I presume you didn't stumble across any Large Tortoiseshells this time?

Not this time David. No news of any sightings whilst I was down there either.

Surprising that, given the numbers of larvae found a few weeks ago. I'm sure some adults will be seen in the next couple of weeks.

[David M]

Friday 23rd, morning spent at Savernake Forest, near Marlborough, Wilts:

Might be heading there tomorrow morning (weather dependent!)
Were the sightings around the column David ?

Yes, I'd definitely take the chance, Steve.

There were two around the monument, one of which was settled on it for quite some while and eventually came down to the base. The others were seen on the track to the right when you walk north of the monument. I got as far as the green metal gate which is probably 800 yards down that track.

Good luck. If you get there before 8.30 you should find Purple Hairstreaks on the shrubs/brambles immediately to the south of the monument (unless the recent rain has changed their behaviour).

[Testudo Man]

Yesterday (Sat 24th) i took a trip to Darland Banks, Gillingham, Kent.
I had seen a few Chalk Hill Blues on another site at the start of the week, but knew that better numbers could be found at Darland Banks.
I was not wrong, there was an explosion of Chalk Hill Blues, i saw 100's on the wing, with good numbers of females, an 10+ mating pairs also seen.
10+ Large Whites, A fresh male Brimstone, A Painted Lady, a 2nd brood Small Copper, Small Blue(3) a Brown Argus, 8+ Common Blues, numerous Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, an Marbled White numbers now decreasing.

But the day was all about CHB's, some highlight images, no cropping. Cheers Paul.

[Allan.W.]

I,ve rather neglected my local "lockdown" patch of late ,so decided to redo my circuit hoping to add to my 22 species ,and with Painted Lady ,Purple Hairstreak missing from the patch list ,felt in with a chance of adding at least one of these ,also thought i,d (try!) to count the "whites " on the circuit ,must admit i gave up on this one about two thirds of the way around on 140 ,but a total of around 250 was probably closer to truth.
Didn,t see any Small Torts ,which was surprising ,after seeing very good numbers of overwinterers earlier in the year ,and several laying females ,one area ,a stones throw (a long throw !) from home was last year exceptional for Brown Argus ,and it seems to be the same this year ,with probably around 15-20 flying in a very small piece of scrubland .
One of the brown Args ,is the minor AB; Supracuneata ,showing two white streaks on the top of the hindwings ,in line with the similar marking on the underside. Almost forgot ......................i did manage to add Painted Lady (2) to the patch list ...............but no Purple Hairstreaks !
Regards Allan.W.

[Deborah]

I was pleased to get this picture of a pair of Gatekeepers. A storm on Friday with hailstones and showery, unsettled weather since then - until this evening - means that I’m still trying to photograph Purple Hairstreaks who don’t seem to want to move!

[David M]

...also thought i,d (try!) to count the "whites " on the circuit ,must admit i gave up on this one about two thirds of the way around on 140 ,but a total of around 250 was probably closer to truth.

Impressive numbers of Whites, Allan. I'm noticing plenty myself flying along the roadside so we may be in for a bit of a bonanza over the next few weeks. The foodplants will have been in good condition through May and June, and this hot spell will have helped them through the pupation phase quicker than normal.

[millerd]

Added to all that, I believe Vince Massimo reported a substantial immigration of Small Whites not that long ago. Not unusual - I can remember when I lived in Dover a while back, in some summers lots of white butterflies blew in from the sea.

Cheers,

Dave

[Allan.W.]

I had a couple of early morning visits to Dungeness a few days back ,and i must say ,there were Whites everywhere ! (Small and Large ) is this the year when someone finally picks out Southern Small White amongst the hordes ,i,ve read somewhere that large numbers are being seen in the Nederlands .................so could this be the year ?
Regards Allan.W.

[David M]

Yes, could this be the year when we welcome mannii?

Looks like conditions are favourable.

[bugboy]

Popped down to Bookham Common this afternoon and whilst looking for WA caterpillars I found what I think is a Dark Crimson Underwing moth, somewhat rare outside the New Forest area in the UK apparently. Any moth'ers willing to confirm or otherwise for me? The final image was taken with flash hence it looks a little different.

[Matsukaze]

Yes it is. If you find any more, could you please point them in the direction of Somerset?

Seriously though, it's one of a number of glamorous moth species that have been spreading northwards in the last decade or so (Jersey and Scarlet Tiger, Clifden Nonpareil...)

[bugboy]

Yes it is. If you find any more, could you please point them in the direction of Somerset?

Seriously though, it's one of a number of glamorous moth species that have been spreading northwards in the last decade or so (Jersey and Scarlet Tiger, Clifden Nonpareil...)

Thanks, I've already sent the pics to the Surrey BC branch. Jersey Tigers have been VERY common in London over the past 10 years or so, I see them at work every year now and Scarlet Tigers seem to be all over social media these days!

[aeshna5]

Nice find. Dark Crimson Underwings seem to have expanded considerably in the last few years & there was a paper on them in Atropos (last year?)giving the data. I remember Les Evans-Hill who traps on Wimbledon Common had a couple last year.

[Medard]

Alners Gorse, Dorset

26-07-2021
Wildflowers everywhere at Alners , very pretty, and lots of butterflies.
My target species was the Purple Hairstreaks, they were more numerous than I had seen them on my previous visits, I find this species very difficult to photograph by their habit of constantly flitting about, the bright sunlight made exposure difficult, however I returned home with some reasonable pleasing photos.
https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/

Butterflies seen
2 Specked Woods.
2 Small white
Pair of Large Whites
1 Red Admiral
The Meadow Browns and Hedge browns very numerous.
Small Skippers ditto.
Marbled Whites were not as numerous as I have seen them in previous years at Allners
2 Freshly emerged male Silver washed fritillary
20 plus Purple Hairstreaks.
1 Brown Hairstreak.
1 Brimstone
Several Peacock.
1 Painted lady.
A few of my favourite photos.

[Sylvie_h]

Sunday 25th July - Oxwich Nature Reserve - South Gower -

There was quite a diversity of species when I visited Oxwich on Sunday but not a great number of butterflies (sadly):

Purple hairstreak x 10
Small heath x 1
Red admiral x 1
Comma x1
Small blue x 3
Meadow brown x 5
Marbled white x1
Small copper x 2
Common blue x10
Gate keeper x 20
Ruby tiger x 1
Caterpillar of the Buff tail moth x 10 all hiding together beneath the leaf of an Oak tree

[David M]

Where did you see the Purple Hairstreaks, Sylvie?

[David M]

Friday 23rd - Aston Rowant

A couple of hours spent at this site saw silly numbers of butterflies, encompassing 21 different species.

Chalkhill Blues were well into the hundreds, along with Meadow Browns and golden skippers (many of which were Essex).

Full list of species was: Meadow Brown, Chalkhill Blue, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Silver Spotted Skipper, Large White, Small White, Brimstone, Comma, Red Admiral, Peacock, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, Dark Green Fritillary, Marbled White, Ringlet, Hedge Brown, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Copper & Small Heath

[Stevieb]

90 minutes on the common this morning, before the rains came, produced good numbers of Chalkhill Blues, Gatekeepers, Marbled Whites and a couple of Dark Green Fritillaries.

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[millerd]

Friday 23rd - Aston Rowant

A couple of hours spent at this site saw silly numbers of butterflies, encompassing 21 different species.

Full list of species was: Meadow Brown, Chalkhill Blue, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Silver Spotted Skipper, Large White, Small White, Brimstone, Comma, Red Admiral, Peacock, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, Dark Green Fritillary, Marbled White, Ringlet, Hedge Brown, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Copper & Small Heath

I was up there yesterday morning (26th), David - it was certainly quite a sight though believe it or not the Chalkhill density wasn't as high as that at Denbies on Saturday (24th)! I can add some more species to your tally - a very worn Large Skipper and a brand new Small Tortoiseshell, plus at least one Purple Hairstreak in the oaks at the car park. 24 species is going some at any time of year... A full report as ever will follow in my PD in a little while...

Cheers,

Dave