Pauline

[Pauline]

Thanks Mike - I was quite pleased with those images.

Thank you Katrina - doesn't look much for all the hours sat waiting, does it .

Cheers Wurzel. I nearly missed this one as I was taking shots of a Red Admiral and Large Whites:

Not quite as easy today given the strong gales that seem to have sprung up from no-where!

[Pauline]

Earlier in the year I watched 2 Painted Ladies lay many, many eggs on Bramshott Common. I took 4 of the eggs and tried to monitor the ones left in the wild. One by one the wild ones disappeared until only one could be found; a different colour form that looked ready to pupate. That was the last I saw of it so I have no idea if it survived. In other areas I have seen dead Painted Lady larva in all stages dead on the plant. Of the 4 eggs in captivity, one of the larva died whilst young for no apparent reason but the other 3 thrived. Despite watching them carefully the first 2 emerged from the pupa overnight and when released did not even grace me with an open-winged shot before taking their leave. Ungrateful I call that ! I almost missed the final butterfly emerge and as it seemed in no hurry to leave I was happy to record its first stumbling flight and meconium being expelled. Given the hours I spent rearing these 3, I think it deserves a few more pics:

One of the earlier Painted Ladies having just emerged:

[Goldie M]

Fantastic shots Pauline, the colours of the Lady really standing out, I love that first shot, it shouts of relief at finally being free,

Goldie

[MikeOxon]

Greattto see the details in pristine condition - easy to see the reasons for the name - all those blusher, lipstick, and eye-shadow colours

Mike

[millerd]

What a very beautiful and satisfying result, Pauline. I'm glad you managed a full record of at least one of your progeny to look back on in the dark days of winter.

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Brilliant sequence again Pauline My favoruite one is from early in the emergence when the proboscis isn't 'zipped' up yet and the palps are protruding, fascinating shot that

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Great sequence, Pauline.

That close up image of the hindwing really shows how easy it is for our eyes to miss the intricacy of the colour and pattern of a butterfly's wings.

They are mini works of art.

[Pauline]

Thank you M. I'm glad you like it - you know how long it took me to get those shots ...............

Hi Mike - good to hear from you. There's nothing more vibrant than a newly emerged butterfly, is there? I just love seeing them in such a perfect condition which is why, I suppose, I spend so much time doing it

Thank you Dave - I was also pleased to catch the Brimstone....... and you're right, I do look back at my diary in the winter and tho' I am often dissatisfied with my photos at the time, I sometimes catch myself thinking 'did I really take that photo?'

Cheers Wurzel - I took about 200 shots so there were bound to be a few good ones, eh?

The Red Admiral that I referred to earlier and which almost caused me to miss the emergence was this one:

and more Whites in the garden at one time than I have ever seen before:

I read somewhere recently that catching the upperside of the wing in flight is a challenge. For me, catching a butterfly in any sort of flight is a massive challenge but there were so many Small Whites trying to egg-lay in the same small patch that I thought I would give it a try. I watched rejection behaviour frequently between 2 females who were trying to defend their egg-laying patch although I think the ones in this shot are 2 females and a male:

A quick check showed that 'my' Dingy Skipper is doing fine (haven't checked the ones on the common this week after the rain). I don't really like these larva as they remind me of a cross between a maggot and a slug - however they have interesting habits and like the ugly duckling will hopefully turn into a beautiful butterfly:

I have yet again been grounded as the antibiotics I was prescribed made me too dizzy to drive (at least the infected insect bites are healing up). Yesterday was the first day I was able to go out for what seemed like ages so despite the weather:

I decided to look for SSS. I got a thorough soaking in the process and all I found were aged DGF's egg-laying:

and a lovely fresh Small Copper:

Of some consolation was the stunning path of blue confetti (AKA CB) which was thrown in front of me each step I took. Clearly these are having a good year from what I have read in other reports too.

[Pauline]

Ooops, sorry David - our posts co-incided. I'm glad you enjoyed the sequence. Close-up images of the more exotic species you frequently see must be even more stunning - something I'd love to see.

[trevor]

Congrats on your soaking Pauline, join the club.
John Williams and myself got drenched on our way back to our cars
at Chiddingfold a few weeks back. Apparently the Botany Bay end of
the woods remained dry!. We were parked at Oldlands.

Lovely sequence of the emerging Painted Lady, lots of patience required!.

Stay well,
Trevor.

[Allan.W.]

Some VERY impressive pictures there Pauline ! As a matter of interest ,do you use a tripod and close up lense (for the egg shots ?) with your FZ 38 . Regards Allan.W.

[Pauline]

I'm pleased you liked the Painted Lady Trevor. There is no patience involved. It is worse than watching paint dry. It can be frustrating, disappointing and time-consuming. For me, it is a determination, a resolve (call it what you will) to finish what I have started. The reason I do it is a desire to learn about a species and witness behaviour that I would not otherwise see in the wild, and then to be able to transfer that knowledge to activity in the field. Of course it is enjoyable and satisfying to get some reasonable shots along the way but as a motivator that is way down the list - it is more of a recording mechanism.

It is very kind of you to say so Allan - thank you. I use my close-up lens for 99.9% of my butterfly shots. I hardly ever use my tripod and never take it out with me. I mostly use it when taking shots of emerging butterflies such as the Brimstone but I didn't have time to set it up for the Painted Lady as I was caught unawares. I don't use it for eggs either but to get something so small in focus usually takes me several attempts. I hope that answers your query.

I am not feeling very optimistic about the Brown Hairstreak at Noar Hill this season. It had a bad year here in 2020 and that, combined with the weather which has adversely affected so many species (and let's not forget the 'management' which involved burning goodness knows how many of their eggs) leaves me feeling quite pessimistic. Nevertheless, I made a quick visit there yesterday in very dodgy weather and the first thing I noticed was the extent of the Ash die-back. I don't usually count or list butterflies but I felt compelled to do it on this occasion as despite the very strong wind which was blowing butterflies all over it was teeming with butterflies that were valiently struggling to go about their business. There were Red Admiral, Peacock, Painted Lady, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Heath, Small Copper, Comma, DGF, SWF, Large White, Small White, Marbled White, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Small Blue, Small Skipper, Ringlet, Small Tortoiseshell - 19 species - but no Brown Hairstreaks. I took numerous shots - a few of them below:

Large Whites mating:

DGF's were egg-laying again. This time I was able to see 4 eggs being laid and get a shot of one of them:

Ash tree:

[Allan.W.]

My word ..............you must have a very steady hand to get shots like that of early stages Pauline !,a couple of years back ,i reared some Small Coppers ,and had a go at taking a shot of an egg,hand held ,i reckon i must have taken 25-30 shots........all blurred bar one ,even that one wasn,t that crisp ,i,m going to have another go ..................next season !
Regards Allan.W.

[Pauline]

Think it must be something to do with all the G&T I consume Allan Good luck.

Just a quick update on the Fox moth larva as I am off to a vet miles away with a poorly parrot (no jokes please!)

They started off as tiny little larva:

After a first moult on 8 July they looked like this:

Between 22-25 July they moulted a second time. This gave me a bit of a scare as the discarded skins looked just like dead larva:

However, they are now quite large larva:

I lost 2 larva when they first moulted and one larva at the second moult so there are now only 37. They are now eating machines and devouring huge amounts of foliage. If anyone has reared these I would be very interested to know how many instars they go through (can't find this online) and when I can expect them to settle down to hibernate - or whether I shall need to fell a couple of sallows!!

[MrSp0ck]

Fox Moth have 5 instars i think and your latest pictures from the 4th the last instar they tend to be chestnut coloured with longer hair and less yellow rings. They tend to hibernate in September and be fully grown in August so on time.

[Pauline]

Thanks Martin - I was just about to call you You seem to be implying that my larva are 4th instar? I guess I might have missed a moult but I think they are 3rd? Or have I misunderstood you and it is in the 4th instar that they hibernate? I'm a little bit shattered with all the driving and work with the parrot so my brain isn't functioning at its usual speed!

To try to escape the stressful situation for a short while I went to look for SSS again and this time I was successful. I only saw 3 and one was quite worn so I imagine they have been out at Oxenbourne for a couple of days. In the last 7 years I have seen them there at the end of July. I only managed a few record shots - seems like my brain isn't the only thing not working at full capacity - but they'll do until I have time to go back. The site was a hive of activity. Those poor DGF females were STILL egg-laying even though they were well past their best - and lots of mating going on:

A moth and a larva - too tired to recall their names right now but I do know them:

Just had to take a shot of this grasshopper as he accompanied me round the site on my thigh!!! Oh, and a nice fresh Small Copper:

Must get more sleep tonight!!!

[meiga]

Hi Pauline
The moth is a Chinese Character
Cheers

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of shots Pauline - love the sheen coming from the male Chalkhill I was going to name the moth but Meiga got there first; I suppose they came up with that name as 'looks a bit like a bird dropping Moth' doesn't really roll off the tongue?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[meiga]

Hi Pauline
The caterpillar is a Cinnabar moth
Cheers

[Pauline]

Cheers Wurzel - the Chalkhills are definitely doing better than most.

Hi Maurice - great to hear from you. Hope all is well. Miss seeing you at NH. Thanks for the ID's - I was just too tired to think last night. I'm flattered that you are reading my diary - but that means you will know that I STILL don't use a tripod despite your suggestion all those years ago . In just about every other way I have been a model student and followed your advice to the letter - however, you probably realise that I sometimes have problems with depth of field. Another lesson needed! I believe that greater dof requires large F number? My camera only goes to F8 - any solutions? I'm exposing my ignorance here but if it helps others too............

Limited to the garden again today. This morning I took a quick shot of my little WA larva:

and again this afternoon, but too late, just missed the moult:

Collecting some nettles for my captive Commas I noticed they are covered with these eggs. It is a long shot but if anyone has any idea?..........

I also found what I assume is a Red Admiral carrying out the massive task of creating a tent for himself. This was just a small nettle leaf but he diligently worked away producing threads which can just be seen in one of the shots:

Finally, I found this larva firmly attached to my curtains!!!!! It is 7.5cm long and I would love to know what it will become. Having managed to detach it I gave it some sallow as I thought that might be a safe bet?