Bugboys mission

[millerd]

That's a great selection of early stages, Buggy. I look forward to further installments... You did better for hairstreaks on that trip than I did on my last August visit - you certainly have a knack for turning up the purple ones among the browns!

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Thanks Dave, I’ve never seen so many Purples down feeding in amongst the Browns as this year, a shame they don’t behave like that when fresh rather than clambering around in damp grass!


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August 2021

Tuesday 31st. The final day of August was like most other days of the month, overcast and below average temperature. Still it wasn’t raining so I went out to see if I could relocate the White Admiral cats I’d discovered on Ashtead Common. After a bit of wandering and a few wrong turns I managed to find the gloomy patch of Honeysuckle. There were fewer to be found and most were third instars.

I found one who was already tucked up for winter in a classic ‘partial cut and fold’ ©Pete Eeles hibernaculum.

Apart from a couple of Whites the only adult butterflies encountered were Speckled Wood, the air temperature obviously just enough to keep them active.

I also got harried by a noisy beetle who landed nearby and proceeded to give me one evil glare. Maybe it was just annoyed about being used as a bus service by the mites but then if you’re a Burying Beetle I guess that’s just part of your life!

A couple of hours into my wanderings there was a bit of actual sun and suddenly there were butterflies everywhere, well that may be a slight exaggeration but activity certainly increased. A mating pair of Meadow Brown appeared along with a couple of Small Coppers.

I watched a second female Meadow Brown ovipositing

and two more Meadow Browns were notable for the amount of orange on the hindwings.

Finally I stumbled across a male Brown Hairstreak nectaring on Hemp Agrimony and judging by the extensive trampling around it and nearby flower spikes, this has likely been a prime nectaring spot for the species this season.

[Wurzel]

Cracking report Bugboy That Burying Beetle seems to have the comparative strength of an elephant as its carrying it's own body weight in mites Those Meadow Browns with the orange on the hind wings do seem to be coming a little more common, a nice looking variation in my book
"judging by the extensive trampling around it and nearby flower spikes, this has likely been a prime nectaring spot " about a week into their season that's often the easiest way to find Brostreaks - look for the flattened trackways

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, I know Neil Freeman has posted a fair share of those Meadow Browns in recent years and anecdotal evidence seems to suggest they are becoming more numerous, although still unusual enough to warrant special attention when you have a camera with you. I'm sure someones given them an ab. name at some point but I've not looked it up.


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September 2021

Sunday 5th. My September started the way August started with a return to Bookham. A pleasant surprise greeted me as I walked through the first gate having just got my camera round my neck and was busy sorting out settings, a small orangey brown butterfly flitting and fussing around a gangly sprig of Blackthorn .

In comparison to the previous few outings (indeed much of August), today was warm and sunny and made a welcome change from trying to make every half-dried leaf turn into a butterfly.

A fresh Brimstone and Comma were both quickly added to the days tally

And as the day progressed a handful of Small Coppers and Common Blues helped to fill my memory card.

My Orange-tip pupae was still safely hiding away in plain sight where I’d left it and the White Admiral who’d started hibernation on my last visit had made a bit more of an effort with his sleeping bag now, having silked up the sides of his chosen leaf and closed it up around him. Other third instar could still be found munching away.

Having successfully relocated the Red Admiral pupal tent I found on my last visit I carefully unpicked the silked up edges to get a look inside and get a few pics.

Of course having done that I was now duty bound to look after it so I popped it in a pot with the intention of trying to get some emergence shots at home.

The day finished once again with a male Brown Hairstreak doing what they’ve been doing for the past 4 weeks, gorging on Hogweed .

It’s safe to say it’s been a good year for the Brown Hairstreaks at Bookham this year with 31 individuals seen in five visits without too much effort (ignoring the possibility of repeat sightings on consecutive days), god knows how many remained unseen .

[bugboy]

September 2021

As is the norm for me locally, butterfly sightings drop of the edge of a cliff when September arrives and for my final few transects at work it was pretty much all Speckled Woods.

On Tuesday the 7th I went south to see what was happening on the south coast, hoping mainly for some fresh Clouded Yellows (and well, always the outside chance of something small and blue to get the heart racing).

I spent the morning down perusing Newhaven, first the Tidmills nature reserve and then moving over to the other side of the harbour at the fort nature reserve. There wasn’t a great range of species to get excited over, Small Whites dominated Tidemills and as I usually do, as many as possible were photographed on the off chance they weren’t all the standard rapae model. Nothing unusual stood out but off course if I’ve missed something, feel free to point out my mistake .

The flocks of Goldfinch were growing down here too, feasting on the Teasel, Thistle and other wild flower seeds.

The BLEP here this year was putting on a great show, a shame there was nothing here to take full advantage of all those juicy seed pods! Checking out all the patches I’m aware of in the general area turned up a solitary Small Copper and a brief skip of the heart with a female Common Blue.

There was a bit of a stiff breeze and combined with the growing temperature it was making photography a bit difficult. A couple of Cloudies had also made an appearance but they were already warmed up enough to know chasing them would be a fruitless task. The Fort nature reserve has quite a few secluded sun traps which I’ve found in the past attract small captive populations of various species. At the first spot I found a few Red Admiral were making the most of the last of the Buddleja.

Small Whites were around (all rapae again)

But a Large White attracted most of my attention, well she was rather handsome. Her beauty didn’t go unnoticed by other eyes, although this male was definitely barking up the wrong tree.

The last butterfly to pose for me (well pose in a very loose sense of the word as I was forced to peer through some bramble to get anything) was a Comma.

I would have stayed a bit longer after this as I found a small but very active colony of Common Blue, but it was whilst trying and failing to pin one down, an errant bumblebee got lost up my shorts (no, not that far up!) and decided to give me an unwelcome gift. The law that usually generates cloud and rain on my days off, dictated that today should be the day that I leave by bite & sting cream at home. Since my last bumblebee sting on my wrist lead to an extremely swollen forearm and a couple of days of work, the best course of action was to abandon the days outing, find a chemist in town and get home before I lost the power to walk! Luckily, I still had the use of my leg the following day, just a swollen knee to prod occasionally to try and get some sympathy from work colleagues, non was awarded .

[trevor]

As soon as I saw the BLEP I thought there's an optimist!.
There's been a few LTB images posted on the Sussex BC site, all without dates,
so I haven't got over excited this year.
As for checking Small Whites I'm not going there, it would sent me round the bend.
You are right about Peacocks, lets be grateful that they are plentiful, especially at this time of year.

Have a good closed season Paul, and stay safe.
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Great report Bugboy It's definitely worth checking the Small Whites - sooner or later one of them is going to be a 'Southern', it has to be Hopefully the Social will go ahead and Plan B or Plan (wait and )C won't spoil things fingers crossed

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Haha, I wasn’t really expecting to find any LTB Trevor, but I am aware that’s where one sighting was this year so you never know. Don’t worry about the Whites, I’m confident there was nothing out the ordinary.
Thanks Wurzel, one day someone will come across one. I’m sure they’re already here somewhere, most likely down Kent way since they’ve been in Calais for a few years now by all accounts. The social better go ahead, booked my train tickets last night!


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September 2021

Sunday the 12th. It was getting rather late in the season for them but I had wanted to have one last day with the Grayling on Chobham. Unfortunately the weather scuppered the day somewhat, turning rather dull and overcast shortly after my arrival and never really brightening up.

Predictably the Grayling had all seen much better days but at least I got an upperside this time.

A handful of other species were found in my wanderings including a Red Admiral with a slightly ‘bleached’ look to one of the hindwing red bands.

With the general lack of butterflies I ended up getting side-tracked with Dragonflies and moths. Here’s a Southern Hawker and a selection of Brown China-mark Moths, seems to be quite a variable little moth.

[bugboy]

September 2021

A couple of posts ago I wrote about taking a Red Admiral pupae home to try and get a few emergence pictures, well I failed! Here it is shortly before,

and here it is shortly after.

On Wednesday the 15th I wangled a half day from work and took an afternoon trip down to the south coast once again to have another try for some Clouded Yellows. This time I headed for the ever-reliable Southwick, following it up with a wander on Mill Hill. Most of the action at Southwick was going on at the far end where there was still some Buddleja in flower. Here there were a couple of Comma, some Red Admirals, a few Whites and a Cloudie.

I didn’t have long before cloud cover halted play early but walking back along the thin strip of grass, I managed to disturb another Cloudie who had settled down to wait for the sun to return. It’s striking what a difference light levels make to their underside. I presume the scales must have highly reflective properties which only function in direct sunlight enabling them to easily vanish in amongst the yellowing leaves they invariably choose to roost amongst.

It was very much the tail end of the season on Mill Hill with most species looking decidedly tired. A small patch of Devils-bit scabious in the sheltered bottom corner being the main focus of the ones nearing the end of their short lives which included Meadow Browns, Adonis and Common Blues, Small Heath and a Small Copper.

Bucking the trend of tired looking butterflies were some more Red Admirals and one of the two Cloudies present. This particular Cloudie attracted most of my attention due to the fact it was in feeding mode before going to roost and so was somewhat easier to approach than a midday one. I quite like the autumnal tint created by the low sun.

Overall quite a successful afternoon

[Wurzel]

That penultimate shot is an absolute cracker Bugboy All of those Cloudies look in great condition - would they be fresh off the boat or the progeny of an earlier immigration?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[trevor]

For that last shot, and the rest aren't bad either.

Stay well,
Trevor.

[millerd]

Those are some terrific in-flight Cloudie shots, Buggy - the late afternoon light really accentuates the egg-yellow of the butterflies.

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel. Almost certainly home grown, the males tend to hang around where they grow up. As I understand it Female Cloudies do most of the migration, emerge/mate/move on, leaving the males to chase the next set of females to appear on their home patch, much like LTB appear to do.
Thanks Trevor, as with any in-flight shot there’s a large dollop of luck and a good many binned shots for every one that sees the light of day!
Thanks Dave, they are a welcome sight just as winter threatens to finally end the season aren’t they


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September 2021

Saturday the 18th was a long day. I went into Essex to see if any Clouded Yellows were on the long south facing path at Hadleigh Country Park, but instead of going straight to Leigh-on-sea as usual, I got off at Pitsea and walked from the other end. Had it been a month or two earlier I’d likely seen a bit more but there was just the occasional Meadow Brown to be found.

There are many small pools/ponds by the side of the path and passing each one caused a cascade of watery, amphibious plops. After a few failed attempts I managed to find a pool where I could see the edges from a distance without disturbing the culprits, Pool Frogs. There’s been much debate in the amphibian world as to whether or not they are or have ever been a native species. The general consensus seems to be ‘yes’ but with the caveat that most populations in the UK are now results of introduced animals from the continent. Anyway they are rather attractive frogs and this patch of Essex seems to be heaving with them!

4 frogs and a bonus Dytiscidae Diving Beetle.

Darter Dragonflies were busy over these pools as well, many tandem pairs flying around and depositing eggs.

By the time I’d reached the Leigh-on-sea end of the park I’d managed add a single Small white to the small handful of MB, sadly there didn’t seem to be any Cloudies here this year.

In some trees across from a recently ploughed field a large gathering of raucous Corvids could be heard and I spent a while watching Crows and Jackdaws playing in the brisk wind, playfully dive bombing each other. Looking at the pictures at home one looked decidedly 'Raveny' although at the time I don’t remember any Crows standing out as bigger than the others. I believe they’re only an occasional visitor to this part of the world.

Raven?

Moving on I managed to add another Small White, a male, and a Brown Argus to the days tally.

At the narrow path which in high summer is full of White-letter Hairstreaks, I found a few Comma, one of whom had a broken ‘C’ whilst a few Red Admiral sailed above my head.

'Polygonia j-album'

I headed over to Two Tree Island in the hope that the masses of Ivy would be working its magic on the late season Aristocrats, only to find it was mostly still in bud. There were some Green-veined Whites though and I killed a bit of time watching the Little Egrets fishing, squabbling and generally lounging around.

Exploring the southern side of the Island I came across a Wasp Spider, complete with egg sac, down in the saltmarsh

and in the lagoon I watched a young Dabchick pestering one of its parents. (It had actually learned to dive for it’s own food but it seemed to prefer begging).

A Red Admiral and another Green-veined White completed the butterfly sightings for the Island so I returned for one last look near the station before making my way back home

Tbc.

[millerd]

Those are rather splendid frogs, Buggy - I didn't know about this species at all. How widespread are they in the UK now? I remember the marsh frogs from the pool at Wrecclesham in the days when you could access the site, and in particular the noise they made - are pool frogs vocal as well?

That selection of butterflies has a real autumnal feel about it - something about the quality of the light. Great shots.

Cheers,

Dave

[aeshna5]

Are the frogs here not Marsh Frogs? Appreciate these Pelophylax frogs can be tricky to ID but thought most of the Essex ones were Marsh. They've successfully re-introduced Pool Frogs in the pingos in Norfolk where they are thought to be native.

I was at Two-Tree Island last Friday & was amazed at the number of Little Egrets there. a flock of over 60 took off at one point- the largest UK flock I'd seen. In total we possibly saw 100 birds though were outnumbered by maybe a thousand Dark-bellied Brent Geese.

It was quite a cool day with some sun so only managed 3 each of Red Admiral, Small White & Migrant Hawker. a probable Small Copper whizzed past.

[bugboy]

Thanks Dave, as far as I can tell they’re not particularly widespread but are increasing in range. I’ve never knowingly seen them before so I don’t know if they are noisy but they are closely related to the Marsh Frog (which is apparently not native to our shores), close enough in fact to produce fertile offspring, the Edible Frog.
Hi Aeshna5. I’m no expert on these frogs but when I searched the internet for Pool Frogs lots of images very similar to mine appeared, so I put my faith in Google. I’m happy to be corrected though. When I dug a bit more and discovered all the hybridisation/Hybridogenesis I got a bit lost .

It is indeed a very good spot for Little Egret and numbers do seem to have increased in recent years, flocks of 30 or 40 seem to be the norm. Good to know the Brent Geese Have arrived, if there’s a big enough gap in the rain this weekend I might pop down again


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September 2021

Saturday the 18th cont. The final hour turned out to be chockful of butterflies. Before heading home I decided to have one last browse of WLH alley where I’d seen a couple of Comma and Red Admiral a few hours earlier, it being the most sheltered patch of nectar source I’d found all day. There were a few more Comma here now, perhaps half a dozen but the Red Admiral numbers had increased dramatically. After watching for some time (and taking many pictures) the maximum I think I saw at any one time was around 30, but since many kept vanishing into the treetops and I could occasionally catch glimpses of small groups feeding in Ivy higher up and knowing there's lots of Ivy blossom that's virtually out of sight, I’m fairly confident there could have been twice that total. A small selection of images from the last hour.

A Comma feeding on Blackberries is to Autumn what an Orange-tip is to spring for me .

This one was feeding on these Blackberries for the entire hour, and was probably later found sleeping in the gutter!

[bugboy]

September 2021

Tuesday the 21st. Since my last half day outing to the south coast was rather successful, I decided to pop down again for an afternoon. This time I only did Southwick since a few delayed trains meant I didn’t have time to fit in Mill Hill before the sun was too low, but there was enough to keep me occupied. It started off with a fresh male Common Blue on the central bank but like last time, it was the Buddleja which provided most of the action. A large White had joined the usual collection of Small White found here.

A few Red Admiral were around

And a single Cloudie was present. After getting back home and checking pictures he turned out to be the same chap I’d seen here last time

A frustratingly short visit but nontheless another day to eak out the end of the season

[Wurzel]

Great set of reports Bugboy I'd go for Raven for definite, they look like flying crosses and it also has the wedge shaped tail Brilliant set of Red Admirals and those Comma shots are lush - ultra autumnal

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Just catching up Bug Boy, I love your distance shots at the very start of your posts and the Clouded Yellow towards the end Great Goldie

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel. I agree now I’ve compared it to the other pictures taken, there really is no doubt it’s no ordinary crow!
Thanks Goldie, you probably won’t need any MrGreens for Clouded Yellows now you’re based close to the south coast

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September 2021

Friday the 24th. A few hours down at Bookham where things had turned very autumnal since my last visit at the beginning of the month. I got there in time for the sun to break through the mornings cloud cover and was greeted by a couple of Red Admiral and a Comma looking suitably seasonal and very fresh.

From there I wandered along the edge of Banks Common towards Nightingale Corner where most of the Brown Hairstreak action took place this year, disturbing a few mating pairs of Common Darter Dragonflies along the way.

Most of the Hogweed had gone over now and I wasn’t really expecting to see any but flitting around the Blackthorn, just like on my last visit, was a female Hairstreak. She spent a good amount of time basking and considering the time of year she was in fairly good condition. She then fluttered off higher up into the hedge and carried on with her egg laying duties.

I went off to check on my Orange-tip pupae (present and healthy) and to try and locate some White Admiral larvae who were now almost certainly all settled down for hibernation, on the way coming across another Red Admiral and a rather old Speckled Wood.

Finding the White Admirals was a tad tricky since those that had escaped predation were indeed now all in hibernation (or so I presumed at the time) but there were still plenty of old leaves attached. The one I’d found last time was nowhere to be seen, the leaf he was using was missing but I located another one which had used the last leaf I’d seen him eating, he’s tucked up in the small sleeping bag here:

Hopefully as winter arrives more of the unused leaves will fall and others will be easier to locate. (note to self, remember to bring glasses next time )

I went via the ponds on the slow meander back to the station. There wasn’t much apart from a few ducks who came over expecting (but not getting) bread and a lone Heron wading across the relatively shallow pond.

The final butterfly at Bookham for this visit was a Small Copper. The hindwing orange band is slightly reduced possibly making it a borderline aberration.

On the way home I stopped off at Ashtead Common in the hope of locating some of the WA caterpillars and failed completely (definitely need to bring my glasses next time!) I only came across the one butterfly here, another Small Copper who decided she was too good to have her picture taken.

The day of my last butterfly sighting is rapidly closing in but there's still some life out there if you know where to look