Pauline

[Chris L]

Thank you for my learning of the day Pauline. I have banked that new knowledge. The speed at which they emerge took me by surprise as I had no idea it was that quick. I would have guessed at 20 to 30 minutes.

[Pauline]

You're welcome Otep Another variation is the degree to which the pupa changes shape and/or colour prior to the emergence of the butterfly. I confess I have not entirely got to grips with this which means there have been times when I have sat for 3/4 days waiting for it to appear especially in those sspecies which show little change. It is worse than watching paint dry. When, as happened to Buggy recently, it then emerges when you are not there (or have looked away for 20 seconds), it can be soul destroying!

Cheers Wurzel - I cut my report short yesterday due to some issues with the website. My intention was to monitor the emergence of the Dukes but the first 3 I found were ones I had already photographed. I decided this was probably an under-representation given the weather conditions so after about 50 mins decided to call it a day. Just before I left the site I spotted a very brightly coloured male which I definitely hadn't seen before. I took a few shots before he vanished but I immediately saw a fresh female. I have only seen the mating process half a dozen times in the past but on each occasion it hasn't taken very many minutes for a male to find the female and the courtship is non-existant! Sure enough, I had only taken a couple of shots of the female when the male appeared again and in less than a minute they were paired! A few more shots from yesterday:

and a single Dingy:

[Maximus]

Hi Pauline, nice to see the mating Dukes what are their numbers like at Noar this year?
Cathy is fine thanks, if a little bit exhausted from gardening duties but it keeps us fit

Sounds like the ongoing nightmare regarding the management at Noar Hill continues. The use of herbicide sprays ring alarm bells, as do the other negatives you mention. Not good news for the Brown Hairstreak population! Only a few years ago we used to get good BH egg counts there

[Pauline]

Morning Mike - I think it is still a little early to make judgement regarding the Dukes but will let you know in due course. I have been spending a bit of time at Rake Bottom watching Green Hairstreaks (none that I know of have been seen at Noar Hill this year (!) but would be happy to hear otherwise) and the place is just teeming with Dingy and Grizzled Skippers. I can't remember ever seeing so many - each step I seemed to be disturbing several and a couple of Dingies even landed on me. This little one seemed to be enjoying whatever was on my finger

As might be expected the male GH 's are looking somewhat worn now which is hardly surprising as they must have been out about 10 days or more at this site:

[trevor]

Lovely shots of Dukes, Grizzled & Dingy Skippers and Green Hairstreak.
I haven't managed to catch up with any of those yet !.

Still time, stay well,
Trevor.

[Pauline]

Cheers Trevor - you'd better get your skates on as I imagine species will start emerging thick and fast now. Wouldn't be surprised if the Wood White is out! I've been spending a fair bit of time with Green Hairstreaks, trying, unsuccessfully to find out a bit more about them. I also tried (also unsuccessfully) to take a panoramic image of the area I was in today but this was the best I could do

Hopefully the butterflies are a little better:

and my first Small Heaths of the season:

[Neil Freeman]

Lovely Green Hairstreaks Pauline, in fact I think I recognise a couple of them
Looks like numbers of these and the Skippers have been building nicely at Rake Bottom since my visits the other week.

Wouldn't be surprised if the Wood White is out!

I saw the first one reported in the midlands yesterday.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Fantastic set of images Pauline - those Greenstreaks and Dukes and Duchesses are gorgeous By the way Wood White were recorded the other day down in Devon

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Thank you Neil - some below that you might not recognise as I think the females are starting to emerge at last. Must have seen about 15 in total today but some males really worn now.

Cheers Wurzel - I'm sure they will be out at Chiddingfold too but I'm having too much fun with the Green Hairstreaks to check it out:

At one point there were 4 (females?) nectaring for some considerable time in close proximity but I could only get 2 in the frame:

[bugboy]

That is a stunner of a Hairstreak! Funnily enough I was chatting to a fellow enthusiast today who was after just that, a perfect Green Hairstreak with a full 'streak'. I managed to find him a fresh one but it only had a single spot...

[millerd]

Lovely shots of the hairstreaks, Pauline, especially the closeup of that spotted white streak! I also like your friendly Grizzly from earlier. I was contemplating a Chiddingfold trip soon - judging by reports from elsewhere, the Wood Whites must have started to appear there now... maybe I'll see you down there (after all, it's where I first encountered you, climbing out of a ditch... )

Cheers,

Dave

[Benjamin]

Love the first photo of the duke pair - beautiful. Also your emergence sequences and detail shots are stunning as usual. A huge amount of patience and skill goes into those I know - it is appreciated!

[Pauline]

Thanks Buggy - gorgeous, isn't it? Haven't seen too many like that.

Love the phrase 'white streak' Dave - just seems to fit, doesn't it? At least I went down that ditch voluntarily - I should have been called Alice given the number of rabbit holes I have fallen into this week!!! Sadly, I didn't find Wonderland, just ended up with a whole lot of nettle stings!!!!

Your comments are valued Ben and hugely motivating.

Today was supposed to be another Hairstreak day but given the weather it turned into a Skipper day. They are just so easy to find in cool, cloudy weather. For anyone who knows Rake Bottom, coming in the 'easy' way, I counted 16 Dingy Skippers along the track from the gate to the bend (not far, and I gave up counting after that). Apart from the Skippers there were a handful of Small Heath and a single Duke.

and some sort of evil spider waiting to snare one of those unsuspecting butterflies:

[millerd]

Great shots of all those posing skippers, Pauline. Grizzlies love to roost communally and make such good photos. And that spider - even better camouflaged than the skippers!

Cheers,

Dave

(PS - There were a couple of Wood Whites at Chiddingfold today... )

[Pauline]

Thank you Dave but some are not as sharp as I would like. It is just sooooo windy in this valley. Hairstreaks are not that easy to photograph at the best of times with all the twisting and turning but when you add in a strong breeze ...........I am thinking I may have to wait for the 2nd brood WW, but we'll see. You did well finding those 2 and thanks for letting me know.

I have been trying to find out as much as I can about GH, but tbh there doesn't seem to be a lot documented about them, and much of what I can find seems to be contradictory. Does that mean that some of what is documented is incorrect, or is it just that their behaviour varies? I suspect the latter. I asked a couple of respected figures about mating behaviour and that too varied; so, I am just trying to spend as much time as I can observing them but as I only have a couple of hours to spare daily, that doesn't amount to much. I arrived on site at about 8.45am this morning. The Dingies and Grizzlies were already up and about but I was surprised to find 4 Green Hairstreak (both young and old) appearing to be soaking up the weak sun on the path as I made my way along it. This doesn't actually look like a path but it is the track into the site from the gate:

(haven't actually met this individual before)

I made my way along to the patch of garlic mustard that they seem to savour to the point of seeing off the odd female OT. Sure enough there were 2 already nectaring and another lying on a nettle:

The one above is a real show-off and seems to love posing for photos. I am assuming it is a female not based on this but on other behaviour. She will spend hours nectaring and when it gets too cold or overcast she snuggles down amongst the plants:

No territorial behaviour here unlike the antics at the Hawthorn further along where territorial displays are frequent and when the sun disappears the males seem to retreat into the foliage, coming out when the sun returns:

One of the things I love about these butterflies is the way they display so many shades of green, just by turning slightly and changing position:

Of course there is a lot more of interest on this site. I have seen about 14 species of butterfly here in the last few days including this fresh Dingy that I almost stood on. Once I was sure she was safe and warm enough to fly I watched as a couple of males pursued her wwithout success:

Courtship activity between Small Heath convinced me that a pairing would result but that was not to be either:

Whilst searching a different area for Hairstreaks I found a male OT waiting for the sun to emerge:

and a few Dukes amongst many more:

[David M]

Fabulous selection of images, Pauline. You've clearly put a lot of effort into obtaining those. The results are superb, particularly that Green Hairstreak with the full set of white 'streaks' - a real beauty!

[Chris L]

Lots of lovely photos Pauline. I particularly like the one of the Green Hairstreak which is neatly sat in the bowl of a leaf. Or is it a Green Hairstreak hammock? I think I will stick with bowl.

Fond of the Grizzled Skipper as I am, a bit of the photos on your finger.

I always enjoy looking at your close up photos of the wings, showing their delicate, rich tapestry. A true wonder of nature seeing that close up.

[Goldie M]

Fantastic shots of every thing Pauline, I seem to be going no where and getting nothing at present, I see what you mean about them roosting on that plant, if I get to see just one I'll be happy, mean time here's a few greens for you Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you David.Yes, I agree - I was gutted when after 2 shots she decided to fly and that strong breeze carried her a good distance and quite fast too. I just haven't been able to find her again.

Thank you too OTEP for your kind comments but I think that Ab you posted recently is going to take some beating - so right back at you in triplicate

Cheers M. - you're not missing out on too much right now as the weather seems to have taken a turn for the worse. Still, we really need this gentle rain that has been here all day. It meant I started off in the garden (again) and was amazed to count a total of 36 Brimstone eggs on my little potted Alder Buckthorn!! I think it was less than half this figure last year. I am not sure this little plant will support all those cats which will no doubt mean supplemenatary feeding by me Interestingly the eggs have nearly all been laid on 3 branches. These shots aren't great (wanted to get in out of the rain!), but it gives an idea:

I was a little disappointed to only find 1 OT egg on my Garlic Mustard this year but I guess there is still time - and there is a lot of that plant here this season so I may have missed some.

Having grabbed a cup of coffee I decided it would be a good day to check out Noar Hill for Duke eggs. I feel it is still early in the season yet without too much trouble I located a couple of dozen, all in places where I have found them in the past. If you should happen to be reading this Mike, just based on this, it doesn't seem to be looking too bad for the Dukes although I have been a little apprehensive at the low numbers seen to date:

Whilst looking, I came across this caterpiller. I feel I should know what it is but it is not coming to mind right now. I am sure I have seen one before:

[Wurzel]

Cracking Skippers and Greenstreaks Pauline The Dukes are a little slow round this way so I was wondering how much longer they'll be around at Noar Hill - another week or two?

Have a goodun

Wurzel