May 2022

[David M]

Might try Haugh woods at the weekend, wood white definitely my number one target right now

I'd still err towards the site near Cinderford in the Forest of Dean, Owen.

I walked 2 miles to see just 4 Wood Whites at Haugh Wood, but you could stroll to that pond in the Forest of Dean and see triple that in 20 minutes.

[Ian Pratt]

Glanville fritillaries seen today on the Isle of Wight.

Lovely clear shots. Was this Ventnor?

Nearby. Bonchurch.

[Ian Pratt]

Many different species yesterday at Mottistone Down including grizzled and dingy skippers, Glanville fritillaries, wall, brown argus, common and Adonis blues, speckled wood, small heath, painted lady, cinnabar moth, and green hairstreak. Photos at www.flickr.com/photos/lepreskil

[Allan.W.]

Been visiting the local Grizzled Skipper sights ,as much as time and weather have allowed ,and they seem to be having an unusual season ,best count has been only 4 ,and there seems no in -between with them they are even very worn or dew fresh ,and all the colonies seem to be the same ,and one site which is normally a cert hasn,t produced a single butterfly as yet !

Another odd thing is that this tatty looking AB;Taras ,is quite distinctive ,and i,m pretty sure that its the same individual which i found in another section of the wood ,a distance of about a quarter of a mile away ,and i have noticed in previous seasons that some males ,scoot around
in a small area and then for no apparent reason fly up high and dissappear over the tree tops ,presumably looking for other likely looking areas for fresh females. Had my first Painted Lady of 22 ' and a real surprise ,i followed a mother Shipton moth and watched it land on a Bugle flower .............. something didn,t look quite right ,and as i got closer ,i could see that it was actually a Male Dingy Skipper , i last saw Dingys in this area 30+ years ago .
While i was out i was also on the lookout for day flying and was pleased to find the beautiful "Arched Marble " and the tiny Bluebell Conch.

(click once)
Regards Allan.W.

[zigzag_wanderer]

Piddled it down at work this morning. Not pleasant when you're collecting a long list of plants from different houses for various garden centre orders. But as the rain had all but stopped I ate my lunch outside as usual.

Didn't see much but did spot a glint of blue in the long grass which turned out to be my Common Blue hanging in there with water dripping off his antennae waiting for the weather to change. This got me wondering about his nemesis and sure enough about 5 feet behind him I found my Brown Argus, sitting at a slightly higher elevation. My al fresco dining area is small so I tend to only see singles of any species using it for territory rather than just passing through.

Yesterday, I saw my first Pyrausta nigrata, although you'll have to take my word for it as I couldn't get a decent picture of it. Also my second Painted Lady of the year whilst walking home.

I'm very jealous of your Arched Marble Allan, and I was looking at Bluebell Conch pictures when I was trying to ID the tiny moth I saw the other day. For very small insects they both are beautifully marked. I do keep disturbing Common Marble in the low vegetation at work, they are by far and away the most numerous moth (or butterfly) on my lunchtime patch. I don't think the one I saw on Wednesday was a Common Marble but the trouble with moths is there seems to often be a very wide range in appearance.

[David M]

Painted Ladies suddenly seem to be cropping up everywhere!

[Bertl]

A little bit more variety on the wing this week at a couple of my usual haunts on deeside.

[millerd]

I think this may be an example of a Common Blue ab. nigromaculata.

Seen on 18th May at Mill Hill in Sussex along with dozens of the standard issue.

Dave

[Lawts]

Glanville fritillaries seen today on the Isle of Wight.

Lovely clear shots. Was this Ventnor?

Nearby. Bonchurch.

Cheers.

[OwenE]

I'd still err towards the site near Cinderford in the Forest of Dean, Owen.

I walked 2 miles to see just 4 Wood Whites at Haugh Wood, but you could stroll to that pond in the Forest of Dean and see triple that in 20 minutes.

Just Took me three minutes from the car to get a photo at cinderford and a lot of that 3 minutes was photographing a deer. Thanks so much for the directions.

Phone pic

[David M]

Just Took me three minutes from the car to get a photo at cinderford and a lot of that 3 minutes was photographing a deer. Thanks so much for the directions.

That's the joy of that spot, Owen. Park your car, walk 200 yards and see them straight away.

[OwenE]

Glanville fritillaries seen today on the Isle of Wight.

They look amazing. I’m out there next week and can’t wait

[OwenE]

That's the joy of that spot, Owen. Park your car, walk 200 yards and see them straight away.

Interesting having been there 3 times in the last few weeks and seeing the different species emerge. Place was full of blues today with the skippers trying to move them and the whites on from their spots.

[Allan.W.]

My closest Grizzled Skipper site ,beside the local football ground has finally come up trumps ,and today i found two fresh minted individuals ,around three weeks later than last season ,one appeared to still be drying its wings ,they really are gems when fresh.
Allan.W.

[zigzag_wanderer]

That's great news Allan - hopefully there's time for some fresh ones on my lunchtime patch. If you could send just one of your taras over that'd be much appreciated.

I was on lawn mowing duty today. Perennial geraniums not only spread like wildfire they always come up trumps in attracting insects. Holly Blue and Mint Moth also visited them but I was too slow getting the camera.

[David M]

Sat 14th - Ewyas Harold Common, Herefordshire:

Pearl Bordered Fritillary 25
Green Veined White 3
Speckled Wood 2
Orange Tip 2
Dingy Skipper 2
Peacock 2
Holly Blue 1
Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary 1
Small Tortoiseshell 1

[MikeOxon]

22nd May - Fineshade Wood Northants

From the Forest England website https://www.forestryengland.uk/fineshad ... utterflies "The [Chequered Skipper] butterfly which was previously extinct in England has been successfully breeding in Fineshade Wood. The population is now stable enough for members of the public wanting to glimpse the exciting butterfly to be able to visit."

My son invited me to join him for a visit yesterday (22nd May) and we were delighted to have a successful sighting. Although it was warm and sunny, there were very few butterflies on the wing when we arrived, mid-morning. A few Grizzled and Dingy Skippers were seen along the rides plus the occasional White and one rather worn Comma.

With so few butterflies around, we did not initially expect success, especially after meeting several people who had had no luck but then, two others told us where they had recently seen one and it was still there when we arrived We returned again later in the afternoon to the same location and once again, a single butterfly was busily nectaring.

Fineshade Wood, Northants - 22nd May 2022
Olympus E-M1-ii with 40-150mm lens - 1/500s@f/8 ISO400

Fineshade Wood, Northants - 22nd May 2022
Olympus E-M1-ii with 100-400mm lens - 1/160s@f/9 ISO400

These Butterflies were introduced from the Ardennes in Belgium in 2018 and 2019 and the work to establish a self-sustaining population is ongoing so, perhaps it is a little early to regard them as 'residents' I have previous seen these butterflies at various sites in North-West Scotland, so It was interesting to see these Northamptonshire butterflies nectaring on plants that are not yet in bloom, when they emerge amongst the Bluebells in Scotland.

Fineshade Wood, Northants - 22nd May 2022
Olympus E-M1-ii with 100-400mm lens - 1/320s@f/8 ISO400

Fineshade Wood, Northants - 22nd May 2022
Olympus E-M1-ii with 100-400mm lens - 1/320s@f/8 ISO400

I should mention that some parts of the wood are 'restricted access' for conservation reasons. My sighting was in the 'public' area.

Mike

[David M]

Thanks for posting that, Mike. I'm not sure if we've ever had any 'English' Chequered Skippers feature on the forum before. I know Covid set this project back a little but good to know there are still some present.

[Testudo Man]

This last Saturday i once again returned to two locations in Kent, Bredhurst, then ended the day at Darland Banks. Out in the field for a good 7 hours+.
Small Blues seem to be outnumbering anything else, an other species were once again thin on the ground, perhaps the 2nd brood Common/Adonis "Blues" will be higher in numbers? The day was all about female Common Blues really, an i found at least 3+ blue females on the day. (cant seem to find a brown one these days?!).
Some highlights, cheers Paul. As usual, none of my images have been cropped.

PS. 3 PL's out in the field, an my 1st brief garden sighting of one on Sunday.

Some lovely female Common Blues..........this 1st one got my attention real quick!! (Darland Banks).

2nd one not too shabby either. (Bredhurst).

A pair of females getting ready to roost. (Darland Banks).

Brown Argus (just 3 seen!). (Bredhurst).

Male Brimstone nectaring (good numbers seen at both sites). (Bredhurst).

[zigzag_wanderer]

Pair of Cinnabar moths waiting out the drizzle today.

Every one I see seems to wear its cape in a slightly different way.