millerd

[millerd]

Thank you, Goldie - I was quite pleased with the in-flight Marshie shots, particularly the second one. Yes, it does feel like summer has arrived too, which is always good.

After the day down on Salisbury Plain, there was still some time on 14th May to pop out locally. Some of the species seen were the same as those I'd been looking at earlier...

...and some not. It's interesting that common everyday species can be completely absent from more "specialist" sites. A Peacock, giving a typical view of one finding the sun too strong to bask comfortably...

...a Comma that really was a Comma this time and not something more exciting...

...a Holly Blue not quite prepared to open up completely (or indeed very tidily)...

...and a very fresh bright Small Tortoiseshell, the first of the summer generation.

There had been several male Common Blues investigating the abundant Birds-foot Trefoil plants, partly to nectar and partly to look for newly emerged females. However, one of them disturbed another blue butterfly which momentarily confused it before it went off elsewhere. Holly Blue females are frequent at present on the Goats Rue, laying lots of eggs. However, the Common Blue had put up a Holly female which had turned its attentions to laying on the BFT for a change.

Dave

[millerd]

Sunday 15th May was cooler again, and the sun disappeared for the day, though it actually stayed quite bright and you could feel it through the clouds. In such conditions a local walk is always worth a go, so that's what I did. There weren't many butterflies flying, with only six species seen, but there was still a bit of interest.

I found a Small Copper, an individual I don't think I'd seen before. I almost invariably see one, though not always the same one.

The Common Blues flying were all damaged in some way, and this roosting male was probably the best of the bunch.

Brown Argus, on the other hand, were in better nick, and happy to open up with their dark colouring absorbing more of the sun's heat.

A Speckled Wood looked down on me (it's usually the other way round) before going higher into the trees to roost.

Small Heaths seemed to be easy to disturb from the ground - they must have been close to flying anyway, or they'd have been tucked down further in the grass. The underside patterns vary subtly between individuals: these three are all different butterflies.

Finally, I spotted an Orange Tip napping in a less usual spot - up at head height on a hawthorn blossom.

There's always something to see - even though not a single Holly Blue made an appearance!

Dave

[David M]

That last Small Heath is a beauty, Dave. I wish I had the patience to get them framed like that.

[millerd]

Cheers, David - conditions were about right in that it was bright rather than sunny, so if I disturbed one it didn't fly far and tended to land in more open spots. That shot was cropped a bit, though I was able to get pretty close to the butterfly by getting down in the grass.

Monday 16th May was a bit sunnier again, increasingly so through the day in fact; however, there was a bit of a breeze blowing. I decided to have a look at Aston Rowant for the first time this month.

As I've noticed here before at this time of year, Brown Argus are the commonest species for a while.

apparently hitching a (very slow) ride

Fresh Common Blues were also in good numbers.

It was a while before any Adonis Blues appeared, and there weren't that many - perhaps half a dozen - and they weren't very cooperative.

There were a couple of Small Coppers, including one doing its best to perform a stalk dance in the wind.

Only a few skippers seemed to be left - I found only one Grizzlie...

...and just a handful of Dingies hugging the shelter at the bottom of the slope.

Also down here, there were a few worn female Green Hairstreaks, still laying on low plants like rock rose.

By contrast, up a bit higher on a wild rose was a very fresh one indeed, marred only by a careless tear in one wing. This individual also boasted the most impressive set of white spots I've seen, almost running together and creating a genuine streak.

Dave

[Pauline]

Fabulous Green Hairstreak Dave - and very envious of your Chequered Skipper. It is one I would love to see but a bit further than I can go at present.

[trevor]

I have never seen a better Green Hairstreak specimen than the one above, Dave.
They are so variable, no white spots, sometimes one or two, then occasionally a complete 'set '
like your example. Envious of your shots .

Great stuff,
Trevor.

[Katrina]

I agree that is a beautifully marked GH

[millerd]

Thank you, Pauline - a full report on the Fineshade day will appear before too long I hope.

Cheers, Trevor. I was amazed to see such a pristine individual appear after a succession or battered and worn ones nearby. An absolute cracker.

Yes, it definitely deserved the hairstreak name, Katrina: a lovely example. It also appeared a denser green, with less of the shine and iridescence they usually display.

As usual after a morning outing, I fit in a local walk too - especially when unexpected things can happen! Nothing like that today, though - just some of what you might expect. It just shows I have no need to travel further afield for Brown Argus and Common Blue - my local patch has an excellent supply.

The GVW continued what has been a good year for them so far.

Likewise Speckled Woods - much better than last spring.

A few hibernated Commas remain...

...and last but not least, a female Holly Blue enjoying the early bramble flowers. There could be blackberries to pick round here before the end of June...

Dave

[millerd]

Tuesday 17th May turned out to be the predicted very warm and sunny day, with winds blowing from some way south. I ended up staying local for the day, reasoning that I would get a good overall picture of what was flying here at the moment (rather than snapshots after or before trips elsewhere). My butterfly count for the day reached 143, with 15 species represented: pretty good for somewhere with only generalist species on the menu. Here are the totals:

Holly Blue 43
Common Blue 15
Small White 14
Peacock 10
Small Heath 7
GVW 7
Orange Tip 6
Brown Argus 6
Painted Lady 5
Speckled Wood 3
Brimstone 2
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Red Admiral 1
Small Copper 1
Large White 1

These were the first Painted Ladies of 2022, and appear to have been part of the vanguard of a small migration event as there have been numerous contemporaneous reports from elsewhere. The isolated surge in Small White numbers was a bit mysterious, as both immediately before and after numbers were much lower. The Small Tortoiseshells comprised one from each brood - there is a distinct overlap this year. Common Blue numbers are building nicely, but the most notable statistic was the large contingent of Holly Blues. Many of these were females, laying in various places and on a variety of plants, but there were still males amongst them.

puddling male

egg-laying female

female taking a break after laying

A selection of the Painted Ladies seen - all were somewhat travel-scarred.

Here are a few of the other species seen today.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking reports Dave - and some great shots from Sidbury in particular, I'm glad it came together on the day and especially cheerful with the number f Dukes Interesting that you noted the cross over with the Small Tort broods as I've seen the same; I had a really fresh new one on Friday at work and then on Saturday a battered old one (although I won't get to mention it until about August at the rate I'm going ).

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...By contrast, up a bit higher on a wild rose was a very fresh one indeed, marred only by a careless tear in one wing. This individual also boasted the most impressive set of white spots I've seen, almost running together and creating a genuine streak.

That really is in the Champions League for Green Hairstreaks, Dave. Seldom have I ever seen such a beautifully 'streaked' example!

[millerd]

It was a great day at Sidbury, Wurzel - looking forward to your shots from the outing, especially those taken of completely different butterflies. There were certainly plenty to choose from!

Yes, it was a splendid Green Hairstreak, David - especially so late in their season. It almost looked artificial!

Wednesday 18th May was not as warm, but there was sunshine so I opted for an excursion down to Sussex, hopefully to take in some Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries at Park Corner Heath. I started with a wander around some of the rides in Rowlands Wood, and didn't see a great deal: a couple of worn Pearls, a Speckled Wood, a GVW, two Dingy Skippers and a single Grizzled Skipper.

Returning to the main PCH reserve I found one or two other folk with the same aim as myself, including Katrina - who I don't think I'd seen for maybe eighteen months. Great to see you again, Katrina, and chew the fat for a while. While we were catching up, Fritillaries appeared, with several worn PBF as well as fresher SPBF. One curious incident started the ball rolling: one of each species interacted, almost resembling the pose of mating PBFs.

Here are the Pearls...

...and the Small Pearls.

I probably should have stayed longer - I would then have had a chance to see some basking and roosting butterflies, with the added bonus of Trevor, Doug and Neil who all arrived later on. However, I wanted to take in at least one more site on my way home, so headed off down to the A27 and along to Mill Hill.

Dave

[trevor]

Pleased to see you had a great visit to PCH. As we saw, the PBF were getting long in the tooth,
but the SPBF were nice and fresh. You managed some great shots of female SPBF, and a
for the final shot in your post. Shame I missed you, but I am sure that will be put right in about four weeks time!.

Great stuff,
Trevor.

[millerd]

Could be even less than four weeks, Trevor, if the weather stays halfway reasonable. It won't be long before I start looking for the curtain-raiser species like White Admirals...

After the Fritillaries of Park Corner Heath, on 18th May, it was the Blues of Mill Hill. The long grass beside the path along the top of the hillside was full of Common Blues - with the odd Adonis thrown in too. I did venture down to the bottom of the hillside too, but actually didn't find much down there.

The Common Blues provided almost all the interest - they were mostly fresh males, but there were a few new females in the mix as well, with a good deal of variety.

A selection of shining males:

There was one of these with prominent black spots around the hindwing margins - I believe this is ab. nigromaculata.

They started to go to roost, and like many species of blues, they tend to do so communally. Even walking past could send up a small cloud of butterflies.

Whilst engrossed in all these butterflies, I bumped into JohnW, who was taking the same interest. Good to see you, John, and indulge in some more catching up.

A very sociable and butterfly-filled day.

Dave

[millerd]

Once again I have overlooked a brief wander on my local patch before the day out in Sussex on 18th May. A selection of species that didn't feature at all later on... This included another of the "honorary butterflies", this time a Mother Shipton moth - which actually sat still for more than a moment or two.

Dave

[bugboy]

Amazing to think most of the CB you saw there had emerged less than 24 hours before, Adonis outnumbered them the previous morning!

[Neil Freeman]

That's a beautiful Brown Argus Dave

I must admit though that I feel it would have looked better on something natural. Possibly an unpopular view and I understand why people do it but I am not a fan of photos of butterflies on fingers and hands...to me it takes away from the natural beauty of the butterfly.

Cheers,

Neil.

[millerd]

The Common Blues were indeed very fresh, Paul - there must have been a mass emergence that morning.

She was a lovely new butterfly, Neil. Having captured her underside, I hoped she would open up a little too. However, it was only when I tried to gently move her to a more open location that she opened her wings - whilst still on my hand. Once placed elsewhere, she promptly shut up shop again! I have found before that the warmth of human skin can be enough to cause butterflies to bask. I agree completely that she would have looked far better more naturally posed, but in the end it was all she offered on the day. I suspect there will be more Brown Argus to come.

Thursday 19th May was another warm and sunny day, so I headed down to Denbies for a coffee and to see if there were any fresh Adonis females around. There were, and still quite a few males as well - though these were starting to look a bit worn now.

The females of the species were in much better condition - but no spectacular blue examples...

I also came across a mating pair, nicely posed on the foodplant.

There was not a great deal else to be found - just decent numbers of Small Heaths, a few Common Blues, and one or two tired examples of Green Hairstreak and Dingy Skipper.

Dave

[millerd]

The rather shorter than usual visit to Denbies meant there was plenty of time on 19th May for another walk at home. There was actually a greater variety on offer here, with ten species making an appearance.

A few ex-hibernators were soldiering on, though in one case, probably not for much longer.

Bright new Common Blues continued to appear, and numbers have been building.

Alongside them, new Brown Argus darted about.

A Painted Lady was swooping and gliding around, in between brief stops a little way off on some flowering thistles. The energy displayed by this butterfly was amazing - no wonder they can fly such distances.

Holly Blue females were still laying on the many goats' rue plants - there must have been thousands of eggs laid in this meadow area.

They often pause between bouts of laying, and open-wing views are frequent.

Finally, there's always a Small Copper.

Dave

[millerd]

Friday 20th May was cooler and lacked much sunshine, so I just stayed local today and enjoyed the Common Blues. The first male almost has the hint of a tail on the hindwing.

Among the males was another unusual female, almost ghostly pale with only the tiniest hints of marginal markings on the forewings. I've not seen one like this before.

Other highlights included two different Small Coppers today...

...Brown Argus...

...and another female Holly Blue on the goats' rue.

White butterfly numbers have dropped off sharply, but I did find a male GVW in reasonable nick.

There was also this butterfly, which I initially took to be a Brown Argus - but with a closer look there appeared to be blue scales on the wings near the body, which would make it a Common Blue. I'm still not sure about it (and didn't see the underside, which would have been conclusive).

Dave