Andy Wilson

[Andy Wilson]

Knepp still not Purple

I spent yesterday fruitlessly searching for Purple Emperors at Knepp. First prize is seeing one on the track at Green Lane, which has happened to me only once, in 2018. However, I did see a newly minted Small Tortoiseshell on the ground, soaking up the warmth of a rather watery sun. When they are this fresh, the background colour is almost a bright vermilion.

Small Tortoiseshell

In Sussex, they seem to be doing relatively well this year, after many years of only seeing the odd one or two.

[Andy Wilson]

Friston Gallops (knot Knepp)

With reports of continued poor weather at Knepp, I decided to give it a miss today and went to Friston Gallops.

I thought it might be sunnier near the coast, but I was wrong. Conditions were cloudy and only about 17C when I arrived at about 11:30 am. However I quickly saw my first Chalk Hill Blues of the year, about 5 in all, but hopefully there will be very many more at this site over the next few weeks. The most numerous species today was Marbled White, of which I must have seen several hundred, and they outnumbered Meadow Browns. There were also many Small Skippers and a few Essex Skippers.

Chalk Hill Blue

Marbled White

Small Skipper

The highlight was what seemed to be a large emergence of Dark Green Fritillaries. I must have seen about 40 in total. Most of them were hunkering down in the grass or lazily nectaring on Knapweed. One was so torpid that my wife tempted it on to her finger. Quite a change from the usual sight of this species flying at 100 mph across the downs!

Dark Green Fritillary

Dark Green Fritillary

[David M]

What a treat, Andy. That female DGF looks in mint condition and this is not a species that one generally finds too approachable, let alone able to coax onto one's hand.

[Andy Wilson]

Chalk Hill Blues at Friston Gallops

I visited Friston Gallops again this morning. Conditions were a bit cool at first but there were a few Chalk Hill Blues hunkering down with open wings, trying to warm up. As I climbed higher, the sun came out and suddenly hundreds of Chalk Hill Blues appeared, flying around like mad things. Males often were in posses of 10 or more, pursuing a female or just having a scrap with each other. They were all over the place, but the best areas are the high northern end, where a path runs down the centre, surrounded by wild thyme and all sorts of other wild flowers, and also the sheltered south-west corner of the site. Sometimes a group would fly up around my head and I could hear their wings beating.

Chalk Hill Blue (male)

Overall, there must be many, many thousands of them scattered across the gallops, mostly males but a lot of females too. I think they must be close to peak season now.

Other species seen were Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small/Essex Skipper, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Heath, Wall Brown, Speckled Wood, Marbled White (just a few stragglers), several very fresh Painted Ladies, Red Admiral, Large, Small and Green-veined White.

[Benjamin]

Great stuff Andy - I rely on your updates from Friston when planning a visit so good to know that now’s the time!

[Andy Wilson]

Thanks Ben. I forgot to include Small Copper to the tally.

[Andy Wilson]

Friston Forest and part of the Gallops

We went for a nice long walk on Friston Forest yesterday, starting from the FC car park near West Dean. As we walked east up on to the Downs, the path was lined with stands of Hemp Agrimony on each side. Every one of these seemed to have a Red Admiral on it, and sometimes there were two or three. We must have seen upwards of 100 altogether. There were also a few Peacocks and three Silver-washed Fritillaries, which were in surprisingly good condition. The most unexpected sighting, however, was a Jersey Tiger moth, also on Hemp Agrimony. I have never seen one here before. I believe that the hind wings of these can be anything from scarlet to yellow, and this individual was more of a golden yellow-orange.

Jersey Tiger

We walked along the western edge of Friston Gallops from north to south. There were several Wall Browns along the path, jinking around in front of us as we walked along, probably about 10 in all. There were also good numbers of Chalk Hill Blues at the northern end of the site, but not as many as our last visit 10 days ago. Many of them are now looking quite worn, but some were still quite fresh. There were about equal numbers of females and males, so it seems like the flight period is now past its peak.

In the sheltered south-west corner of the site, there were also many Chalk Hill Blues, but also the first few second-brood Adonis Blues I have seen this year.

Adonis Blue (male)

[Andy Wilson]

Pearl-bordered Fritillaries at Abbot's Wood

Two or three Pearl-bordered Fritillaries seen at Abbot's Wood near Hailsham, East Sussex this morning. Conditions were rather cool and I just managed to get a record shot of one of them before it did a disappearing act. Hopefully the weather will warm up soon and more will emerge.

The site is also looking splendid with its carpet of bluebells. Photographs rarely do them justice.

[David M]

Nice to see the PBFs, Andy, and the bluebells are superb even if a two dimensional image cannot replicate what the human eye sees in 3D.

[trevor]

I know that site in Abbots very well, only a mile or two from home as the crow flies.
I am hoping there is still time for numbers of PBF to build there, it has been very quiet so far.
Agree about the bluebell display, magnificent !.

All the best,
Trevor.

[Andy Wilson]

Marsh Fritillaries in the Chilterns

I was in Buckinghamshire on a family visit last weekend and visited the area around Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns. I vaguely remember seeing reports that Marsh Fritillaries had been unofficially released some time ago. I didn't really know where to go, but as we walked north along the ridge from the top of Incombe Hole, I had a brief glimpse of something fritillary-like, but I lost it. Later, however, we stopped for a few minutes just north of the summit of Steps Hill (approx. Grid Ref: SP959160) and I saw several Marsh Fritillaries. Most were quite flighty, but I managed to get some snaps of one individual.

Marsh Fritillary

In all, I reckon I saw about six in this small area, and if my earlier sighting was also correct, they have dispersed quite well. Also, if they were released last year or earlier, they must have successfully bred in the wild. It was good to see them, although I have mixed feelings about unauthorised releases. However, I have it on good authority that the species was present naturally there up to sometime in the 1980's and there is plenty of Devils-bit Scabious around, so perhaps the colony will survive.

The habitat and geology there is very similar to the South Downs in my home county of Sussex, being a north-facing chalk escarpment. I wonder if there are any plans to (re)introduce Marsh Fritillaries there?

[David M]

There have been releases of both Marsh and Glanville Fritillary in several places in that wider area, Andy. Whether they can self-sustain remains to be seen but glad you caught up with the Marshies.

[Andy Wilson]

Ditchling Common

A visit to Ditchling Common this morning yielded a few Black Hairstreaks (maybe 5-6) jinking about when the sun came out, but only one posed for a photo.

Black Hairstreak (male)

The Bee Orchids were easier because they don't fly off! However, the site is more overgrown than last year and could do with cutting in the autumn.

Bee Orchid

[Andy Wilson]

Knepp still in the June Gap - But maybe a small hint of Purple

I spent yesterday (13th June) wandering around Knepp, mainly Green Lane and Benton's Gorse. Conditions were rather cool when I arrived at about 11 am, but in the first warm sunny interval, I spotted a Purple Hairstreak jinking high up in an oak tree. Unfortunately, it was too far way to photograph, and despite a lot of looking, I didn't see any more during the rest of the day.

Needless to say, I didn't see any larger purple butterflies. It's too early and Knepp is still firmly in the June Gap. Meadow Brown are just starting, and there were also a few Large Skippers. No Marbled Whites yet. Nor were there any White Admirals or Silver-washed Fritillaries, despite looking in places I know they favour.

Other than that, it was Speckled Woods, Small Tortoiseshells (about 10, which was nice to see) and a few whites. Just before I left, I had one sudden heart-stopping moment when I disturbed a largish dark butterfly that had been down on the ground on Green Lane. Sadly, it was a mere Admiral, not a higher rank!

Not a Purple Emperor, Green Lane, Knepp

[trevor]

Red Admirals can do a pretty good Emperor impersonation in the air, they've had me fooled a few times.

Trevor.

[David M]

Always a deflating moment when an 'emperor' turns out to be an admiral, Andy. That said, the iris season is surely imminent so I'm confident you'll get an audience before long.

[Andy Wilson]

Thanks Trevor and David.

I was at Knepp yesterday when Matthew Oates saw the first three Emperors of the season, but unfortunately, I was not at the right place at the right time.

[Wurzel]

Good to see I'm not the only one that Red Admirals do this too! They can be a right pain at this time of year

Have a goodun

Wurzel