Pauline

[Pauline]

An early walk in the woods this morning. Looking up at the tree tops the first sighting of any significance was a pair of mating SWF - trouble was, they were very high up and the trees were being blown all over. Consequently, only record shots obtained. Despite being tucked away they were still bothered by male singletons:

A handful of female SWF tried to warm up when the sun appeared briefly but were soon heading back to the trees:

All of the usual species were around including those below:

As I was making my way back a Purple Hairstreak flew past me . I watched as he flew to the top of an Oak and disturbed a PE who repeatedly flew out of the tree (but not very far) before returning to the same spot where he stayed well concealed.

[Wurzel]

Cracking Whitters Pauline I'm behind this year not just with the PD but actually getting out, the dreaded "W" word keeps getting in the way so it's good to see other people's PDs

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That's a beautiful female Silver Washed Fritillary, Pauline. The verdigris sheen on the hindwings is almost Cardinalesque.

[Pauline]

Thanks Wurzel - the season is galloping on. Hope you don't miss out on too much.

I thought so too David but this one is even better imo:

I spent a good couple of hours watching her yesterday. She wasn't easy to photograph, spending much of her time away from, and ignoring, other SWF, only coming down every 20mins or so to nectar for a minute or two before returning to the tree tops. I managed a few shots but returned today hoping for better - sadly there was no sign of her:

[millerd]

A lovely butterfly, Pauline, one on my wish list as the only one I've seen was very worn,

Dave

[Pauline]

She certainly was Dave. I have Dan to thank for the distant shots as he provided the ladder and held it whilst I climbed up it!!!

Today I thought I would take another look at the WLH and I am so glad I did. Despite a dodgy start with the weather the skies brightened and the Hairstreaks came to life. It was not unusual to see 3-4 together chasing each other and several pristine females were present. A hive of activity for the whole 2 hours I was there with several on one bramble at times:

[Wurzel]

Fantastic Whitters Pauline My ones are normally sen though binoculars at the top of a Wytch Elm Great Greenish Silver Washed too

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Cheers Wurzel - you need a ladder!!!

Update on immature stages. This last week my Clouded Yellow pupated so not long to go now :

Common Blue seems to be doing OK fingers crossed:

A few problems with the 2 Speckled Wood eggs that were laid in the garden. They are in a fair sized container, totally secure, with lots of fresh food yet one has gone missing Cannabilism?????? Can't think what else.

Missed the emergence of my first Brimstone:

'My' Vapourer moth shed his skin and took on a whole new appearance:

[Pauline]

I've been spending a fair bit of time in the woods recently - an hour or two whenever I could fit it in - and I realise there are a few things I have omitted to record. The first was the most Peacock larva I have ever seen. I counted at least 60 fully grown larva dispersing, presumably to pupate, accompanied by 2 further seperate larval webs all in the same area:

The usual woodland butterflies were in abundance including some stunning Commas, both old and new:

Those female SWF are stunning but inevitably some are now starting to show signs of wear:

.... and the rest:

I had a bizarre experience the other day. A Comma decided to claim me as his territory and repeatedly landed on me even as I was moving around. He landed on my shoulder many times, my hair, my arm, when I held it out to him. Stranger still, he started a quarrel with a second Comma who then returned back with him to land on me. They were joined by a SWF so at one time I had 3 butterflies on me. No jokes please - I was wearing a freshly laundered shirt (pink and white stripes) and can think of no reason why this should have happened. Just wish there'd been a PE in the vicinity!!!

[Pauline]

Yesterday we went in search of a female Purple Hairstreak but the only one we saw was flying past us. She was really stunning but we didn't see where she landed. Thankfully the males were a lot more obliging:

Several Grayling flying around too:

[Wurzel]

I think an electric motored Cherry Picker would be of more use Pauline - I can see myself driving down the main ride at Bentley now
Good to see more Purps and that the Grayling are out and about; I just about catch up and then I'm behind again

Have a goodunn

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Now you're talking Wurzel! That is something I would love to see

It is still more breezy than I would like down here so small butterflies on thin stems and grass have been proving difficult to photograph. Nevertheless, this afternoon I had a wonderful time watching the Chalkhill Blues - as for photos, this was the best I could get:

There were still quite a few fresh looking DGF around too:

Earlier in the day, myself, and a fair few other folk searched Alice Holt for PE but the only sightings whilst I was there were around the tree tops. There were plenty of other butterflies to entertain tho' including this Painted Lady and SWF:

[Pauline]

A couple of hours well spent yesterday:

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Pauline I could have done with the Cheery Picker at the weekend - a pair of Purps in cop with an interloper sitting right next to them at the very top of the tallest Oak and a fourth lower down...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

That sounds quite spectacular Wurzel - hope you got some distant shots anyway. My visit wasn't quite as spectacular but I did manage to see 6 PE. I almost didn't visit Chiddingfold as the last couple of years it has been way too busy for my liking. Now, on arrival at about 9.45am there wasn't a single car at either Botany Bay or Oaken Wood and for the first hour or so I didn't see a soul. I made my way from Oaken Wood across to Botany Bay without any sightings and when I reached the Triangle I turned left towards Tugley Wood. I hadn't gone far before I saw a male on the ground, feeding from some sort of dead animal - a lizard? Unfortunately he was by now quite tatty:

I eventually turned round and started to return back towards Botany Bay when a large male buzzed round me a couple of times but then went sailing over the canopy. Walking down the track towards Botany Bay I became aware of a strong stench of fish paste which alerted me to the fact that some bait had been laid. Sure enough, a much fresher individual was already down feasting. I knelt down to take a few shots and as I was doing so I was aware that a dog walker was approaching from my left. Panic!! I slowly got up and backed off from the butterfly then walked towards the dog walker and explained the situation. D'you know what? She only picked up her dog and quietly and slowly tiptoed around the butterfly! I couldn't thank her enough and told her how grateful I was.

It was at this point that the butterfly took off into some nearby Hazel:

so I thought I would wander further on down. A pile of horse droppings provided my 4th butterfly of the day, but like the first, he was very, very tatty. I decided to return to the fish paste and sure enough, the fresh PE was back down:

The butterfly refused to properly open his wings and it was at this point that Ian, another butterflier, turned up. Before he could take any shots the PE flew up, returning to land on my leg. Ian suggested that I place it back on the ground as, understandably, he wanted some shots without my leg in them. Each time I tried to do this it flew up and returned to land on me so Ian took a few shots and kindly emailed them to me. Thank you Ian:

We had each got a few more shots of this butterfly which stubbonly refused to open his wings when we became aware of another butterflier taking shots in the triangle (sorry, didn't get your name). We were both amazed to see that he had in fact got 2 PE down together - and the whole place was still beautifully deserted:

Sadly my 2 hours were up and I had to leave the butterflies and go. On hearing of my success, a friend of mine who is quite new to butterflies hot-footed it over there. By now it was late afternoon but he still managed to get some fabulous photos of 2 fresh males (on his phone), including this one - which I hope you won't mind me posting Dan:

[trevor]

Quite right Pauline, I've been to Chiddingfold six times this season, and on most
visits I've had the place to myself. Where were all the usual suspects?.
I went again yesterday, in the best weather so far, and had a little luck, but you
hit the jackpot!. Your friend's image is stunning. Congrats.to both of you!.

Trevor.

[Pauline]

Thanks Trevor - a few more shots from Chiddingfold:

Nice to see Philzoid again too.

[Pauline]

I had to rear the last half dozen Brimstone larva out of the 36 eggs laid on my little Alder Buckthorn. Somehow, despite my best efforts I have managed to (just) miss the emergence of the first 5 from their pupa. I had spent 6 hours watching this one yesterday in punishing heat, and when, in desperation, I went indoors for more bottled water, I came back to find this:

Similar story with the previous one:

and the one before that, and the one before that. I was determined that I would see this last one emerge, whatever the cost. I was up promptly at 4.00am to see to the other animals before it got too warm and so that I could devote the rest of the time to watching this pupa. It took a while but I was just so excited as I saw the first signs of emergence and quickly reached for the camera.

I think it was about this point that I wondered if there was a problem as they don't usually take this long. I wasn't sure what to do so carried on recording:

By now I knew there was a problem - it had been 5 mins and she still wasn't out of the pupal case. I thought that if I tried to intervene I might make matters worse so I waited a little while longer and breathed a sigh of relief when at last she struggled free:

The relief didn't last long. As you can see she has been severely compromised. Her wings never did inflate fully and there is a globule of liquid under her wing. So very, very sad. My question is, should I have intervened? Can anyone suggest why this might have happened. Has she somehow become 'attached' to the inside of the pupa and torn/pierced something in her efforts to break free? Perhaps the recent weather has been too dry and everything is brittle (but then the others were OK and all treated the same). To see such a gorgeous insect disabled in this way has cast a cloud over the day.

[Vince Massimo]

Hi Pauline, it's always a pity when such things happen, especially when you are so invested in the subject. Had I been in your position I would also have waited for the matter to resolve itself. Whilst there was clearly a problem, you did not know what it was, or see an obvious way to rectify it. Had you intervened without this information, you risked causing additional damage. In this case the fluid leakage looks like damage to one of the veins which has led to the butterfly being unable to pressurise the system that inflates at least one of its wings. Difficult to say what the root case could be in this case.

Vince

[Wurzel]

You might not of had the spectacle but you got grounded shots I'm still waiting for those and its been 4 years since the last ones

Have a goodun

Wurzel