Pauline

[Wurzel]

Really interesting Meadow Brown Pauline, a named aberrant with a touch of the pathological as well Cracking emergence sequence as well - the 6th image brings to mind the the wolf archers from Disney's Robin Hood

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Cheers Wurel - I was in your neck of the woods on Friday along with half a dozen others looking for BH. By the time I left at mid-day, most of the others had already given up with no sightings between any of us. I had looked everywhere I thought they might be - seeking out moisture, on the ground, just emerged etc etc. Just as I was about to head down the track to the village I noticed a lot of activity at the top of a tall apple tree. Wasps and bees were all making, well, a beeline for it , along with Commas and the odd Red Admiral. It was these other butterflies that disturbed the 2 BH that were feasting on the apples. But oh, it was soooo tall, and I was shooting into the sun, and the Hairstreaks kept twisting around the wrong way, so it is with some (a lot) of irritation that I could only get this shot, one of my worst ever:

Nevertheless, there were some smashing butterflies there including more Wall Browns than I have ever seen in any one place, but boy, were they super charged in the heat and photos were limited:

Lots of other butterflies included this Gatekeeper, intent on mimicking a BH and gave me a heart-stopping moment and a Clouded Yellow which was reluctant to pose:

There were some lovely fresh Brimstones around and this Small Heath looking very autumnal:

It was a pleasure to bump into Mike G - enjoyed our little 'catch-up' and hope you managed to 'catch-up' with the special butterfly you had spotted. Looking forward to a return visit.

[Pauline]

Back in the duck shed - another Poplar Hawk-moth and what I believe is a Yellow tail (?) which is another one I rescued from a spider's web:

[Pauline]

OK, back to the Speckled Wood. It is unfortunate that the main emergence sequence is now on the previous page, so to avoid any discontinuity (and to save folk having to look back), a quick summary below. I should add that the emergence took just under 4 minutes in total:

I must be getting better at this rearing lark as, despite never having reared a Speckled Wood before, I only had to wait 5 hours for the butterfly to emerge from its pupa. This is much, much shorter than my 'norm' but I think it is largely due to the rapid rate of development as it remained in the pupal stage for just 10 days, helped no doubt by this warm weather. Because I like the pupa, a few shots below, hopefully demonstrating the quick development.

29 July, 13.50

29 July 18.57

30 July 7.46

30 July 9.59

Just prior to emergence:

I had been expecting a pupa that was largely brown but that was most definitely not the case. It is not a trick of the light - the pupa was a multitude of colours with a blue-ish tone being the primary one. Quite a surprise which left me wondering if they are all like this.

As the butterfly was drying its wings (which really didn't take long at all compared to some species I have reared), I experimented a little with different backgrounds:

However, it was not long before it surprised me by taking off and landing at the top of a high shrub, which required a ladder - but still no open-winged shot:

At least he's back where he belongs!

[Pauline]

Just a few shots of the SSS from yesterday. Numbers are building quite nicely at Oxenbourne but no females seen yet:

As we watched, this one expelled pale coloured meconium so I reckon we witnessed its maiden flight:

[Wurzel]

Lovely set of Silver-spots Pauline "I was in your neck of the woods on Friday along with half a dozen others looking for BH." I must have missed you by moments Pauline as I was there on Friday too - missed the Cloudy as well which is a bit of a pain but did see two males and got loads of shots of one It was great to see so many Walls - every bit of the site I visited had at least 2 of them

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Cheers Wurel -it's great when you just happen to be in the right place at the right time, isn't it?

I was pleased to get these shots of the Hummingbird Hawk moth recently - not because they're great shots but because they must be the best shots of this moth I have ever taken. Also seen were a couple of Gold-ringed Dragonflies; I believe this is a female?? What magnificent creatures. It was huge!!

[David M]

Fabulous Silver Spotted Skippers, Pauline, and thanks for the presentation regarding the Speckled Wood emergence.

Your patience and commitment are beyond admirable.

[bugboy]

for the Golden Ringed Dragonfly. I've only seen them on trips up in Scotland. They are indeed impressive insects though

[Pauline]

Your comments are always appreciated David - thank you. You already know I hate the waiting but it is quite special to see stuff like this first hand and there is always something to learn.

Do I get 2 Mr Greens for a close -up Paul? A couple more just for you:

My first visit of the season today to Noar Hill to look for Brown Hairstreak. There's been a lot of folk searching. I can only hope they had more luck than me. I did stumble across this little beauty tho' so not a wasted trip:

[SarahM]

I will give you for your Clouded Yellow Pauline! Stunning

Sarah.

[bugboy]

Oh go on then . None for the cloudie though since I've already had a good encounter a couple of weeks ago

[trevor]

A for the Cloudie. They don't come fresher than that!.

Lovely specimen.
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

You can have for the Cloudy from me Pauline as I've spent a Cloudy (but not cloud) free week in Wales so I'm itching to find some of these yellow beauties

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Katrina]

I too will jump on the bandwagon for the Cloudie on the flower!

[Pauline]

Thank you Sarah - much appreciated. Certainly a butterfly I shall never tire of seeing.

I'll settle for that Buggy - look forward to seeing your shots.

Cheers Trevor - I reckon it must have emerged on Noar Hill as it was spotless

Hi Wurzel - they seem to be everywhere just now so finding them should be easy - the problem might be keeping up with them!

Thank you Katrina - that one is my favourite too (PS your Peacock was stunning too!).

[Pauline]

A few bits and pieces collected on my search for BH which seem to be particularly elusive this year around here. I am seeing quite a few in the trees but nothing low down as yet:

Lots of Brown Argus:

A couple of moths:

Vapourer

Unknown

And a lovely fresh Painted Lady:

[Allan.W.]

Hi Pauline ,
Your Vapourer is actually a White-point and the White one i think is Sitachroa Palealis ...............Some superb emergence shots !
Regards Allan.W.

[Goldie M]

Some smashing shots in your posts Pauline and I see you got a Wall that must be a plus for you Goldie

[Pauline]

Cheers M - but as you know, I'm never satisfied

Thank you Allan - the emergence shots take some effort. I appreciate you putting me right on the ID - I could have sworn it was a Vapourer but my mistaken ID's of moths must be becoming legendary. They do look similar tho', don't they? ............. and thanks for the other ID.

I now have some other questionable ID's. I'd appreciate it if someone could confirm these are both types of Robber Fly and even more grateful if a specific ID could be provided. Both fearsome looking critters: