October 08

[Padfield]

October 12th. The butterfly season 2008 is nearly over but there are still some dramas being played out in the lep world. Hapless Romeo (below) seems oblivious to the fact his Juliet is already committed...



... to a more sinister lover ...



He won't give up, though she is clearly dead:



This late-flying brown hairstreak brought my 2008 total for the species into treble figures (if you count in Roman numerals):



This is a female clouded yellow, form helice:



And finally, my QoS are still going great guns. Some are looking a little past their best ...



But others are mint-fresh and should certainly still be flying in November:



Guy

PS - These were all at a lower altitude than the snow reached.

[KeynvorLogosenn]

Hey Guy
to me, it looks like something caught that butterfly, but I can't tell what it is, if anything.

I haven't had such an exciting time butterfly hunting, the field that looked like this :

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to this:

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Not a butterfly anywhere , they used to love all the plants, some nearly as tall as me. But now, nothing.

So, unphased I went for a run, a ran until I smelt a sweet flower, then I would stop to hear if any butterflies were about. If I heard nothing, I would run on some more. Until....

Speckled Wood.jpg (184.11 KiB) Viewed 1825 times

One Speckled Wood!

Em

[Padfield]

If you peer, you might be able to make out a spider clutching the wall brown, Emily. It's well camouflaged - and sadly she didn't see it either.

I'm pretty confident you heard one more butterfly than me today!! You must have super-sensitive ears!!

Guy

[KeynvorLogosenn]

Hey!
Yeah.. I can sort of make out the spider now. I just thought something got hold of it because it was in an un-natural position.

I heard that one when I was running, it fluttered over my head! Then I changed my course, as if I was magneticaly attracted to it. It flew over a fence, I front somersault over the fence, it flew over the river, I ran through the river! It landed on a plant, I got a photo of it!
They are half fast little critters, gave me a run for my money. Good thing is, because I don't follow them by looking at them, I didn't have to run through that field with my head to the sky! I could concerntrate on where I was going
That's the way it works!
All for a butterfly!

I should show you guys some of the things I do in gym, like diving through hoops using echo location. Then you can see how it works. Would that be good?
I have gym on Wednesday, I will see what I can do for ya

Em

[Perseus]

This caterpillar was found on Shoreham beach at the beginning of October. Do you know which one it is please?


Adur Moths
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Moths.html

Hello,

Brillant action pics in the Wall Brown sequence above.

It could be the larva of the White Ermine Moth, Spilosoma luteum.

I think the yellow flower is Goldenrod. I have not looked it up.

Adur Butterfly & Large Moth List
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Butterfly-list2008.html

Cheers

Andy Horton
glaucus@hotmail.com
Adur Valley Nature Notes
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2007.html
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2008.html
Adur Valley Nature Notes: October 2008
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Oct2008.html

Adur Valley & Downs Gallery
http://www.flickr.com/groups/adur/pool/

[Shirley Roulston]

Not much going on up in North Wales, one Ladybird, one Comma and one Red Admiral. I just keep looking, at least the sun sort of came out to-day.

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[Padfield]

Your comma shots just keep getting better, Shirley! The 'eyes' have it, as they say.

Guy

[Shirley Roulston]

Thanks Guy,

What gets me is the funny little legs they have.
Shirley

[KeynvorLogosenn]

Nice Shirley, I love the labybird. Whenever I take photos of ladybirds they always come out all blured, and that is whenever I get to find one!

However there was this tint tiny ladybird, I have never known one this small! This is compared to my Mum's finger!!

tiny ladybird.jpg (125.53 KiB) Viewed 1722 times

Em

[Shirley Roulston]

To Perseus,
Having just had a look at your butterfly blog, on the 25th Sptember there is a Small Copper on what looks like Sea Pink but slightly different, is this flower what people called Field Scabious. I thought that Scabious was blue and sea pink comes out in the Spring ,I think. Thanks Shirley

[Shirley Roulston]

Hello Em,

I'll be right clever and see where it gets me , is the ladybird on the finger a baby one and mine is an adult, 5 spotted Ladybird. Shirley

[Padfield]

Yours is a 7-spot ladybird, Shirley (Coccinella 7-punctata) and Emily's is a 2-spot (Adalia bipunctata), a very much smaller species (but I do think Emily's is exceptionally small).

Guy

[Denise]

Hi Shirley,

I love the first new Comma shot. (A little bigger and it would look great in this months comp )
The flower that you are referring to, is field scabious I think. They are still flowering in my garden, but alas, very few butterflies now.
The odd Comma, Red Admiral, a couple of Speckled Wood and quite a few whites. Roll on the spring!

Denise

[Shirley Roulston]

Guy, you are a star. Is there a 5 spotted Ladybird.

Now, my famous bottoms up photo, I took two, here's the other one. Jan Millar from the North Wales Butterfly Society has asked me if she can put it in her new book, I'm not sure of the title, Gardening for Butterflies, I think. So I thought something else more Arty for the uk comp and look where it got me Can't I vote for myself--just once.

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[KeynvorLogosenn]

Hmm I wonder why ladybird was really small

Oh well, thanks Guy for IDing it, I just thought ladybirds were ladybirds. So what about the black ones with red spots and the yellow ones? Are they still ladybirds?

Em

[Padfield]

I'm no expert on ladybirds, but I know some of the common ones. Perhaps yours isn't a 2-spot, Emily, and perhaps that's why it's so small - but that's what 2-spots commonly look like. They are very variable and may be black with two red spots (commoner up north, apparently, though I've seen that form in the south too). Other common ladybirds I've seen in England are 24-spot and 10-spot. Oh - and now there are harlequins too...

Guy

[KeynvorLogosenn]

Aren't the harlequin the migrants from the East, they are bigger than british ones and so they are killing the native species? I think you can tell the difference because british ladybirds have black legs where as harlequin ones have light brown legs.
I read it somewhere

Em

[Susie]

http://www.ladybird-survey.pwp.blueyond ... ndonla.htm

I tend to use the above page when I want to id a ladybird.

The back of the house (which is south east facing) was crawling with harlequins this afternoon.

There were still some large whites around this afternoon making the most of the glorious day.

[Gruditch]

Saw a couple of Small Copper's down the New Forest at the weekend, plus some active moths on the drive down, when it was just 5 degrees and still dark. How do they do it, do they store energy or something.


Gruditch

[Perseus]

To Perseus,
Having just had a look at your butterfly blog, on the 25th Sptember there is a Small Copper on what looks like Sea Pink but slightly different, is this flower what people called Field Scabious. I thought that Scabious was blue and sea pink comes out in the Spring ,I think. Thanks Shirley

Hello Shirley

Devil's Bit Scabious is a late flowerer very good for butterflies on chalk downs.

http://www.glaucus.org.uk/WildFlowers2008.html

Adur Butterfly & Large Moth List
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Butterfly-list2008.html

Cheers

Andy Horton
glaucus@hotmail.com
Adur Valley Nature Notes
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2007.html
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2008.html
Adur Valley Nature Notes: October 2008
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Oct2008.html

Adur Valley & Downs Gallery
http://www.flickr.com/groups/adur/pool/

View and upload your Sussex Wildlife Images to:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/sussexwildlife/