Haha, thanks
Trevor. I don’t think there was any pre-planning in the females movements other than “Must fly south”!
Thanks
Wurzel, I did ok with in cop LTB’s this year, still a poor second to Neil though.
Thanks
Dave, and no problem with the info, it was just good to see you up and about again
Thanks
David. They are indeed extremely photogenic, and rather addictive too and imagine being told this event would happen just 10 years ago, you’d be laughing incredulously all day!
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September 2022
Wednesday 21st. Having had to sacrifice the previous day to non-butterfly stuff, I was eager to return to Worthing for one final day before having to return to work, giving myself a trilogy of freshly minted Long-tailed Blues. From reports it would seem the conveyor belt of Long-tailed Blue’s passing through was far from abating. Arriving around midday I was greeted by hordes of enthusiasts with several familiar faces amongst them, (Ben, Trevor, Claire, Katrina and Millerd… oh and Neil of course) word was most definitely out now. In fact, there were nearly as many cameras as Long-tailed Blues today and we were attracting a lot of attention from the many passers-by enjoying the balmy weather too, many assuming we were some sort of photographic club.
I only saw worn individuals to start with, including ol’ wonky wing from day one.
But an hour and a half in, the call went up for a mating pair. By all accounts this was now pretty much a daily event here. Even so they drew a big crowd of people with cameras and were probably the most photographed butterflies of the day.
![IMG_0067.JPG (96.94 KiB) Viewed 375 times A flower to hide the blushes of the happy couple](./files/thumb_13753_97f1d207bee641fcbbc7992fb58f3085)
- A flower to hide the blushes of the happy couple
During this event a few more fresh males turned up and small groups of enthusiasts kept a close eye on them whilst waiting for a prolonged cloudy spell to pass. Pass it did and patience was once again rewarded.
Taking a break from the crowds, Katrina and I wandered off to the grassy patch next to the car park where only five days ago Neil and I had come across the first fresh LTB. Non were here today but a fresh females of Small Copper and Common Blue kept us entertained. If it hadn’t been for the other Blues, this particular Common Blue may well have stolen the show for the day.
It all quietened down after that. There also seemed to have been a significant Clouded Yellow departure, numbers were noticeably down from my previous visits, the skies over the channel to Normandy must have been filled with blue and yellow wings!
And the prize for my years most photographed species goes to…
![IMG_0437.JPG (99.43 KiB) Viewed 375 times Bed time for Ol' wonky wing](./files/thumb_13753_88b1f384d96cc1fc5b435246bfb07aef)
- Bed time for Ol' wonky wing
But where were they all coming from? I have a theory. If you look at a map of Worthing and draw a line due north from the hotspot, a mile or so inland this line crosses smack bang in the middle of a rather large set of allotments. I suspect there were quite a few legumes that were perhaps not as productive as their growers thought they should have been this year!
Ok for fear of overdosing on Long-tailed Blues, my next post is about something completely different
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)