Bugboys mission

[millerd]

A very unusual-looking Heath Fritillary, that one Paul! I've probably seen many hundreds in the Essex woods over the years and they vary a lot, but I've yet to find anything like that... Persistence pays off in the end.

Cheers,

Dave

[Goldie M]

Hi! Bugboy, you've seen more Heath than I have this year, Blean Woods used to have them every in the car park, I saw them in the woods not as many as last year, but none in the car park , well done finding the ab Goldie

[David M]

If I'd seen that on the continent, Paul, I'd have thought it was False Heath!

[Wurzel]

That is a fantastic looking aberrant Bugboy I imagine that if that was the only butterfly seen the trip would still have been worth it So would that be caused by the hotter start to the season or would it have a genetic basis?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks for the comments, she was quite an eye catching individual, if anything even more so in flight. I have no idea if it is a genetic or environmental aberration, perhaps a combination of both?

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June 2023

Saturday 10th. The absence of Swallowtails in Norfolk seemed to be in stark contrast to recent events in Kent where numerous sightings along the coast were being reported. The available evidence suggested they were a combination of recent immigrants and homegrown individuals from eggs seen being laid last year. Off course there was the usual chorus of 'released' from certain quarters of social media and although that couldn't be ruled out, there was enough evidence to say most sightings were genuine. That was all it took to send me on a twitch and since I was in the general area, I started of with checking the QoS field in Walmer. There was more life there than on my last visit although no sign of last year’s regal show-offs! Brown Argus, Small Copper, Small Heath and lots of Holly Blue were active, the latter making use of the Dogwood hedge that borders part of the field.

The field itself is now getting a bit overgrown and the Field Pansy is likely getting swamped out. It only really flourishes in disturbed ground with little competition, so I don’t know how useful the field would be to any passing Queens if it’s just left alone like it seems to be.

I did what is becoming my usual walk in the area, walking down to Dover via Kingsdown and St. Margarets. There was very little at Kingsdown and what there was, mostly Small White and Red Admirals, weren’t especially cooperative. More cooperative was a pair of Rock Pipit who had a nest tucked away somewhere in the cliffs and were very agitated with all the people out enjoying the weather. A fresh male Small Blue did pose for a little while before scooting off up the cliff face.

I saw very little else until I reached St. Margarets where a selection of Blues (Common, Small, Adonis, BA as well as some Dingies) kept me occupied for a while. The hoped for Swallowtails where a no show though (I later found out I had unknowingly probably walked past them).

I finished the day on the paths above Dover port where a few more butterflies distracted me.

Swallowtails 2 - Bugboy 0

[Wurzel]

Lovely collection despite the lack of a Swallowtail Bugboy the stand out butterfly for me is that lovely Small Blue
"I later found out I had unknowingly probably walked past them" - I hate it when this happens; I question why someone would tell me "you should have been here 5 minutes ago" or "did you see the (insert name of butterfly you're looking for here) on the way?"

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Shame about the Swallowtails and Queens, Paul, but occasionally one misses out despite best efforts.

You look to have arrived at a point in time when things began to pick up significantly. Certainly, when I left for Greece on 5th June things were awful, but by midsummer's day they had improved drastically.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, it was actually the evil book of face that informed me where the Swallowtails had been seen!
Yes David, at this stage in my summer things were definitely on the cusp of improving


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June 2023

Sunday 11th. After the previous day’s exertions, I had a lay in with the plan of heading off to Epsom Common. A somewhat grey, murky day was forecast but that shouldn’t put the Black Hairstreaks off too much as long as the temperature stayed warm enough, and would hopefully make them cooperative too. It would seem the temperature wasn’t quite warm enough when I arrived around 11.30, and for the first couple of hours I managed just very quick glimpse of a probable one flitting around the top of the Blackthorn. There was a bit of life to keep me occupied though, several White-legged Damselfly, a Brimstone, a nice Blood-vein Moth and some Small Heath including a particularly well marked individual.

Things changed early afternoon, an almost imperceptible change in temperature lead to a quite sudden flurry of Hairstreak activity. Unfortunately, my hope of the gloomy conditions making them cooperative didn’t come to much, they mostly stayed above head height, but there was enough of them about to grab some passable shots in the next few hours, until the prospect of an oncoming deluge sent me scurrying for the train station. Even so they were still active in the light drizzle that had been falling for about half an hour before I left, tough little things.

[trevor]

It's a good job your lay in didn't coincide with one of the hot days around that time.
My first visit to Ditchling at around 9.30 on one of the scorchers produced just one BH.
I was told there had been plenty of action earlier on. So for my second and third visits
I arrived about 7.00 and there was plenty of action until about 9.30 to 10.00.
After that the BH spent most of their time sunning themselves out of sight.

Enjoyed your BH shots. They photograph so much better perched on leaves rather than bracken.

Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Lovely set of shots Bugboy even if they were taken on tip toes especially the third one they were in much better nick than the majority that I saw a week later

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Trevor, as a general rule I don't go for Black Hairstreaks on a sunny day, I've always had better results on a warmish overcast day. The subdued lighting also brings out the red band on the hindwing really well. They remain active quite late too, perhaps unsurprisingly since they fly on the longest days of the year, after 5pm has also proved productive.
Thanks Wurzel, the pics came out better than I thought they would considering they weren't as cooperative as I'd hoped. That third one was with flash which I rarely use, but it worked well in that situation I think.


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June 2023

Monday 12th. Having dipped twice on the Swallowtail, and seeing on Facebook I came dangerously close to tripping over one or two in Kent two days earlier, I threw caution to the wind and booked another train down to Dover. On arrival though the weather was somewhat less than butterfly friendly, thick sea fog was blowing from the Channel shielding the cliffs from sight, and the air was filled with foghorns as the ferries navigated through it. It didn’t look promising to find anything, mainly because I could barely see my hand in front of my face! Still, I was here now so I stubbornly made my way in the direction of where the cliffs should be to make my way along the coast.

Arriving from Calais, and in the background, barely visible, off to Calais.

I found the cliffs, which were trying to poke out the top of the fog giving me a glimmer of hope that things might improve. Further glimmers were in the form of a few brave Whites flitting around. A little while later there were even patches of blue sky which woke up a few Common Blues, things were indeed looking up.

And by the time I got to the general area where the Swallowtails were last reported I was under a clear blue sky with temperatures souring. The actual spot I was looking for was a little bit vague but wandering around more Common Blues and Whites were joined by Walls, Small Copper, Brown Argus and Large Skipper but there was no sign of the target.

I spent quite a bit of time wandering around Bockhill farm before concluding I wasn’t going to find any so I broadened my search and right there, less than 5 minutes away on the other side of the war memorial was a male Swallowtail being chased by two enthusiasts who informed me it had been here all morning and it was here I spent the next 2 and a bit hours, precariously close to the edge of the cliff.

A few more enthusiasts came and went and as well as watching the butterfly, we kept a close eye on each other, we really were very close to the cliff edge… looking back, stupidly close!

I guess it was 3rd time lucky and believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a gorganus, even though it looks pretty much indistinguishable from a britannicus.

The walk back was notable for another yearly tick, my first Marbled White of the year, although it did unfortunately pale against the earlier cliff edge encounter.

It was a weird day weatherwise, all through the day the foghorns continued, the sea fog didn’t really start to budge until I returned to Dover mid afternoon.

[millerd]

Well, that beats trekking up to Norfolk I'd say, fog and all!

Terrific shots of the Swallowtail, Paul, and a few are very much due. Hopefully this will become an increasingly common sight.

Cheers,

Dave

[Benjamin]

Great swallowtail story Paul. It is amazing how we throw caution to the wind when we catch sight of our quarry! I often find myself doing all sorts of things that I would never entertain under normal circumstances.

[trevor]

That was a risky trip, but it paid off ! Great shots and great experience for you as well.
A bit more exotic than those in Norfolk too. Well done.

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Bugboy - I though I'd broken the with Dave's Emperors but I managed to coax it back into working order just for this reason From the sound of it this counted as Extreme Butterflying next time better wear a harness

"the evil book of face" Just picked up on this while scrolling through - I think I'm going to nick this - I already tell the kids at work to: "Get off the 'Tocky-tik' and the 'Snapperchap'" so this will add to my repertoire

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

After missing them during your trip to strumpshaw, I'm glad that you managed to catch up with a Swallowtail Paul.

...even though it looks pretty much indistinguishable from a britannicus.

I've never seen gorganus but if that one is typical, then I am pretty sure that if I did then I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I have read that britannicus is supposed to be a bit larger and look a bit darker but given variation in both ssp. there is bound to be some overlap.

Cheers,

Neil.

[bugboy]

Thanks for the comments, it was a bit perilous at times, two steps in the wrong direction and I’d have vanished into the fog, daft really! I’m glad your little green man is still working Wurzel .
Hi Neil, I sent a few pictures to Neil Hulme to get his view. Conventional wisdom says only gorganus is a vagrant to our shores, the nominate subspecies (which I believe looks a lot more like britannicus) found in central Europe has never been recorded here. I have no idea where the lines are drawn in Europe between these two subspecies, and I suspect its naturally rather vague anyway. Anyway, it would seem this is still counted as a gorganus despite how it looks. There was one photographed laying eggs in Brighton a few weeks ago which looks a lot more like ‘typical’ gorganus, at least as far as books are concerned. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=101 ... 4194358171


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June 2023

Tuesday 13th was my last day from this particular week break, so I decided another quiet day would be good. A lay in, catching up of a few grown up chores I’d put on hold over the past few days, and then finishing off with a few hours with the Epsom Black Hairstreaks again. Today I got there around 4.30 and in the brighter conditions they were quite active and the ones that did settle mostly looked a bit worn.

This ones black spots on the hindwings look larger and more elongated than normal?

I hit gold after 6 when I found one settled and gorging on a Bramble flower who proved to be pretty bombproof, basically a repeat experience from last year. This particular female had a good side and a slightly less than good side.

When I left at 6.45 she was still there and not looking like she was going anywhere soon. They may have a very short flight period but they certainly make the most of the days they have!

[Wurzel]

Cracking Blackstreaks Bugboy That one does seem to have bigger spots That was the thing I noticed this year was that sometimes they'd just sit there, almost oblivious of you, for an age - so long in fact that you'd stop photographing them - perhaps this is an escape strategy? If it is it's much preferred to other one of nipping off and staying above 8ft

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That was admirable perseverance with the Swallowtail, Paul. So glad you came up trumps after what looked like a disastrous start.

Lovely Black Hairstreaks too.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel . Looking forward to seeing your efforts from this part of the world, I’m reliably informed you had a successful and enjoyable time there .
Thanks David, it was certainly a relief when the sun appeared

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June 2023

Friday 16th. I had a half day which gave me enough time for another dose of the Essex Heaths. This time I went straight to Hockley, arriving around 2pm and immediately made my way to the clearing I had success in last time. Predictably, they were much more numerous than last time and started appearing long before I got to the clearing. ‘Courting’ pairs were numerous, as always with this species, and I came across three mating pairs.

Here a female tries to escape her suiter by crawling under a leaf...

She wasn't successful!

No extreme abs were found this time but there were plenty to point my camera at.

As the sun moved lower in the sky the butterflies began to sit around more in amongst the sea of Yorkshire Fog that covered much of the clearing but then periodically several would float back up into the air, disturbing more around them giving a dreamy, ethereal effect as the fluttered and floated just above the grass in the golden sunlight. I tried and failed miserably to capture the effect so you’ll just have to imagine it as best you can!

Very little else was seen, a few Holly Blues and Meadow Browns provided the only bit of variety but with so many Heaths around that wasn’t much of a problem.