October 2023

[David M]

Wednesday 25th - Surprisingly good day today, with six different species seen at two coastal locations on the Gower: Nicholaston Burrows & Limeslade Bay:

Red Admiral 9
Small Copper 2
Peacock 1
Small White 1
Painted Lady 1
Speckled Wood 1

[millerd]

On the plus side, there was quite a bit of sunshine this afternoon locally. On the minus side, other activities meant I couldn't go out on my local patch until after three o'clock, which at this time of year leaves very little time before the sun gets low and it cools off. Consequently, I only found four butterflies: One egg-laying Red Admiral pausing briefly to warm up, and another one in flight...

...a species that somehow eluded me yesterday when I saw eight other species: a new male Speckled Wood...

...and a Small Copper whose absence yesterday had been noted.

I can track sightings of this individual back to at least the 14th (when it was by no means fresh), and will delve further back to see if I can better estimate its age. If the weather doesn't deteriorate too much, this one could make it to November...

Dave

[aeshna5]

A walk in Minet CP, west London yielded Red Admiral, 2 Small White & 2 Small Copper yesterday.

Also 7 Common Darters, 3 Willow Emerald Damselflies.

Quiet for birds but 3 Little Egrets, 3 Red Kites, Sparrowhawk & Kestrel the best.

[bugboy]

A very fresh looking American Painted Lady photographed on the Isles of Scilly yesterday. Photos on one of the Facebook butterfly groups

[David M]

A very fresh looking American Painted Lady photographed on the Isles of Scilly yesterday. Photos on one of the Facebook butterfly groups

Indeed, Paul. Gleaming fresh:

https://twitter.com/berrowbirder

[millerd]

Wow - that is a gorgeous butterfly. It looks brand new - could it be locally hatched, as I heard several have been seen on the islands and could therefore perhaps be progeny of a single female that arrived unnoticed a couple of months ago? On the other hand, I suppose the fact that migrating butterflies suffer little damage on their long journeys means it is just as likely to have arrived from elsewhere.

I had to content myself with one or two of its close(ish) relatives today...

...and a few other completely unrelated species.

Dave

[bugboy]

A very fresh looking American Painted Lady photographed on the Isles of Scilly yesterday. Photos on one of the Facebook butterfly groups

Indeed, Paul. Gleaming fresh:

F9S_OvwXAAAeltm.jpg

F9S_Rk8XUAIe4FQ.jpg

https://twitter.com/berrowbirder

Unless someone comes forward admitting a release, could this be a first time breeding on UK soil.... there's been a tiny glut of sightings down there recently

[aeshna5]

A very fresh looking American Painted Lady photographed on the Isles of Scilly yesterday. Photos on one of the Facebook butterfly groups

Indeed, Paul. Gleaming fresh:

F9S_OvwXAAAeltm.jpg

F9S_Rk8XUAIe4FQ.jpg

https://twitter.com/berrowbirder

Unless someone comes forward admitting a release, could this be a first time breeding on UK soil.... there's been a tiny glut of sightings down there recently

I thought the first (recent) record was only a week or so back, so this is hardly likely to be progeny from that. We've seen before how many of these migrants get here in good form.

Personally I'd expect this to be a primary migrant. Doubt it's a release (though impossible to prove one way or the other) with a good supporting cast of the second ever arrival of Green Darners & some American passerines

[David M]

Thursday 26th : Two more Red Admirals in a sheltered section on the gym car park on my estate. Seems to be a popular spot for them.

[millerd]

During a brief sunny gap at lunchtime today (27th) on my local patch, a Small White, a Speckled Wood, two Red Admirals and two Holly Blues appeared. The female Holly was nectaring near the top of one of the ivy clumps...

...but the male was initially doing the same more accessibly down on a dandelion.

When the sun came out strongly for a few minutes, it relocated to the nettles and basked instead.

Both these butterflies looked pretty fresh, so fingers crossed for a few November sightings again this year...

Dave

[bugboy]

Indeed, Paul. Gleaming fresh:

F9S_OvwXAAAeltm.jpg

F9S_Rk8XUAIe4FQ.jpg

https://twitter.com/berrowbirder

Unless someone comes forward admitting a release, could this be a first time breeding on UK soil.... there's been a tiny glut of sightings down there recently

I thought the first (recent) record was only a week or so back, so this is hardly likely to be progeny from that. We've seen before how many of these migrants get here in good form.

Personally I'd expect this to be a primary migrant. Doubt it's a release (though impossible to prove one way or the other) with a good supporting cast of the second ever arrival of Green Darners & some American passerines

No but apparently 5 have turned up in the same general area in a short space of time (leading to the quick calls of release from the usual quarters). Its perfectly feasible for a gravid female to have arrived unnoticed a month ago and found some suitable foodplant. One was photographed in september last year in Cornwall so the timings at least look good for a homegrown event, I don't think it can be ruled out so easily without more facts. E.g., were all the sightings definitely different individuals, is there any suitable foodplant on the islands, is there a correlation on weather patterns that could explain their arrival either now or a gravid female 30-40 days ago?

[millerd]

...is there a correlation on weather patterns that could explain their arrival either now or a gravid female 30-40 days ago?

Looking back, the unprecedented September heatwave started during the first week of that month, which is about six or so weeks ago. Part of the weather picture then involved a strong very warm southerly flow. In addition, ex-Hurricane Franklin (which had crossed Bermuda a few days earlier) was likely contributing to this setup as well. Though not the ideal scenario for whisking butterflies from the east coast of North America, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility. There is also the (perhaps more straightforward) route from the Canaries, where this species can also be found.

At the present time, the air over the southern UK is a returning polar maritime flow, i.e. originating far to the northwest, dipping south over the Atlantic and arriving here from the southwest. To me that doesn't feel quite right for bringing the butterfly, but if other species of insect and birds of North American origin have been seen, then it can in no way be ruled out.

All speculation...

Dave

[millerd]

Another brief window of sunshine today (28th), this time between heavy showers. I took the opportunity to head out locally once again and was rewarded with something I'd waited all summer to see. To start off, the first Red Admiral I saw was newly emerged and still slightly floppy of wing.

Next came the first of four Speckled Woods...

...followed by a Small White.

I checked in on the Small Copper I've been following...

...and on one of the Common Blues I've also encountered before.

However, just as I bid the Small Copper au revoir, straight past me flew a yellow blur. This was my first (and probably only) Clouded Yellow of the year anywhere at all, a female.

Six species for the day, 14 for my local patch for this month and 25 here for the year.

Dave

[David M]

...Six species for the day..

Impressive, Dave, especially given that one of them was a Clouded Yellow.

[David M]

Sunday 29th - Two Red Admirals active around an unusual looking plant (if anyone knows what it is I'd love to hear it) on the sheltered side of the gym car park on the estate where I live.

There are a small number that seem to have set up home here this last week. It'll be interesting to see how long they stick around:

[millerd]

On the edge of a pool of sunshine this morning (30th) - it looked much sunnier a few miles to the north... However, it was bright and warm enough for a female Red Admiral to continue laying her load of eggs on the abundant young nettles on my local patch. In the first shot you can see her abdomen angled down...

...and unusually instead of immediately moving on to the next plant, she sat and basked in situ.

When she finally flew off, this is what she left behind.

Also seen today were a Small White and another Red Admiral, both in flight over the village, and out on the grassland a single Common Blue remained.

I reminded myself that the final sighting of this species last year was on 13th November, so this one has a way to go yet!

Dave

[bugboy]

Looks like the Scilly Isles is the place to be at the moment with 2 more very fresh American Painted Ladies in recent days. Personally I find it hard to believe a glut of very fresh vagrants turning up close together via a crossing so my moneys on either a release or a successful breeding from an earlier gravid female making landfall. The milder autumns were getting used to obviously making a successful breeding more likely than 10 or 20 years ago.

[Allan.W.]

Hello David ,
Your plant is Himalayan Honeysuckle ..................forgotten the latin name . Allan.W.

[millerd]

Looks like the Scilly Isles is the place to be at the moment with 2 more very fresh American Painted Ladies in recent days. Personally I find it hard to believe a glut of very fresh vagrants turning up close together via a crossing so my moneys on either a release or a successful breeding from an earlier gravid female making landfall. The milder autumns were getting used to obviously making a successful breeding more likely than 10 or 20 years ago.

I'm with you there, Paul. Releasing a species in this location would require a fair bit of extra effort and planning, so I lean towards the "offspring of migrant gravid female" theory as I suggested earlier in this thread. The foodplant is something called Jersey Cudweed (Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum), which can be found all over the world, including the UK. It would be good if someone on the islands at the moment could spend a bit of time searching it out - though perhaps not for a few days with some highly rough weather expected!

Cheers,

Dave

[Matsukaze]

It occurs on the islands - https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.cks6rf - but whether it is abundant enough there to support a butterfly population or not I have no idea.

3 species today in N Somerset - Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, and a white/Brimstone glimpsed at a distance.