Bugboys mission

[Wurzel]

"No eye-catching ab’s today" I reckon that female Common Blue, whilst not an 'ab' is still pretty eye-catching Bugboy -a lovely slaty blue

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Indeed Wurzel, but when you come across an eye catching Marshie ab the day before, it all becomes relative!


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May 2024

A quick overview of May 2024, overall bloody awful would be my glass half empty 'stuck at work when it was sunny' assessment! The what seemed to be constant cloud cover was probably exasperated by my not being able to get any Leave during the month. On the flipside there were some great highlights, the discovery of what seems to be a thriving colony of Green Hairstreak on my local patch, finding a pair in cop and what was probably their best season for them in my experience. Some excellent Duke action in the Chilton’s and a couple of lovely days out in the Wiltshire hills (complete with that impressive Marshie ab.)

So my final May post is just a few choice snaps I took on lunchtime wanders at work when I was dreaming of being further afield!

Wednesday 8th.

Thursday 9th.

Wednesday 15th.

Sunday 19th.

Friday 24th.

Two weeks off in June means this is a long month of posts, might not get through them all until I’m waving goodbye to the last LTB as it departs for the winter, bear with me !

[bugboy]

Going back to that Marshie ab, been trying to pin down a name for it. The best fit I can find for the upperside seems to be virgata, whereas the underside looks most closely to melanoleuca.

[Wurzel]

"Indeed Wurzel, but when you come across an eye catching Marshie ab the day before, it all becomes relative!"...you might have been suffering from a condition called 'Abblindness' Nice to see the photos from your lunch time wanderings - sounds like your lunch breaks are similar to mine "was dreaming of being further afield"

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Pretty much standard thought process during my lunch breaks Wurzel


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June 2024

Tuesday 4th. June started much as May ended, overcast. However today was set to be warm and a little muggy, which in the first week of June means Black Hairstreak are on the menu. I got to Epsom Common mid morning, but things took a while to get going. I occupied myself with some local Odonata. There were lots of Azure Damselflies around, a few Large Red and Blue-tailed but the White-legged Damselflies were the most readily approached.

Freshly emerged females are a creamy white, but gain black markings as they mature

This young male shows the flanges that give them their name although I prefer the alternative name, Featherleg Damselfly.

Dragonflies were also around. I put up a female Black-tailed Skimmer and followed her to a bramble thicket only to find she had morphed into a female Broad-bodied Chaser. Very strange, but as I got closer I found that I had both species sat next to each other.

Black-tailed Skimmer left, Broad-bodied Chaser right.

Males of both species were also found.

Black-tailed Skimmer

Broad-bodied Chaser

As I was occupying myself with these there had been sporadic sightings of Hairstreaks flitting around but nothing settled for an hour or so. And when they did start they were being very annoying.

It was close to midday before I came across one that was behaving (Millerd would also photograph this one a few days later, recognisable from the small nick from the wing). There was only the one other enthusiast present today, who was after a lifer, so he was overjoyed when I pointed this one out to him.

As far as the target was concerned that was it but I did manage my first Meadow Brown of the year

And walking back to the station a few nice-looking Speckled Wood.

[millerd]

It's always interesting to see the same individual butterflies at different points in their existence - three days later and there was no noticeable extra wear on that birdstruck female, Paul. I wonder how long they last (assuming they continue to evade birds, dragonflies and crab spiders...)?

Dave

[bugboy]

According to Paul Whalley (Butterfly Watching 1980) Dave, they live up to 3 weeks. However, he also states Small Copper live about 3 weeks and I think you may have proved that to be an underestimate! Mind you I’m inclined to go with the Black Hairstreak given it’s narrow flight period.


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June 2024

Saturday 8th was mostly a drab, cool and cloudy affair, but there was a glimmer of hope that the clouds would break at some point in the afternoon. Given this, and the fact that Heath Fritillary are relatively easy to find when roosting, I hopped on to a train to Hockley. It was still cloudy when I arrived but walking along the bottom path, checking out any areas where lush growths of Cow-wheat was found it didn’t take much to find the first roosting one. A few snaps then looking round I noted a few more scattered around in ones and twos. More snaps and more looking produced more until I amassed around thirty sat quietly around me.

The merest hint of extra warmth by a slight thinning of the cloud had an almost immediate effect with wings creaking open all around me and I realised there were a few more than thirty!

The cloud thinned and thickened periodically with the Fritillaries reacting accordingly for the next hour or so until eventually it started to break up properly, and the usual Heath Fritillary shenanigans ensued. It would seem most of the females had already been mated as there was an endless procession of males harassing females as they fed, with in flight females routinely being followed a train of four or five eager males. I did come across one mating pair trying to remain unseen from the throng of activity.

In the end I didn’t move from this one small area for the twoish hours I was there, in total there were easily over a hundred here and every time the sun came out from behind a cloud they would rise en masse from where they’d sat out the cloudy spell, I always find this a most wonderfully ethereal experience.

Just to put David Lazarus's mind at ease, non of these images (or from the next post) were obtained by crushing of foodplants/roosting spots/anything else

[bugboy]

June 2024

Saturday 8th cont. During my visit, with so many targets to aim at, I took an obscene amount of pictures and whilst going through them you couldn’t help but notice just how variable they really are. Here’s a range with a couple of extremes thrown in.

Near the end of my visit I became aware of a writhing bundle of Fritillaries which turned out to be the result of two mating pairs sat close to each other. The pheromones were attracting males from far and wide. These two pairs weren’t getting any alone time any time soon !

[Wurzel]

Cracking Blackstreaks from earlier Bugboy and the Heaths are magnificent - so variable and seeing them in such numbers must have been awesome

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...you couldn’t help but notice just how variable they really are...

Very much so, Paul. A couple of them look quite like False Heaths in all honesty.