April 2009 Lepidoptera Sightings

[Paul Brock]

"Wow absolutely pristine PB Paul. About the Beetle, just nod if it was a Stag Beetle, I love them. " Gruditch

It's mentioned on the Hampshire BC website! The others you mention should be out shortly, usually see lots in May.

At 11am today, in more cloud than hazy sun, counted 7 Pearl-bordered Fritillaries in a small meadow at New Copse Incl., New Forest, a couple of them already not in great condition -- see below for an example. They were only basking with wings open (even in the cloud), not nectaring, so opportunity for good images rather limited. Why so many blades of grass in the way much of the time, and why did I miss the two males sat on top of each other by a fraction of a second....I was just thinking about entering it into a competition.

Failed to find the Grizzled Skippers I was searching for and what looked like a Green Hairstreak 'vanished' into thin air, but not a bad hour's search.

Paul

[GsButterflies]

Hi All,

My day did not turn out as planned, but a visit to a not very sunny but defiantly windy Magdalen Hill Down produced my first of the year and Hampshire's I think - Brown Argus (thanks Paul for the confirmation).

There was very little flying as the sun had departed the wind had increased and the temp felt as if it had also gone down.

Also spotted:
Green Hairstreak 2
Grizzed Skipper 2
Orange Tip 1
Peacock 4
Comma 2

Graham

[nick patel]

Brown Argus

Also spotted:
Green Hairstreak 2
Grizzed Skipper 2
Orange Tip 1
Peacock 4
Comma 2

There was very little flying

Ha ha very funny. i would be very happy with that.

[GsButterflies]

Hi Nick,

Yes I was happy / am happy, I perhaps did not express myself very well.

I think I was trying to say / write that I anticipated a warm sunny day with lot's flying, but I found a windy and not very sunny site. I'm more than happy with my sittings and with the images I managed to captured, but there must have been so much more about had the conditions been more favorable.

G

[geniculata]

A walk again after work,
across barton common produced at last some long awaited green hairstreak, 3in all, two quite worn.
plus plenty of my favourite little butterflies at the moment, small copper!

gary.

[wiccaman9]

Always jealous with the early sightings down South. Lot slower to heat up in the North West Midlands. However green hairstreaks now on the go, OT's a plenty, never tire of looking at them, love their mottled patterns. Seen a few Large whites already though, small and g.v.whites also starting. Speckled woods nice and early this year, and the peacocks/torties/commas out in force.

Cheers, Aron

Eyeing me up?

[Charles Nicol]

very nice Orange Tips pics wiccaman. Are they all as friendly as that one where you are ?

charles

[Dave McCormick]

Took 20mins of chasing this one, but I eventually got this male GV White. It was flying up and down the edge of a field with dandelions. It stopped for about 1 second at dandelions and would not stay there, but eventually it stopped to feed long enough for me to get close to it.


The GV White make curled up its abdomen as I got close to it.

Also saw one speckled wood male and a Holly Blue and two Small Tortoiseshell.

[m_galathea]

A walk this morning through my local woods at Arundel (mainly cloudy conditions) revealed: Speckled Wood (2), Pearl-bordered Fritillary (3) and Speckled Yellow (1). Good displays of Bluebells and Cowslips too.

Alexander

PBFs in various parts of Rewell Wood

Cowslips at Madehurst

[Shirley Roulston]

Lovely photos coming in, still very windy here but in pockets of sunshine to-day, this is what I saw. Red Admiral, Holly blue and I not 100% sure but I think a Small White.
Shirley

DSC02027.JPG (23.67 KiB) Viewed 774 times

[Dave McCormick]

Lovely photos coming in, still very windy here but in pockets of sunshine to-day, this is what I saw. Red Admiral, Holly blue and I not 100% sure but I think a Small White.
Shirley

Are you meaning the last shot you posted? Its a Green Veined white. Small whites don't have lines on their wings, but they are the same size as eachother.

[Matsukaze]

A bit too windy for butterflies today - the vanessids and Speckled Woods had disappeared. A few whites on the wing but the highlight was finding a new colony of GRIZZLED SKIPPER near Shepton Mallet, with at least 6 whirring around at my feet in a sheltered scrubby enclave.

[geniculata]

Went for a look in the newcopse inclosure (new forest),

located several pearl bordered in one meadow clearing, all male.

gary

[Oy]

Green Hairstreaks a-plenty today on Meathop Moss, Cumbria.

Also saw Orange tip, Speckled wood, Peacock and Red admiral.

1.


2.


3.

[Matsukaze]

Before this season I had no idea that grizzled skipper was present in the Bristol region, but following success at Walton Common on Tuesday, they were found again yesterday at Goblin Combe near Cleeve.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are even closer to the centre of Bristol. The Avon Gorge is a possibility, as are the sides of the cutting the Long Ashton bypass is in. They could even get right into the centre as there is plenty of disused former railway alignment which they would like next to the main lines going into Temple Meads, though getting access to survey it would be somewhat problematic.

[eccles]

The AWT reserve at Tucking Mill near Bath was supposed to be a known location for grizzled skipper. I saw a single rather tatty individual there in 2007 but nothing since.

Two or three PBF were seen at Bentley Wood at the practical section of the UKB meet yesterday, my first ever sighting of this stunning little butterfly.

[Charles Nicol]

Green Hairstreaks a-plenty today on Meathop Moss, Cumbria.

Wow that is a fabulous pic of the Green Hairstreaks mating !!

Well done Oy

Charles

[Matsukaze]

Grizzled Skipper used to be found at the Folly Farm AWT centre, and quite possibly still is. I must go over and check sometime.

There are a couple of small colonies around Radstock, but in places I am uneasy about visiting in daylight.

[Shirley Roulston]

A Holly Blue was unaware of me taking rather a lot of photos and a Green-veined White on the Cowslips.

Shirley

[Vince Massimo]

Hi all,

Just a quick update on the Quarry Hangers Nature Reserve which is just south of Chaldon on the Surrey Downs. Today the Grizzled Skipper count was 25, although earlier in the week around 40 were reported to me by "rezamink" (Damian). However, the main reason for visiting today was to check if Dingy Skippers had appeared. There were 5 seen, together with 2 Peacock, 1 Comma, 3 Speckled Wood, 1 Orange Tip, 2 Brimstone and some other Whites.

Regards to all,

Vince