June 2010 Sightings

[Dave McCormick]

I'll post more on my personal diary tomorrow if I can, not had much chance to be on here but I was at my reletives bog on saturday and was in an area of ope cutover bog about half the size of a football field or a little less than that and I saw:

100+ Small Heath (they are always here in large numbers), 2 small copper, 4 Speckled Wood, 1 very worn Small Tortoiseshell, and a number of moths that included common heath, Crambus species (I forget which one) and an engrailed I disturbed. Also 4 migrant silver-y moths which looked worn.

Have not observed many other butterflies since then, just a orange-tip first instar caterpillar just hatched from egg, saw the eggshell on the cuckooflower at Mountstewart Lake, Co Down, Northern Ireland. Also saw a few large whites and one Speckled wood in the area too and a possible comma (it had a dark underside and a orangy upperside and was a bit ragged along the wing edge, but it was flying quite fast) and if t was a comma, that would be a great sighting as only one was observed this year, moving north from Dublin direction and commas are quite rare here.

[millerd]

After meeting Jack in Hockley Woods on 2nd, I took the scenic route back to Heathrow, and stopped off at Totternhoe. There were are great number of Small Blues about, plus nearly as many of the Common variety. One thing I noticed (and Jack had mentioned this to me earlier) was that there was no Kidney Vetch to be found, which is a little alarming. One Small Blue was almost bereft of spots underneath (pictured). There was also one Common Blue with unusually strong black lines in its margins. Unfortunately, my editing software simply defeats my attempts to get the colour balance right, probably because of the bright chalk background, but you can see how odd it looks.
As mentioned before, the next day took me and 5-year-old Elliot to Ventnor and Glanvilles; the day after (Friday 4th), I drove down to Somerset via Martin Down, . Three Fritillaries in three days - well worth the effort.

[Ian Pratt]

Find the butterfly. What is it?
Answer tomorrow!

[Matsukaze]

Fine camouflage!

Meadow Brown and Large Skipper have been on the wing here in Somerset since last weekend. Hopefully Marbled White and Ringlet will not be too far behind.

[David M]

Find the butterfly. What is it?

Gotta be a Grayling with camouflage like that!

[NickB]

Find the butterfly. What is it?
Answer tomorrow!

Sorry - but it is a Painted Lady, I reckon...

...a couple of new male Common Blues in the cemetery at lunchtime today....

[Gibster]

Wow! Just back from a fantastic day in Hampshire...started at Hurst Spit and managed at least 7 Cream-spot Tigers including 2 ovipositing females. Keyhaven Marshes added a Painted Lady, Small Tort, Common Blues, Smalll Heaths, Green-veined Whites, a Green Hairstreak, Speckled Woods plus various Odonata.

Next stop Bentley Wood where a couple of hours in the Eastern Clearing rewarded us with 40+ SPBF (difficult to accurately guage numbers), a single worn PBF, more Speckled Woods, a Brimstone plus several larvae, a Grizzled Skipper, 3 Large Skippers, a male Duke of Burgundy (def past his best!), 3 Argent and Sables and a huge Hornet, presumably a queen.

Finally an unsuccessful Hoopoe twitch in Chertsey, Surrey where we saw Banded Demoiselles and lots of White-letter Hairstreak habitat...hopefully!

[Ian Pratt]

Nick was correct.It is a painted lady (LH side of photo in each case).

[NickB]

It shows that they are very well suited to their semi-desert origins - almost invisible on sandy & gravelly surfaces.
Grayling ARE equally invisible too and more likely to stay put when you walk by...
N

[Jack Harrison]

At Holme NNR near Hunstanton I was watching a Grayling on a stony path. Some walkers stopped and asked me what I was looking at. Rather mischievously, I said “that butterfly” and waved my hand in the general direction. Of course, they couldn’t see it (as had been my intention). I then pointed to it from a very short distance. They were amazed at the camouflage. I like to think it made their day.

On another occasion at Holme (might have been the same day, not sure) I showed a family a Grayling on the board walk – much easier to pick out against the wood. It then flew up and landed on the ten-year old(ish) boy’s trousers. He was thrilled.

I have often thought that the Grayling deserves a more appropriate name. I would plump for Cryptic Brown (Not to be confused with a recent Prime Minister).

Indeed, I think many butterflies are poorly named. My suggestions:
.....Marbled White becomes Chequered Brown
.....Small Heath becomes Small Brown
.....Large Heath = Bog Brown (I like that !)
I could go on for a long time.......

Jack

[NickB]

..dont get too browned-off....
(I'll get my coat...)

[David M]

Nick was correct.It is a painted lady (LH side of photo in each case).

I still can't see it in the first picture!!

[Ian Pratt]

Nick was correct.It is a painted lady (LH side of photo in each case).

I still can't see it in the first picture!!

It is half way down on the LH side below the largish light buff stone. Hope you can find it!

[David M]

At Holme NNR near Hunstanton I was watching a Grayling on a stony path. Some walkers stopped and asked me what I was looking at. Rather Indeed, I think many butterflies are poorly named. My suggestions:
.....Marbled White becomes Chequered Brown
.....Small Heath becomes Small Brown
.....Large Heath = Bog Brown (I like that !)
I could go on for a long time.......

Jack

LOL! We have some odd names, such as Wall, High Brown Fritillary (aren't all Fritillaries a shade of brown?), Duke of Burgundy and White Letter Hairstreak.

It's interesting to compare the British names with those the French use:

Wood White = Mustard White
Orange Tip = Dawn
Brimstone = Lemon
Common Blue = Blue Argus
Wall = Satyr
Silver Washed Fritillary = Spanish Tobacco
Marbled White = Semi Mourning (as in before a funeral!!)

Interestingly, others have names very similar (if not identical) to ours:

Peacock = Day Peacock
Large White = Cabbage White
Small Tortoishell = Small Tortoise
Painted Lady = Beautiful Lady

They DO have a Comma (La virgule), but their Comma is the Silver Spotted Skipper. The name they use for our Comma is Robert the Devil!!

[David M]

Nick was correct.It is a painted lady (LH side of photo in each case).

I still can't see it in the first picture!!

It is half way down on the LH side below the largish light buff stone. Hope you can find it!

My God, so it is!

Makes Spot the Ball seem like child's play.

[Ian Pratt]

Just nipped in to the fields across the road to give my black labrador a walk before setting off for Norfolk (and swallowtails!)and was very pleased to see the two butterflies pictured below plus painted lady and female common blue.

[Wildmoreway]

I was pleased to see this Hummingbird Hawk Moth at Torquay Station this morning .

[David M]

Spent an hour and a half at Dare Valley Park near Aberdare this morning. Nothing spectacular to report but I was amazed to see an Orange Tip - only one, a male, and a particularly small one.

Plenty of Small Heaths around and I spotted a 2nd generation Small Tortoiseshell which was positively glowing it was so fresh. The count was:

1. Green Veined White 20-30 (a couple had very smudgy forewing markings, almost cinammon rather than black)
2. Common Blue 15-20
3. Small Heath 10-15
4. Speckled Wood 4
5. Large Skipper 1
6. Small Tortoiseshell 1
7. Orange Tip 1

[NickB]

Brampton Wood for Black Hairstreak; upwards of 15 seen mostly up in the tops of the bushes (See Field Trips & Events).

Lots of fresh Speckled Wood and some nice Large Skippers too...

N

[Gibster]

Three Silver-studded Blues seen today, brightened up an otherwise rather dull Fairmile Heath near Cobham in Surrey. Thanks to recent clearance work there are several patches of White Bryony on the earthen bund alongside the access road. A quick search revealed a number of adult Bryony Ladybirds.

We're looking forward to seeing our first ever Black Hairstreaks. Well done getting your photo, Nick! We may well follow in your footsteps (and hopefully be just as lucky!)in the very near future.