June 2010 Sightings

[Vince Massimo]

I found this female Meadow Brown variant at my local site, Quarry Hangers Reserve, Chaldon, Surrey today.

female Meadow Brown variant

Vince

[Ian Pratt]

When I first began photographing butterflies they were like a small speck in some far corner of the photo. Having improved a little I find the greatest satisfaction in photographing species which are either difficult to find or are difficult to photograph because of their light/dark qualities. So I offer for your comments four recent photos of small white, white admiral, broad-bodied chaser and silver-washed fritillary. I hope you enjoy them.

[Jack Harrison]

Sharpenhoe Clappers (just west of Barton-le-Clay, Beds) in one hour between 1650 and 1750 hours on 29th June total of 15 DG Fritillary sightings but not one of them landed!

Jack

[Jack Harrison]

29th June

Well Vince photographed an aberrant Meadow Brown; I photographed odd behaviour in a male. This was a perfectly healthy butterfly that could fly well but perched with its wings reflexed back rather in Dingy Skipper style.

There were no other Meadow Browns nearby to explain its pose. Strange.

Jack

[Matsukaze]

At least 8 Essex Skipper on the disused railway north of Wellow, Somerset.

[SteveA]

The Camberwell Beauty is still in Norfolk at Titchwell this afternoon

[Eris]

You lot looking for me? Yooo----hoooo I'm up here ---- in this tree!!!

Botany Bay today

[Jack Harrison]

30th June
Holkham Woods (N.Norfolk) along track to west of top end of Lady Anne’s Road:
Two White Admirals and just before bird hide near the last seat, two probable WL Hairstreaks.

Jack

[Gruditch]

Had a morning at Bentley Wood this morning. With the Painted Lady's absent, Meadow Browns not exactly in abundance, and the Silver-washed Fritillary numbers far short of last year. It all felt a bit subdued, . Not many butterflies were willing to play ball either, this White Admiral was the only good photo opportunity of the day.

Regards Gruditch

[Jack Harrison]

Beautifully composed picture Gary. My only WA sightings this year have been high speed dashes over brambles certainly not giving photo opportunities.

Jack

[Cotswold Cockney]

Sharpenhoe Clappers (just west of Barton-le-Clay, Beds) in one hour between 1650 and 1750 hours on 29th June total of 15 DG Fritillary sightings but not one of them landed!

Jack

Probably males only madly chasing around looking for females which have yet to emerge. Never stop that process until ....

Do you remember my taking you to a Cotswold site up on the Hills only to discover it had been roughly ploughed bringing up loads of Cotswold stones and rocks ~ looked like paving! No blues, no Marsh frits.... You mentioned the ground now being suitable to land one of your training Hercules on it!

Next year, that stoney site was a mass of massive Thistles and every flower head ~ hundreds of them ~ had one or two Dark Green Fritillaries on it! Never seen the like of it before or since...

[Gibster]

Just back from a couple of days having masses of fun in the west country...Large Blues in Somerset and High Brown Fritillary in Devon being the highlights. Tried a pint of Beast, at 6.66% it really is very very smooth. Sami was pretty much wasted after just one pint. Seeing as I was doing the driving, I wisely stuck to paint-stripper, tis a far less lethal option!

Then up to Shropshire for masseyi Silver-studded Blue (most seemed to conform, but not all) then into Wales where we had a fantastic time with thyone Graylings (my first one ever decided to perch on my leg!!!) and caernensis Silver-studded Blues which are absolutely tiny and occur in long grasses strewn with rock-rose and bird's-foot trefoil - a completely different habitat from that used by every SSB I've ever seen before. We tried nearby Cors Goch for Large Heath but only managed some funny looking Small Heaths...at least we think they were Smalls...plus a Common Hawker (which is decidedly uncommon in my neck of the woods.)

Our Big Year is doing stupendously well. It looks like we've missed Marsh Fritillary form scotica (unless we go back for the larvae???) and probably SPBF form insularum but otherwise The Plan is holding up surprisingly well.

Many thanks once again to Members who have helped us out with site details, we hope to meet some of you in the coming months!

[Gruditch]

Beautifully composed picture Gary. My only WA sightings this year have been high speed dashes over brambles certainly not giving photo opportunities.

Jack

Cheers Jack, I'm glad I nailed it, they are a frustrating butterfly, and I doubt I'll get another opportunity like that for a while.

Regards Gruditch

[Piers]

Then up to Shropshire for masseyi Silver-studded Blue

Hi Gibster,

Contrary to popular belief, masseyi became extinct in the 1940's from it's last Westmorland habitat.
J. Thomas at last concurs (page 118,119). When you see a drawer of 'true' masseyi in a museum collection the differences between masseyi and the existing argus populations really does become obvious.

The Shropshire colony is certainly argus, and in my experience 'blue females' occur on that site no more frequently really than in many southern colonies (north west Cornish coast for example).

The exception are those colonies in the New Forest, where (unlike the nearby Dorset heathland colonies) 'blue females' are very few and far between indeed; the great majority being a uniform brown.

Felix.

[millerd]

An hour after work at Harmondsworth Moor, next to the airport produced dozens of Small Skippers and several Marbled Whites - the latter are new here, I believe.

[Ian Pratt]

At last a couple of marbled whites in the fields opposite my house in Branstone on the Isle of Wight this evening, plus a good number of small tortoiseshells.

[Gibster]

Contrary to popular belief, masseyi became extinct in the 1940's from it's last Westmorland habitat.
J. Thomas at last concurs (page 118,119). When you see a drawer of 'true' masseyi in a museum collection the differences between masseyi and the existing argus populations really does become obvious.

The Shropshire colony is certainly argus,

Hi Felix,

I was a tad confused to note that a (fairly small) proportion of the Prees Heath Silver-studded Blues appeared to show borders similar/identical to those I see in Surrey, where they are presumably argus. So saying, many appeared to be masseyi or at least closely resemble masseyi and I've never seen any elsewhere with such pale chalky undersides to the hindwings. A few freshly emerged individuals (complete with attendant ants) displayed distinctly whitish undersides! How obviously do these individuals differ from the 'true' masseyi? And did masseyi ever occur in the Midlands? Is the Prees Heath population just an example of clinal variation and if so was masseyi ever a good subspecies or merely a clinal extreme? (Sorry if this seems like a game of 20 Questions, I'm genuinely keen to improve my knowledge and you clearly know your stuff!! ) Also we saw a handful of 'midget' examples at Prees Heath. The Great Orme colony we found consisted of individuals all clearly smaller than argus. Are Silver-studded Blues simply more prone to variation than the other British blues and if so, how valid are the subspecies? Which leads on to my next question...

Are there any definitive books (or websites) that show ALL the various subspecies (and abberations with names!) readily available? It seems that Members bow down to your knowledge of the subject. Which references do you use? I'm keen to name any abberations I encounter but unsure of where to start. But I'm not keen to pin specimens and compare them with museum collections. I have my own modest collection of pinned micro moths I once used as a reference library whilst recording for a forthcoming county atlas, but I have no desire to begin again with butterflies. Any help (not just from Felix!) much appreciated!

All the very best,

Gibster.

[Piers]

Hi Gibster,

Subspecies refers to the division within a species when (most often through geographical isolation) a distinct population of a species occurs which differs from type through consistent and recurring characteristics. The allocation of subspecific status is somewhat arbitrary; however, the general rule of thumb is that the population must be sufficiently geographically distinct from type. The distinction may also include such things as larval food plant preference (to the degree that the usual larval host plant of 'type' is rejected utterly, resulting in the inability for subspecies to translocate).

Where the clinal differences are insufficiently distinct to award the population(s) supspecific status, the dimorphic 'race' is known as a form (for example form scotica of the Mountain Ringlet).

In all likelihood, the extinct subspecies cretaceus of the Silver Studded Blue (calcareous habitats, south east England) was nothing more than a form rather than a distinct subspecies.

Was masseyi a distinct subspecies? well they were certainly very different from type. Almost all of the females exhibited considerable blue scaling and both sexes but especially the female) bore longer, narrower wings than argus argus. Ssp masseyi flew in north west England, mainly Lancashire and the former county of Westmorland. If not a subspecies, masseyi was certainly a very distinct geographical cline; a form.

The Silver Studded Blue is an extremely variable butterfly, both regionally and within individual populations. I have long studied this butterfly in this respect. 'Blue females' crop up with regularity in most colonies (except as I mentioned the New Forest populations where it is rare). There is significant variation in the size of the butterflies within any population, with some males being as large as Common Blues and some females frequently being absolutely tiny. The New Forest Heathland race generally produces uniformly small specimens (by national standards) while the Cornish Dune populations produce many 'over sized' individuals, some of which are really pretty big, and quite strikingly marked. The species is generally very variable, with much variation in underside ground colour, the extent and size of spotting, the extent of the black margins to the male uppersides etc etc. These variations occur widely within any population. Freshly emerged males ordinarily have a very silvery-whitish underside ground colour which quickly wears.

The Great Orme population are nicely distinct, both in average wing span, colouration in the female, and emergence dates. Every colony will have individuals which do not conform to 'type' for that particular colony. I could show you a series of photographs from a Dorset Heath population which are large, bright and with very blue females, but this would be the exception rather than the rule.

There are no books available which act as a catalogue or key to British Butterfly aberrations or subspecific forms, although for each species there is a finite amount of aberrations which have been described and named. The naming has been largely rational and consistent, but It really is a case of trawling through literature and old periodicals, some dating back 150 years...!

There is the on-line reference on the Natural History Museum website (the Cockayne Database) however this is very limited and only illustrates a representative handful of aberrations per species so is flimsy as a means of accurate identification. It's function is to demonstrate the sort of variation in markings that one can expect within a species, but it is not a definitive guide by any stretch of the imagination. Like many works there are also errors in the names applied to some of the aberrant specimens, but as it is not meant as an identification guide this is of no real consequence.

I would not encourage you to pin specimens for identification; photographs are more than adequate and will readily illustrate the features which betray the individual as an aberration, or any manner in which the specimen is distinct from it's fellows.

No one "bows down" to me Gibster in any way, shape or form; please do not use the expression with reference to me, it is truly awful and implies some form of hierarchy of which there is none.

I am a mere enthusiast just like you, every one has their own speciality and there are many contributors to this site who are a great deal more knowledgeable (particularly in the field of photography, of which I am generally in awe of most people here) than I.

My knowledge of British butterfly aberrations and forms comes from year upon year of fascination and study. Just like any subject, one gradually picks things up and assimilates information. I have also gathered together a whole host of dusty old periodicals and journals (much to the delight of my partner!) which enables me to have an awful lot of information to hand which would otherwise be unavailable. Years of study in the field has also enabled me to gather first hand a wealth of observation based reasearch pertaining to certain species. But this does represent many years of many lost weekends so I would hope to have something to show for it.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to spend the majority of the day on Portland with the Silver Studded Blue population there; arriving at about 07.45 when the insects were still at roost. Hundreds were on the wing in the usual places. There is something about studying these butterflies on Portland which really appeals to me for some unfathomable reason. The melancholy atmosphere of rusting jaded industry (the sites are utterly 'brown field'), the stench of the land fills, the dog crap everywhere (something which I ordinarily loathe in the extreme - trod in two and almost dropped my note book in one other). There must be something about watching these beautiful azure butterflies within what would otherwise be quite a depressing environment that somehow appeals to something deep within me.

If I were only to ever be allowed to see and study one butterfly species for the rest of my life it would be this one without hesitation.

Felix.
Ps. Good luck with the rest of your Grand Tour...!

[Jack Harrison]

Didn't Chris Thomas, Jeremy's brother, do a PhD on silver Studded Blue? But I believe that was mainly based on study of a colony on Anglesey.

Jack

[Gibster]

Hi Felix,

sorry for the delay...I'm having serious issues with the laptop's connectivity at the mo!

Many thanks for your well put (and lengthy!) response. I'd heartily disagree with just one point though. As a very keen birder I've spent many long hours within Portland's dog crap-infested disused quarries and although some areas are distinctly less pleasing to the eye, I love the site. Depressing landscape? Portland? Never!!! Take up birding, Felix, give in to the 'Dark Side', lol! But you say cretaceus is extinct? Martin Cade (warden at The Bill's bird obs) reckons the Portland colonies are cretaceus and an off-island colony had very recently been discovered, dubbed cretaceus too. I'm tripping down to Portland this coming Monday to see them. Ooh eck

It's a real pity that nobody has compiled a thorough and workable photographic key to abberations. Surely it can only be a matter of time? I'm guesssing that a good guide to butterfly abberations is about as appealing today as a decent damselfly guide would have been in the 70s. And yet look at the choice of books available on that subject matter nowadays. So maybe in another five years time? (Any natural history book editors reading this, hint hint...)

Anyway, this thread has already moved onto "July Sightings" so I'll meet you there..........

All the very best

Gibster.