Pete Eeles

[Piers]

And my personal thanks, once again, to Gary and Lisa for organising the UKB stand.

Nice one G & L - you two are pretty heroic at this sort of thing.

Felix.

[Pete Eeles]

Stockbridge Down

Despite the cloud cover first thing this morning, I spent an enjoyable time in the company of UKB's very own "Felix", watching Chalkhill Blue and Silver-spotted Skipper (which are emerging in good numbers), while picking his brain on all manner of subject! A couple of shots below - a minor Chalkhill Blue ab. and a male Silver-spotted Skipper.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pete Eeles]

I haven't had much time to go-a-butterflying lately, so some brief reports of my brief trips!

Watlington Hill - 28th July

I popped into Watlington Hill (near Aston Rowant) on 28th, primarily to see Silver-spotted Skipper. By the time I got there at midday, everything was buzzing around without stopping! I saw plenty of Silver-spotted Skipper, but only a couple that settled long enough for photos! However, I did find a mass of Common Blue, which seem to be having a good year all round based on reports I've heard. I did find an extremely blue female, along with a nice Small Copper and some late-developing Cinnabar moth larvae.

Common Blue female

Small Copper

Cinnabar moth larva

Stockbridge Down - 29th July

I had an even briefer visit to Stockbridge Down on 29th, although the cloud meant that not much was flying. I did find a nice female Silver-spotted Skipper, however.

Silver-spotted Skipper (female)

Greenham Common - today! (2nd August)

I managed to spend an hour this morning at Greenham Common looking for Grayling. It wasn't long before I found the hotspot, near some buddleias growing near the control tower. I must have seen about 15 individuals in total. When settled on the ground, the camouflage is amazing. But I did spend a lot of time simply watching and studying them and made 3 observations.

Observation 1 - The Grayling 1-2-3 Shuffle

I noticed that there is a typical series of 3 steps that each individual went through as it landed on the ground:

1. Forewing underside completely exposed.
2. Forewing partially exposed, showing uppermost spot only.
3. Forewing completely hidden.

Hereby known as the Grayling 1-2-3 shuffle. I'm guessing that the spots are exposed in order to divert any potential bird attack away from the body. But after a short time (no bird attack), the strategy becomes one of camouflage. (see observation #3 below).

Observation 2 - Varying Speed

On a related note, some individuals would perform "the shuffle" in less than a second after landing, making them impossible to photograph with their forewings exposed! Others would take a few seconds. No theories for the difference!

Observation 3 - Feeding Posture

I also noticed that individuals feeding typically had the underside of their forewings exposed - presumably because their lack of camouflage when feeding on buddleia or bell heather, so a strategy of showing a "false eye" (rather than camouflage) is the right thing to do.

Camouflaged Grayling

Grayling at Step 2 of the "Grayling 1-2-3 Shuffle"

A rare sight - a Grayling upperside!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Lee Hurrell]

Hi Pete,

I saw the Grayling shuffle on Sunday! Exactly as you describe. My report is to follow in my diary later this week - I'm still sorting photos!

One further observation I made is that the female looks a little like a worn Painted Lady in flight.

Cheers

Lee

[Pete Eeles]

Reliving my Youth

It's been a while since I last posted - mainly because I've not done anything on the butterfly front! The weather hasn't helped and that, with a combination of an excessive workload, has meant I've been concentrating on other things of late. Although I did get out today to see Brown Hairstreak at Shipton Bellinger (where I saw around 8 individuals, although no photos) where I also saw quite a few Holly Blue (which must be on the "up" this season!), as well as 50 or so Adonis Blue at a site in Wiltshire. Back home, I've been rearing one of the species I've not reared since I was a lad, which is a very long time ago! Despite my "defection to the dark side", I have to say that the Death's Head Hawkmoth has the most spectacular larva, and this is a species that can get from a 2mm egg to a 6 inch larva in a matter of weeks. The deforestation of Privet bushes in the Thatcham area of late is my doing! Right now, 6 of the 7 larvae have decided they're "Going Underground" - possibly the result of The Jam playing in my study (they like warmth - the larvae that is, not The Jam) over the last couple of days (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whSYTSXm8wo).

Anyway - some photos below.

Cheers,

- Pete

Larva in classic pose when disturbed

Munching away

Munching gear

[Pete Eeles]

Stockbridge Down

I've just returned from a splendid couple of weeks in Gran Canaria - you can't beat watching Monarchs floating around the hotel grounds with a beer in your hand! Unfortunately, no photos. Very relaxing - too relaxing - the shock of going back to work has made my head spin. So I took a brief break yesterday morning and popped into Stockbridge Down to catch the last of the season's butterflies. I was actually amazed at the numbers of some species. Lots of Meadow Brown, some very fresh (and a mating pair seen), 5 Chalkhill Blue (1 male, 4 female) still "hanging on", several Small Heath, 1 Small White and, best of all, between 15 and 20 Small Copper - some very fresh - and the photos below of ab. caeruleopunctata really don't do it justice. Watching several courtship displays was a fantastic bonus.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pete Eeles]

Blues and Ants and ...

Been quiet of late while spending every spare moment preparing an article on variation in British butterflies - consulting over a dozen books to date (and have acquired several that go into the details of genetics!) - and running to over 30 pages. I blame Felix Anyway ...

Although the adult butterfly season is over, there's still plenty to be seen if you look closely enough - and have time! I was sitting in my study today - but looked out of the window at the ivy that's right outside and noticed an abnormal amount of ant activity. Looking more closely, I could see some large dark "blobs" on the ivy flower buds against the sky. A quick look outside and I found exactly what I expected - a Holly Blue larva. Then another and another. All in all, 7 larvae on a single cluster - with none found anywhere else. Quite diverse in colouring - some were green all over, others with pink streaks down their length. But this was the first time I'd seen ants in attendance (with every larva), especially since the branches are a good 8 or 9 feet from the ground. Absolutely fascinating to watch. Some photos below. In the last shot you can just make out the remains of an egg from which a larva has emerged.

Cheers,

- Pete

[David M]

Top quality observation that, Pete. Were all the larvae found on the florets or were there some on the leaves?

[Pete Eeles]

Top quality observation that, Pete. Were all the larvae found on the florets or were there some on the leaves?

Thanks David! All on the flower buds, as expected, since that's what they feed on - they don't feed on the leaves (although you can't see it, the 2nd photo is the larva eating a flower bud that isn't particularly well-formed!). The larvae position themselves on a particular flower bud and then munch away, eventually "scooping out" the content. In fact, looking again, that last picture has it all - egg, larva, ant, scooped-out flower bud (you can see the "exit hole") from one of the other developing flower buds!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pete Eeles]

Hampshire and Isle of Wight AGM and Members' Day

A wonderful afternoon, yesterday, spent in the company of a good number of like-minded members! The AGM was typically uneventful, although the reports from the various subcommittees and the tremendous results they achieve is always breath-taking, whether we're talking records, conservation, information or reserves. My hat also goes off to every single member, whatever their level of contribution, from those that enter a single sighting to those that walk transects or help with the reserves management week in and week out. It really is a great "team". It was especially pleasing to see several members from the Isle of Wight making the effort to attend - it really was appreciated.

On that note, I had the privilege of taking on the role of branch chairman, succeeding Roger Buchanan (who is a hard act to follow, for sure!) and am really looking forward to my tenure in the company of an amazing group of individuals on the main committee. On that note, I'd like to welcome Andy Bolton and Gary Richardson ("Gruditch") onto the main committee who each received a unanimous vote, largely in recognition of the great work they already do.

A highlight for me was the initiation of an Education Fund, seeded by a legacy left by the late June Bailey, wife of Ken (who was in the audience and who scooped first prize in the Overseas category of the photo competition with an amazing shot of a Reverdin's Blue). This fund will be put to good use in fostering the next generation of Lepidopterists.

Aside from the photo competition, there were stands from UK Butterflies (ably run by Gary and Lisa) and Rosemary Powell (wildlife artist), as well as a selection of wildflower seeds (Brian Fletcher) and a really nice display of images of different stages of Purple Emperor larvae (and various aberrations) from, of course, Matthew Oates!

Our first presenter, Peter Davey, was unable to attend, so I put myself forward to present on the "Variation in British Butterflies", along the same lines as the UKB article recently posted. This was really interactive, which was just brilliant! When I posed certain questions, I was never expecting to get any answers given that I've read around the subject extensively. Here's an example - so what is the benefit of different colour forms of the Red Admiral larva, given that they spend all their time in a rolled-up nettle leaf and only ever move from leaf to leaf in darkness? The bombardment commenced:

... it's not they they gain an advantage, it's more that there's no disadvantage!
... they *do* move from leaf to leaf in daylight - I've seen them! So the different colouration may give one form an advantage
... the different forms will "spread the risk" since a given predator will typically form a single "search image" if looking for a particular larval form

My presentation was followed up by a wonderful presentation from Chris Manley, entitled "Photography as an ID and Reference Collection", where Chris walked through an incredible array of images he's taken over the years and, of course, many anecdotes along the way. Chris ultimately signed a good number of copies of his latest book, "British Moths (and Butterflies)".

All in all, a most wonderful day!

Cheers,

- Pete

Roger Buchanan and Pete Eeles - Roger was presented with an original watercolour of Small Blue by Rosemary Powell

[marmari]

i would like to confirm everything said by Pete on the AGM and members day meeting.All of us from the isle of Wight thoroughly enjoyed our day,and we wish him every success in his tenure as Branch Chairperson.

[Pete Eeles]

i would like to confirm everything said by Pete on the AGM and members day meeting.All of us from the isle of Wight thoroughly enjoyed our day,and we wish him every success in his tenure as Branch Chairperson.

Thanks marmari! Much appreciated!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pete Eeles]

Great to see so many UKB members at the AGM yesterday (just too many to mention!) - definitely a gathering not to be missed! Hosted by my home county of Gloucestershire next year

For various reasons, I wasn't able to attend most of the sessions, usually because I was chatting away with luminaries in the world of Leps behind the scenes - and learning so much. I must have spent at least 20 minutes just listening to Jeremy Thomas discussing various "blues" - some wonderful insights and such an infectious enthusiasm for the subject that is his life's work. On that note, while chatting away with "Thomas and Lewington", I couldn't resist a photo:

Lewington and Thomas!

As well as hearing about the great results that BC have been achieving, I was eagerly-awaiting the Marsh and Volunteer awards since this, to me, is what BC is really all about - bringing together an army of organisations and individuals for the common good - several of which go "above and beyond" to the point that they rightly deserve to be singled out. The awards were introduced by Martin Warren, BC Chief Exec (and presented by Jeremy Thomas):

The "Marsh Award for Lifetime Achievement in Lepidoptera Conservation" was given to Roy Leverton, in recognition of his many years devoted to the recording and study of moths and butterflies. Roy gave the most wonderful acceptance speech and is an inspiration to us all:

Jeremy and Roy

Next up was the award for outstanding contributions to the promotion of Lepidoptera conservation. This year's award was won by the building materials company CEMEX for their dedication to the Small Blue butterfly. I'm naturally suspicious of organisations winning anything (!) but the acceptance speech convinced me that CEMEX really know their stuff and are absolutely committed to supporting BC's aims. Not least because CEMEX funded a Small Blue recovery project in Warwickshire, started in 2007 - which has benefited several other threatened species since.

The final major award was the "Marsh Award for the conservation of Lepidoptera in Europe" and was awarded to Lazaros Pamperis for his lifetime’s work studying and documenting the butterflies of Greece, culminating in his prestigious book The Butterflies of Greece.

And finally, various "Outstanding Volunteer Awards" were given by BC Chairman, Maurice Avent. All worthy winners and, as Hants and IOW chair, I'm bound to point out the contribution of Colin Matthews - not only has Colin acted as voluntary Reserve Manager for BC's Yew Hill Reserve, but his profound knowledge of botany and habitat management for plants has also been applied to Magdalen Hill Down, the branch's flagship reserve. The worthy winners are shown below (Maurice in the middle, Colin far right):

And, finally, another beautifully-presented UKB stand courtesy of Gary and Lisa, my sincere thanks to them both. I think we should start a caption competition with this shot of Lisa

Cheers,

- Pete

[Lee Hurrell]

"98, 99, 100! Ready or not Gary, here I come!"

Lee

[Piers]

My presentation was followed up by a wonderful presentation from Chris Manley, entitled "Photography as an ID and Reference Collection"

That's quite a timely way to remind contributors to the Species Albums that photographs, no matter how beautiful, have absolutely no scientific value unless accompanied by date and location at the very minimum.

Felix.

[Pete Eeles]

Looking through some old images, I came across this series of a little-seen spectacle of a male Purple Emperor emerging from the pupa. Enjoy!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Pete,
Just what we wanted on a dull January day. Lovely sequence culminating in an iconic image.
Neil

[Jack Harrison]

Absolutely brilliant Pete.

But the cynic in me has to ask: was it in the wild or bred by you? It doesn't matter which as I doubt that has ever before been photographed so beautifully.

Jack

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks chaps. Yes, this was bred in captivity and I really need to transcribe the various notes I made regarding the larval and pupal development (albeit in captive-bred conditions). I had another emerge the day before at exactly 0830. This critter emerged at 0832 and, this time, I was prepared! Seeing the first glimpses of purple on the wings was a real "wow" moment for me.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Paul Wetton]

Great photos Pete.

I'd love to have a go at time lapse with something like this using my XL2 video camera. I'll need to read up again how it works.