January 2011

[Susie]

Not butterflies but during a walk out this morning I found more brown hairstreak eggs on top of a hill.

[Gibster]

Managed to find two species today...a larva of Infurctinea argentimaculella in its larval tube and a case of Narycia monilifera. Yesterday I spent an inordinate amount of time checking the beams and rafters of the hides in Barnes WWT for hibernating Small Torts or Peacocks. Managed a few spiders and neck-ache.

And that's about as underwhelming as January lepidoptery gets!!!

Gibster.

[David M]

Managed to find two species today...a larva of Infurctinea argentimaculella in its larval tube and a case of Narycia monilifera. Yesterday I spent an inordinate amount of time checking the beams and rafters of the hides in Barnes WWT for hibernating Small Torts or Peacocks. Managed a few spiders and neck-ache.

And that's about as underwhelming as January lepidoptery gets!!!

Gibster.

Gibster, you are a true stalwart!

[Gibster]

Gibster, you are a true stalwart!

Well, I've been called plenty of names in my time....

Decent sightings of Bittern, Snow Bunting, Shorelark, Waxwings, Hen Harriers, Corn Buntings etc etc has helped stave off January's non-lepidoptera madness. Plus I still need to find myself those elusive WLH eggs...gulp

[Mikhail]

At midday today in lovely sunshine with a light westerly breeze and about 6° in the shade, a Red Admiral fluttering about then basking on a south facing wall.

Misha

[Jack Harrison]

I had guessed someone, somewhere would see a butterfly today 9th January. Well done.

I didn't have quite that luck. Small Tortoiseshell found dead in barn. Yes, presumed dead, not hibernating – unless this was an extremely odd individual that chose to hibernate on the floor with wings spread out flat. Previously I only seen hibernating Torties with wings closed. Anyway, this one has been tucked away safely just in case it isn’t dead.

Jack

[Padfield]

Although I suspect your butterfly is dead, Jack, the more natural death position is with wings folded beneath the thorax, so I think you are right to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Guy

[David M]

I had guessed someone, somewhere would see a butterfly today 9th January. Well done.

That thought crossed MY mind too today. It was 7C, sunny with a cloudless sky and perfectly mild in sheltered spots in Swansea. There was plenty of bird noise today, almost like it was spring. I believe in southern parts this coming Wednesday we can expect highs of up to 13C!!

[NickB]

From Cambs & Essec BC Sightings....

"Thursday 13th January Peterborough (TL192987) I have just seen a Red Admiral on the wing in the grounds of Peterborough Cathedral. There are some repair works going on and scaffolding up and I suspect someone disturbed a hibernating one perhaps from a crevice, so you may not want to 'count' this as a first sighting."

Well, it may have been brought out by +13C as well!
N

[Jack Harrison]

I think we have to go back to earlier discussions about over-wintering Red Admirals.

The commonly touted theory is that with climate change, milder winters have enabled Red Admirals to survive. Surely sightings of the butterfly after an extremely cold spell of weather can put that theory to bed once-and-for-all? In that earlier discussion, I and others had put forward an alternative suggestion which might be worth re-iterating here.

As I understand it, Red Admirals do not attempt deep hibernation as do Peacocks and Tortoiseshells but are intermittently active and need to refuel (take nectar) on a regular basis. The suggestion is that the increased growing in gardens and parks of winter flowering shrubs and other plants might be the clue to the greater success of Red Admirals surviving the winter nowadays.

Sighting on 9th January of Brimstone in Ilminster Somerset reported by my brother-in-law David Bailey.

Jack

[David M]

Sighting on 9th January of Brimstone in Ilminster Somerset reported by my brother-in-law David Bailey.

With a name like that I'd expect he got a photo?

[NickB]

Not butterflies but during a walk out this morning I found more brown hairstreak eggs on top of a hill.

...surely more usually on blackthorn?

[Bill S]

For some time now I've wanted to carry out some checks on local Blackthorn strongholds for Brown Hairstreak eggs, on the basis that the eggs are suppose to be easier to spot than the adults. In order to get my eye in, yesterday I popped to Shipton Bellinger which I think is my closest known spot for Brown Hairstreaks.

I have to say that on yesterday's attempt the eggs are not that easy to find. Despite having pretty good eyesight I only managed to find one egg. At least I know what I'm looking for now, but given that I only found a single egg in an established Brown Hairstreak location, I'm not convinced that looking for the eggs is any better than looking for the adults. It's possible that I was looking in the wrong places at Shipton Bellinger i.e. in areas where the egg density was not that high, so I'll still give it a whirl at my local spots. Any input from more experienced folks would be greatly appreciated though.

I didn't have my camera with me at the time, just my phone and a handlens. I coupled the two together and I was pleasantly surprised at the result.

Bill

[Padfield]

That's brilliant for a phone and a hand-lens!!

I think looking for eggs is easier - or at least more sure - than looking for adults. I have found eggs in far more places than I have seen adults. But never underestimate the sheer time involved!! In areas of low density you may examine tens or even hundreds of bushes before you find where a wandering female has carefully deposited her treasure.

I have found eggs, and subsequently watched the caterpillars grow up (they are much harder to find), in my home village in Switzerland, but I've yet to see an adult in the village.

Guy

[Bill S]

But never underestimate the sheer time involved!!

Thanks Guy, I think you have hit the nail on the head there.

Bill

[Gibster]

Taleporia tubulosa in the New Forest today, those underwhelming sightings just keep on coming lol!

Regards finding Brown Hairstreak eggs; I can't offer anything not readily found in the books, ie edges of blackthorn thickets in good light, on the young growth, less than 4ft above ground level etc etc. But I will say that (in my own experience) if searching several apparently very similar thickets in a row (eg- a disrupted hedge affair) only one clump may hold eggs. Why some bushes are devoid of eggs whilst those alongside may be egg-laden I have no idea. My only advice would be to keep checking ALL suitable looking stands regardless of success (or lack of) on nearby thickets. Perseverence is the key. The eggs last a heck of a lot longer than the adults. The larvae are difficult to find (understatement!) unless beating twigs. Hence egg-hunting is a worthwhile (if often friutless) exercise.

Then tag the twigs and watch the larvae develop. Tis all good stuff.

Susie...you're the expert! Advice please!

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Bill,
Finding Brown Hairstreak eggs is much easier than spotting the adult insect, which is remarkably elusive on all but the very best sites. This is demonstrated by the Brown Hairstreak egg survey we are currently conducting in Sussex. Adults were recorded in 29 tetrads (2Km squares) in 2010 - this being the combined tally for all butterfly recorders. Since September 2010 a handful of enthusiasts have now found Brown Hairstreak eggs in 172 tetrads. The adult butterfly has never been recorded in the majority of these.
On the very best sites it should be possible to find c.50 eggs per hour. While searching some of the 172 tetrads, success rates have varied between 'first egg' in under a minute (first sucker examined after opening the car door), to 'first egg' after 1-2 hours of diligent searching. It can be very easy...... and it can be very hard going!
Shipton Bellinger is a good site, so I think it's probably a case of 'getting your eye in'. After finding a reasonable number it becomes much easier to focus your searches, both on likely looking plants and likely locations on the plant. You've cracked the most difficult stage - finding your first egg - so if you returned I reckon you'd find more.
Good luck! Neil

[jenks]

first sucker examined after opening the car door

Is that a reference to the person looking for the eggs or the eggs themselves ? !

[Susie]

Hi Gibster, I'm not an expert, that's Kipper! You sound like you know far more than me anyway. The only thing I would add is that when looking for eggs I initially look for the nearest likely looking tall ash tree and then search the young wood of blackthorn bushes either side of this which face south or south-east. Any bush that has lichen on isn't worth searching in my experience or if the canopy of the trees nearby would cast the bushes into shade. If there is a dip in the hedgeline which means the plant is in a sheltered sunny pocket and not too far away from some bramble then even better. If you can think yourself into the mindset of a female brown hairstreak looking for somewhere suitable to lay her eggs it helps. Doing this I have been able to go straight to a bush bearing eggs and found them on my first attempt more than once.

I see from the Sussex BC sightings page that Vince has found the most northerly of the brown hairstreak eggs so far ... sounds like a challenge to me!

[Neil Hulme]

That's pretty much spot-on Susie - and to add to your comment about 'dips in the hedge', they particularly like full 'breaks' in the hedgerow (e.g. low suckering growth either side of a gate), for the reasons you suggest.
Neil