March 2011

[FISHiEE]

Hummingbird Hawk Moth at Stanstead House Garden Centre sunday at 12:00 feeding on the Pansies allowing close views for the customers there for several minutes. It was quite grey and cool but it seemd to be quite happy in the conditions!

[David M]

First Holly Blue in a garden in Melville Street Ryde IOW today.

Impressive! Just seen the weather forecast. 18C in the south east on Wednesday.

[Lee Hurrell]

Just seen the weather forecast. 18C in the south east on Wednesday.

If the sun shines that just might tempt a few Spring Leps out to play somewhere!

[Susie]

Four + brimstones, three peacocks, two commas and a small tortoiseshell today. Didn't see the orange tip I was hoping to find but it was a splendid day anyway and there's always tomorrow!

[NickB]

Disappointing cool and cloudy day which only threatened to get sunny once or twice, so no action over here

[59 SPECIES]

10 little scraps of joy for me today- 9 male Brimmies and a single Comma fluttering around a Prunus. All seen along the A46 by-pass in Lincoln.

[NickMorgan]

Hurray! Spring has finally arrived in East Lothian. Despite quite strong winds I spotted my first two butterflies of 2011. A comma and small tortoiseshell squabbling over a sunny sheltered spot near Haddington which has provided early sightings in previous years.
The countryside rangers had previously spotted a peacock on 22nd February and a small tortoiseshell on 2nd March, during a mild spell, but then nothing until today. Today they also reported a peacock and two small tortoiseshells on the coast.
It did seem to be a long winter!

[NickB]

Four more Brimmies (male) and my first ST of the year in the Cemetery at lunchtime, nectaring on cherry blossom

(I did climb into the tree to get a better shot, but - you guessed it - it flew away!)
N

[Perseus]

Hello,

22 March 2011
It was my second butterfly sighting of the year but I suspect that the Peacock Butterfly at the footpath entrance to the Waterworks Road by the Steyning Road was the same one seen two days ago. A minute later a Comma Butterfly was seen at rest on the verge of the Waterworks Road. With a spell of sunshine I visited Mill Hill for the first time since January. A Brimstone Butterfly flew rapidly over the shorn southern part of Mill Hill Nature Reserve and over the lower slopes before disturbing another Peacock Butterfly on a Sweet Violet. The lower slopes were covered in abundant Sweet Violets visited by a few Honey Bees and occasional Peacock (about 6) and Brimstone Butterflies (at least 3). At least one faded Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly was spotted over the slopes cleared of Privet by the conservation workers.
About a dozen butterflies of four species

20 March 2011
A spell of brief sunshine brought a Peacock Butterfly out of hibernation, flighty and in good condition, my first butterfly of the year visited Sweet Violets on the verges of the Waterworks Road, Old Shoreham.

A Brimstone Butterfly was seen on Lancing Ring.

Brimstone Report by Friends of Lancing Ring
8 March 2011
My first butterfly of the year was a Comma found basking on a warm south facing fence in south Lancing.
Report by Jan Hamblett on the Lancing Villager.

First Adur Butterfly Dates 2003 to 2011
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/ButterfliesFFT.htm

Adur Butterfly & Large Moth List
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Butterfly-list2011.html

Cheers

Andy Horton
Adur@glaucus.org.uk
Adur Valley Nature Notes
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2011.html
Adur Valley Nature Notes: March 2011
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/March2011.html
Sussex Downs Facebook Group
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111843132181316

[Susie]

That's a lovely photo, Nick

There was a peacock, a comma and five brimstones (including a female) at Kingley Vale today

[JohnR]

Painted Lady. My old cousin says that he saw two Painted Ladies last Saturday in his garden in Cawsand. Since his garden is the first at about sea level on the estuary and he is 95 and an amateur naturalist he should know one when he sees it! Bit early if you ask me but then the grockle season gets earlier every year.

[marmari]

Another warm and sunny day here and two locations produced numerous Commas,4 brimstone(one female),2 peacocks and what must be a bee of some sort.no doubt someone will be able to tell me what they are called,please.
The female brimstone was flitting about feeding on primrose,but stopped for a while to enjoy the sun.

[millerd]

Not a butterfly (I had to go to work today), but while digging myself out of bed this morning around 7, I heard a cuckoo...

Dave

[NickB]

... and what must be a bee of some sort

....A Bee Fly - Bombylius major - rather comical creatures - but cute

[marmari]

Thanks,yes,right cuties.

[Perseus]

... and what must be a bee of some sort

....A Bee Fly - Bombylius major - rather comical creatures - but cute

I had a Bee-fly today as well.

Andy Horton
Mill Hill, Old Shoreham

[Lee Hurrell]

Cracking pictures Marmari

Cheers

Lee

[Perseus]

Painted Lady. My old cousin says that he saw two Painted Ladies last Saturday in his garden in Cawsand. Since his garden is the first at about sea level on the estuary and he is 95 and an amateur naturalist he should know one when he sees it! Bit early if you ask me but then the grockle season gets earlier every year.

Hello,

I have seen them in February, but none this year and none at all last year.

Andy Horton

[marmari]

For those of you who do not know already and may find of interest I came across this report on Bee Flies in a lacal newspaper.

Bee-flies – Mischievous Mimics
April 2009

Now that the spring flowers are appearing, and the weather has warmed up sufficiently, bees and flies are making their presence felt. There are certainly a few Bumble Bees and Hover-flies about but a careful look and you may see a Bee-fly. There are several members of this family and they all bear a strong superficial resemblance to bumble-bees, although their long, spindly legs are very different from those of the bees.

Medium sized pear-shaped bee mimics, their most striking feature is their long dark proboscis (feeding snout). Although they hover a metre or two off the ground, they are best seen feeding on spring flowers such as Primrose, Ground Ivy, Lesser Celandine and Violet. Locally they are particularly partial to the blue flowers of Narrow-leaved Lungwort and a good place to spot them is by the main car park in Firestone Copse. In my garden they show a fondness for aubretia, just coming into its own now, and they hover above the flowers looking for all the world like a miniature sort of Humming-bird Hawk Moth. Their furry bodies and smaller size soon dispel that impression though. If you have good hearing you might notice that their flight produces a rather high-pitched whining sound.

Things are never simple and sure enough there are two similar species that appear early in the year. The Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major), the more common one, has a dark leading edge to the wings (see photograph). The Dotted Bee-fly (Bombylius discolor) has paler leading edges with black dots on the rest of the wing. It’s best to wait until they settle. Close focus binoculars are very helpful. They’re both on the wing between late March and early May.

Innocent they may look but they hide a more sinister nature. If you’re lucky enough to see one pressing its furry abdomen (tail end) on bare dusty soil, it’s actually collecting dust with which it will cover its eggs as camouflage. Egg-laying is done by flicking the abdomen towards patches of bare ground. These Bee-flies are parasitic; their larvae feed on the larvae of mining-bees in their burrows. The sunny south facing bank of my garden is home to lots of solitary mining-bees, and that is clearly why it is also a popular spot for these parasitic mimics.

The Bee-flies are harmless to humans, bearing no sting; so next time you are enjoying a quiet time sitting in the garden, just have a look round and see if you can spot one of these insects. They are common in the south of England, but rare elsewhere. I certainly never saw one when I was living in County Durham

[Susie]

ORANGE TIP!!!!! Whoooohooooo! I chased it down the road but it flew over a six foot hedge so no photo I am afraid. Gotta go to work this afternoon but by jingo it's a good start to the day Also brimstones, peacocks, comma and small tortoiseshells.