March 2012

[millerd]

That Tortoiseshell is lovely, Vince. That looks like an interesting spot - a stone's throw from the end of the tram line, too, so pretty accessible.

I see the weather will pick up after the weekend - typical...

Dave

[P.J.Underwood]

It so happened that on March 11th.I had a birthday party.Lo and behold this butterfly decided to come.Perhaps this is an omen for the season.
P.J.U.

[Vince Massimo]

That Tortoiseshell is lovely, Vince. That looks like an interesting spot - a stone's throw from the end of the tram line, too, so pretty accessible.

Small Tortoiseshell - Hutchinson's Bank, Addington, Surrey 15-March-2012

Thanks Dave

Hutchinson's Bank really is a little gem of a site, but falls short of places like Denbies Hillside in terms of species. It does however have a strong colony of Small Blue and is only 8 miles from home. Unfortunately, it lost Dark Green Fritillary some years ago, but one of the aims of the present management regime is to provide conditions to encourage natural re-colonisation. Over the winter some huge areas of scrub have been cleared, and other important improvements have been made, all funded by a national lottery grant.

Best regards,

Vince

[Susie]

Not butterflies but a flower .. blooming cuckoo flower! You know what that means, keep your eyes peeled for orange tips, chaps. With the weather forecast for the week set fair I wouldn't be surprised if one was seen.

[David M]

Not butterflies but a flower .. blooming cuckoo flower! You know what that means, keep your eyes peeled for orange tips, chaps. With the weather forecast for the week set fair I wouldn't be surprised if one was seen.

Yes, I'll give it no more than 10 days before someone comes up with a male Orange Tip sighting....closely followed by Large, Small & Green-Veined White.

[IAC]

Hi all,
Wrong way round David. Small White today jinking along a wooded bank looking for a mate....it will be a long wait me thinks. Very early for Small White, earliest I have ever seen one up here in the Scottish Borders.

Iain.

[David M]

Wrong way round David. Small White today jinking along a wooded bank looking for a mate....it will be a long wait me thinks. Very early for Small White, earliest I have ever seen one up here in the Scottish Borders.

Amazing, Iain. Must have spent time indoors over winter to be out so early up there.

[Lee Hurrell]

Not wishing to take anything from Iain, a Small White was reported from Hadlow, Kent on 15th March according to the BC Kent website.

Lee

[IAC]

Hi all,

Amazing, Iain. Must have spent time indoors over winter to be out so early up there.

I have reason to believe he did not. Nearest building about a mile from the spot I seen him. My reasons are the size. A very small specimen indeed...very underdeveloped. I have seen this in previous years with Orange Tip males emerging a good two and three weeks before they should. Again they were very small sized. This is highly unusual and probably a result of local micro climates, temperatures in shelter with a strong sun have been very high for March. I would not be surprised to see an Orange Tip male bobbing about over the next few days....but I have a feeling this sighting and others to come over the next few weeks will be freak events.

Iain.

[NickB]

Here Cambs & Essex BC reported a Small White on 1st March.....
2011 was 24th March...

[NickB]

Visited my own Comma Corners in the Cemetery; 2 Commas basking and a bonus flighty Small Tortoiseshell

[David M]

My reasons are the size. A very small specimen indeed...very underdeveloped. I have seen this in previous years with Orange Tip males emerging a good two and three weeks before they should. Again they were very small sized. This is highly unusual and probably a result of local micro climates, temperatures in shelter with a strong sun have been very high for March. I would not be surprised to see an Orange Tip male bobbing about over the next few days....but I have a feeling this sighting and others to come over the next few weeks will be freak events.

That's an interesting theory.

Is it just me or does that Small White seem almost bereft of its black markings too?

[marmari]

A visit today to Woodhouse Copse in search again of the elusive Large Tortoiseshell.I have made several visits over the last few weeks but not a sniff of a LT.Still ,always hopeful!
Very sunny in the copse and warming up.At least 12 Commas on show,a Red Admiral,and a Peacock.
Also very pleased to see a Speckled Wood.

[Gibster]

Had a Small Tortoiseshell over my truck today, seen whilst delivering in the rural, tranquil beauty spot that is central Croydon

Also, some news via Birdguides... "14:28 19/03/12 Insect News: Clouded Yellow butterfly in Devon in a Paignton garden today"
Possibly just a male Brimstone, but you never know!

Cheers,

Gibster.

[Nick Broomer]

One Large White seen today at 12.56, and a Small white at 13.10. during my lunch break.

[Susie]

I had a rather splendid morning this morning at Earnley Butterfly House (see my diary later for more details if you're interested) in the company of Mark Colvin and Colin Knight. On the way home I stopped off briefly at Burton Mill Pond and saw three commas, two brimstones and a small white. These were my first native butterflies of 2012. I was chuffed to bits! It made up for having to come home and do Tesco shopping and housework, well almost.

[David M]

So, we now have Large White, Small White and Speckled Wood on the wing. Surely the first Orange Tip can't be far away?

[NickB]

Ever wondered where our early butterflies nectar?
Spotted these two earlier today....

And that got me to thinking...A lot of motorway blackthorn along the London end of the M11 is already in blossom - apparently, it is continental stock from Belgium - a month earlier than our native species.
Could this sort of thing help the spread and survival rates of our over-wintering species, I wonder...?
N

[Susie]

Native blackthorn has been flowering for weeks in sheltered spots here.

Brimstone flying at Box Hill, Surrey.

[NickB]

Hi Susie - I know you are good at bees and bee-mimics....
Any idea what this is? Anyone else...