Padfield

[Padfield]

Back in cold and gloomy Switzerland, a friendly face:



He must be very hungry by now but is wisely biding his time. Although sallows in the sun are in full leaf now, his shady twig has only tight leaf buds on it:



The seed heads visible beyond him are on the same tree but in the sun (when the sun shines, that is). In close-up they look like this:



The leaves are still furled but the bracts are open - I have no idea if iris cats will eat bracts if they are hungry but I suspect they would.

I live at 1000m. My local quercus eggs are still unhatched, unlike those I found in Suffolk, which were all hatched:



It was such a gloomy day today I couldn't manoeuvre that egg into a bright, well-lit angle for a photo.

The betulae eggs are also wisely waiting. This picture shows the condition of the blackthorn at this altitude - flower and leaf buds both still closed but poised for action.



I know from past observation that as soon as the leaf buds open the eggs hatch and the larvae zoom out along the twigs to the fresh leaves. If this one goes along the twig at whose base it is laid it will be very well placed for me to get good photos, but it may go up along the branch to denser leaf clusters. Brown hairstreaks are quite mobile as caterpillars and the same individual takes a lot of locating even when you check up every day.

The forecast is for rain, cold, cloud and snow for the foreseeable future.

Guy

[NickB]

Glad you have some things to keep you occupied during this cold and wet spell we both seem to be having.
Nice to see Aurelian; his DNA must have been telling him "Not just yet...." as we experienced that warm spell.
Fingers crossed....
N

[David M]

Aurelian looks to have brightened up in colour lately, Guy. Nice to see he's still thriving.

[Padfield]

Yes, Aurelian seems fit and healthy - and he has brightened somewhat since the winter. Fantastic isn't it? They even get greener as the leaf buds start appearing...

The wych elm is in leaf here. This is the foodplant of choice for commas in my woods but I couldn't find any eggs or larvae today. The alder buckthorn is nowhere near being in leaf yet, perhaps explaining why brimstones are late on the wing in my woods. I've seen just one male up here so far this year.

I forgot to post this caterpillar, which I found today crossing a road, probably off to pupate somewhere:





I feel I should know what it is but I don't. I'm confident someone on UK Butterfies does, though...

Guy

[Reverdin]

try... Spilosoma lubricipeda or Diacrisia sannio, Arctiidae... closest I can find..??

[Padfield]

Thanks Rev - yes, you've definitely pointed me at the right family and perhaps at the right species (D. sannio).

Switzerland is still a cold and butterfly-free zone, at my altitude at least. Since 1st April I have now seen a grand total of 5 individual butterflies, of which three were in Suffolk. The two Swiss ones were a comma and a violet fritillary that I spotted while I cycled into school yesterday afternoon. The sun shone a little and after school (c. 4.00pm) I checked a local meadow but nothing was flying. It has snowed off and on this week and although Saturday morning might produce a sunny spell or two the end is not in sight yet.

Guy

[David M]

Seems like much of Europe is suffering at the moment, Guy. It's truly dreadful here and I believe southern France isn't exactly roasting right now. A work colleague's going to the Algarve tomorrow and when she checked the weather forecast there were high teens rather than mid twenties returned. What is happening?

[essexbuzzard]

All those people who prayed for rain-i blame them! We do need rain,but i'm happy to have a warm,sunny spring and summer first.

[NickB]

All those people who prayed for rain-i blame them!

..but I stopped doing the rain-dance once it started.....

[Jack Harrison]

Norfolk today

Jack

[David M]

What's the rain situation in Norfolk right now, Jack?

You must have had a fair bit over the last couple of weeks (at least sufficient to stop the farmers from contemplating self harm)?

[Jack Harrison]

Yes plenty enough rain this month but of course the groundwater reserves are presumably still low. Moreover it has been so cold that I guess evaporation hasn't been an issue and much of the rain will have gone into the ground. Our winter replenishing-rains have come late but I would presume have done a lot of good. As an example, it's been difficult to find a dry enough spell to cut the grass. So certainly the hosepipe ban won't be causing anybody concern at the moment.

Jack

[Padfield]

There was a slight break in the cloud this morning so I cycled off to my nearest short-tailed blue colony to see if anything was prepared to brave the weather. Almost nothing was.

A single violet fritillary (dia) was spreading himself flat to the hazy sun in a vain effort to warm up but he was the only one of that species to be seen. And the only other butterfly moving was a small heath, skulking around in the grass.





In the afternoon I checked on Aurelian. This is a little like watching paint dry - he has chosen the very last twig on the entire tree to come into leaf! These three shots show him on 26th March, 12th April and today, 21st April:


(26th March, immediately after moving to the end of the twig)


(12th April)


(21st April)

The blackthorn is also not in leaf yet and the brown hairstreak eggs are unhatched. Last year they hatched on 15th April but the year before it wasn't until 26th. They all hatched within a few days of each other in both those years, though some eggs didn't hatch at all.

By 4.00pm the sun had come out and I saw singles of peacock, wood white, green-veined white, orange tip and violet fritillary, all in Huémoz.

In March I saw 32 species of butterfly. Things were still flying on April 1st but since then I have seen exactly 12 individuals, of 8 species. The pattern this year has been for prolonged blocks of stable weather: very cold in February, warm in March and cold in April. The first brooders desperately need a little warmth to break this present cold spell as there is only so long they can sit in the grass waiting.

Guy

[Padfield]

A church AGM in Montreux kept me occupied until 2.00pm, after which I zoomed back along the Rhône Valley as the forecast was for some bright spells in the afternoon. The forecast was correct and the clouds and rain of the morning gave way to sunshine by 3.30pm, albeit with a fairly strong wind. Temperatures are still low (cycling down to Aigle from Huémoz in the morning, in the rain, I needed gloves to stop my fingers numbing).

It seems the butterflies are still reluctant to fly and my guess is that any that could put off emergence had done so, as the sun brought out very little indeed.

I did find a single Adonis blue:



Equally fresh were this Chapman's blue ...



... and this common blue:



Apart from these there were a few wood whites, a few small, green-veined and Bath whites, several Berger's pale clouded yellows (all males), a small heath and two peacocks.





A month ago the hills were alive with the sound of butterfly wings. There must have been thousands all around me today, too, but hidden in nooks and crannies and in the grass, saving their energies for a more promising day. The present forecast is for such a day to happen before next week is out...

Guy

[Padfield]

The Föhn blew today - our hot, gusty wind - driving away the dank coldness of recent weeks. For the first time this April, butterflies flew in decent numbers, though the stiff breeze meant it was difficult to get photographs. My target species was rosy grizzled skipper. I was confident of finding it because although restricted to a tiny area in Switzerland it is not rare there and I know its favourite nectaring sites. Here is an underside shot, showing the characteristic anvil, edged in dark, and the signe de Blachier:



And here is an upperside:



I was also looking for Camberwell beauties, which I hadn't seen yet in Switzerland (only in Italy). As expected, these were defending territories along a stream, but it was intesting that the only one to pose was very worn. To the best of my knowledge he had had no chance to fly this year until the last couple of days but he looked quite battle-scarred. Today he was fighting off not only a second Camberwell beauty but also several peacocks and a large tortoiseshell, whose territories overlapped. The skies above recalled the Battle of Britain!





De Prunner's ringlets were flying...



... and both swallowtails were on the wing. This is a scarce swallowtail:



Here are some other species from today:


(wood white)


(Queen of Spain)


(Adonis blue)


(dingy skipper)


(brimstone)

Other species flying were: small white, green-veined white, Bath white, orange tip, Berger's pale clouded yellow, common blue, Chapman's blue, Adonis blue, holly blue, Provençal short-tailed blue, green underside blue, northern brown argus, small copper, violet fritillary, Glanville fritillary, peacock, red admiral, comma, small tortoiseshell, wall, small heath, speckled wood, mallow skipper and grizzled skipper, bringing the day total to 35 species. Many species I might have expected to see were still not flying - or not willing to brave the wind - but I do have the feeling the year is back on course again, after a very barren month of April.

Guy

[MikeOxon]

I do have the feeling the year is back on course again

Let's hope so ! Your photos have provided some brightness on another rain-sodden day here in Britain. Perhaps your Fohn could be persuaded to blow a little further North?

Mike

[David M]

Let's hope so ! Your photos have provided some brightness on another rain-sodden day here in Britain.

Indeed they have. I almost feel as though I've seen the light at the end of the tunnel by proxy.

Thanks, Guy. At least I now know that butterflies still exist.

[Padfield]

We've had as poor an April as you have and it was tremendous to see so much flying so soon after the gloomy times. But I have to say, a month of dankness is not rare here. Typically, May is the poor month, with cold, fog and sometimes week after week of no sun. In 2010 it happened in June - this year it was April (though there's nothing to say that was the last of it).

Sadly, we can't share the Föhn, which is a mountain wind and a fascinating phenomenon. It originates with humid air flowing up from the Mediterranean (often bringing fine Sahara sand-dust with it, which it deposits all over cars) but gets its true character when the moisture is condensed out as it rises over the Alps. It falls on the lee side as dry and almost artificially heated air (carrying all the latent heat released when the water vapour condensed). According to Wikipedia it can raise temperatures by as much as 30°C in just a few hours - and I can vouch that it certainly feels like that. If it reached as far as the UK, the same air mass would cool down again as it passed over the Channel, vaporising water.

Most people, when they reach a certain age, react to the Föhn physically, usually by experiencing headaches. I get some mild symptoms and always know it's brewing even before I go outside.

Guy

[David M]

Oddly enough, Guy, when the east of Scotland was experiencing record March temperatures a few weeks back, this is precisely what it was attributed to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/feeds/17448378

[Jack Harrison]

The Föhn is a regular phenomenon is eastern Scotland not only giving rise to high temperatures in places like Aberdeen, Moray Firth, but is loved by glider pilots as superb mountain waves can occur. I have regularly been above 25,000 feet in a glider using these waves.

But the Föhn is not always so appreciated by airline pilots. I used to fly to Innsbruck and on one occasion a southerly Föhn was blowing but the wind curls round in the lee of the mountains and can be quite different in direction. The runway at Innsbruck – not all that long - runs east to west. It was a difficult choice which direction to land. If I came in from the east, the wind was behind me, but if I opted to land from the other direction, the wind was behind me at the beginning of the runway at that end too. In the centre of the runway, there was no wind at all (but you don't touch down in the middle!!) The charts to calculate landing distance required were useless in these conditions. In the event, I landed from the west and stopped with plenty of runway remaining.

If this all sounds a bit scary to you would-be passengers, don’t worry. Airline pilots need a considerable level of experience and extra training to be allowed to land at places like Innsbruck. Our co-pilots – obviously less experienced - were not allowed to land the aircraft at Innsbruck.

Happy days, unlike this thoroughly miserable wet Sunday in Norfolk, the 4,891st day of my retirement (just worked that out – seems an awful lot!)

Jack