Neil Hulme

[Neil Hulme]

White Letter Day

This afternoon (24th July) I took a break from Emperor hunting and headed to Hollingbury Park (Brighton & Hove) in the hope of finding a female White-letter Hairstreak. I suspect that this species has suffered the same fate as the Emperor in Sussex, and it's possible that a similar downward spiral in numbers was initiated by the mid July gales and torrential rain which lasted for three days in 2010. Being an arboreal species, working to the same calendar as the Emperor, this seems quite likely. One thing's for sure, they're in short supply this year, despite an abundance of elm trees in the city. In the end I managed to find one, but that's an atypically low return for several hours searching in perfect weather.

[Neil Hulme]

Fermyn Diary

Day 1 (25th July): Arrived at Fermyn Wood early afternoon, but Emperor activity had unsurprisingly ceased due to the heat. At 5.30 pm the evening flight began, with 6-7 males sighted before bedtime at c.7 pm. 1 male grounded.

Day 2 (26th July): Thanks to my trusty steed, a folding Japanese commuter bicycle without gears or brakes, I managed to cover a huge area throughout the day, encompassing Fermyn, Lady, Souther and Titchmarsh Woods. Activity started at 8.55 am and I saw 13 different grounded males before 1.15 pm, when things went very quiet. Visitations to various body-parts were regular, with 3 trouserings, a booting and one on my camera case. I had another grounded male at 6.30 pm and at 6.45 pm a short but frenetic evening flight began. Along the straight immediately below the Lyveden Way bend 6 or 7 males were oak-edging and constantly squabbling with the numerous (15-20) Purple Hairstreaks in the canopy. Best bundle was 4 Emperors and 8–9 Hairstreaks (iris won). 2 males were seen on a high sap run and male activity stopped suddenly at 7.15 pm. With impeccable timing 2 females arrived here at 7.20 pm and sat motionless in the crowns of adjacent oaks, enjoying the last of the sunshine. 20-25 individual Emperors seen throughout the day.

Day 3 (27th July): Constant touring over the same area brought a tally of 16 grounded males, including 2 aberrant specimens. Activity again stopped before 1.30 pm and sadly I had to leave before the evening flight commenced. Visitations were again common, with 2 trouserings, one on my watch and another on my bicycle. Total numbers were similar to yesterday and no freshly-emerged specimens were seen. Iris appears to be at peak and it will become increasingly difficult to find examples in good condition.

Aberrant Forms: On Day 3 I saw 2 different aberrant males on the ground. The first was in Titchmarsh Wood (pictured). Unless corrected by those more knowledgeable I would call this ab. stictica, a determination I would also make for the similar specimen seen by Mike Coleman in Bentley Wood on 23.7.12 (Purple Empire). The second was a much more extreme form, which grounded repeatedly throughout the morning and was photographed by several other visitors, close to where the tracks branch in Lady Wood. Unfortunately my photo opportunity was scuppered by a jogger (you are forgiven madam). This is almost certainly the same butterfly as photographed by Phil Beard on 24.7.12 and Rev John Woolmer on 26.7.12 (Purple Empire). Again, unless otherwise advised, I would call this ab. afflicta. The even more extreme form photographed by Charles Nicol on 26.7.12 (UK Butterflies) is undoubtedly a good male ab. lugenda, and must be different to the pristine male ab. lugenda photographed by others either that same morning, or the day before. No doubt about Matthew’s (23.7.12) female ab. lugenda!

Other butterflies seen included 3-4 Silver-washed Fritillary and 5-6 White Admiral, most being fresh specimens. 3 White-letter Hairstreak were observed ovipositing, with regular activity at the first intersection on Cherry Lap.

As always it was a pleasure to spend time in the woods here, and it was good to catch up with one or two old friends and meet other like-minded enthusiasts. It seems that iris has an ever-increasing band of followers.

[Neil Freeman]

Great report Neil

I will have to get me one of those little bike if go to Fermyn again, I was there on Tuesday and with fellow UKBer Tuts wandered from Fermyn though to the south side of Titchmarsh woods a few times.
Went home kn*ckered but very happy though

Cheers,

Neil F.

[dilettante]

So it was you I saw!. I thought I recognised you (from pictures on here) when I was just leaving on Wednesday afternoon as you arrived on your bike. Glad you had a more fruitful visit than I did.

[Neil Hulme]

Shame I missed you dilettante - we must get those UKB T-shirts! Try to get to Fermyn by 10am on 1st July next year (assuming we don't get another deluge and late season). See you there.
Neil

[Pauline]

That's a lovely closed wing shot of the White Admiral on bramble Neil . I've been trying to get one like that all season and failed !

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks Pauline. I wasn't expecting or targeting White Admirals that day - I only had eyes for the Emperor. It always seems easier when you're not trying, and the harder you try the more difficult it gets!
Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Sussex Emperor Update

Following recent Purple discoveries in East Sussex by Peter Farrant (2+ males at Warningore Wood) and Michael Blencowe (single males at Wadhurst and Middleton Plantation/Brocks Wood), I headed to the latter location with Michael this afternoon (2nd August). In the breifest of weather breaks, and despite strong winds, we saw a pair of males in combat at 15.30 hrs, followed by a very large female in the wayleave at just past 16.00 hrs. We now know the source of the Emperors which have visited the back garden bird table of a B&B in the nearby village of Streat in recent years.

Elsewhere, despite tragically poor numbers in Sussex this season, single Emperors have been seen on several of the unusual sites found along the very crest of the South Downs, stretching from Heyshott in the West to Lewes in the East. Hopefully next year will see the start of a local recovery.

Earlier in the day I was treated to one of the most spectacular sights I have witnessed in over forty years of butterfly-watching, but I'll wait for others to provide an independent assessment of my numbers before spilling the beans. In this generally awful year I have just seen a great big fat pile of them!

[ChrisC]

come on Neil, been waiting all day ...............

[Neil Hulme]

Chalkhill Explosion!

Yesterday morning (2nd August) I witnessed something rivalled only by the great Painted Lady emergence on the Downs near Keymer in 2009. At Friston Gallops I saw the Chalkhill Blue in numbers rarely seen since Victorian times. I counted the butterflies in a number of 1 metre squares and came to an average of 5.2, with the highest count being 33 (not gathered on faeces - just lying in the grass). I stopped counting pairs ‘in cop’ at 150. Despite cool, overcast and windy conditions, whenever a little warmth forced its way through the cloud the whole ground appeared to move, shimmering in silvery-blue as far ahead as I could see. I used the bamboo cane I carry to put them up during periods when the majority were grounded, in order to save as many as possible from my foot-fall. It made for an incredible sight. I’ve seen the species in thousands here before, but currently the numbers are far in excess of anything I’ve ever experienced, with the exception of the Keymer Ladies. I have used satellite imagery to determine the area over which I saw the butterflies in these numbers; an area substantially greater than 30,000 square metres, although they occurred in lesser densities in large areas of longer grass towards the top of the slope and for some distance to the south. In order to play safe, as these quantities will always be difficult to determine accurately, I estimate that there must be between 150,000 and 200,000 Chalkhill Blues on the wing here, in the relatively small area surveyed.

I asked Michael Blencowe and Mike Mullis to make an independent assessment of these huge numbers, and their efforts to monitor the entire site continued throughout today (3rd August). I also returned this morning, this time with my father, primarily to capture the event on video, but we had to retreat after a thorough soaking. While there, it soon became evident from the large number of paired butterflies (up to 4 pairs seen in a single metre square) that the emergence continues at a phenomenal pace, and will probably peak sometime next week (6th August onwards). After assessing a few more 1 metre squares, and taking into consideration the rather conservative figure used for the area on which to base my calculations, I suspect that the true number is well in excess of my original estimate.

Update: Michael and Mike have now completed their much more exhaustive survey of the entire Friston Gallops grassland area, much of which is improving as the result of a change in the cutting regime, following discussions between the Forestry Commission and Butterfly Conservation. Their total figure of 820,000 does not surprise me, and I suspected that the number just at the northern end of the site might be in the order of half a million, but initially didn’t want to venture such a figure without some corroborative evidence.

In such a poor year for most butterflies, why are we seeing such an abundance of Chalkhill Blues? I suspect that the ultimate size of the potentially largest colonies is often limited by the availability of suitable food-plants, with droughting and competition for resources being a common scenario in most summers. This year we are all-too-aware of the conditions that will have led to exceptionally lush growth of the horseshoe vetch, for once capable of supporting a veritable army of Chalkhill Blue caterpillars.

Of related interest, in the last week or so we have had reports of Chalkhill Blue males well off the Downs, at Hailsham Country Park, Horam and Coggins Mill near Mayfield. These three sites plot out on a straight line trending south to north. Friston Gallops lies to the SSW, with the greatest distance from Friston being Coggins Mill at 17.5 miles.

Make no mistake, this is the big butterfly event of the year in Sussex (and further afield). Get out there and enjoy it, but if visiting in dull weather please make every attempt possible to avoid treading on too many!

male

female

[Susie]

Wow, Neil!

I know the numbers were good at Denbies a while back and thought it was the same cause as you've stated.

It is a shame there are not enough sites out there for all the thousands off offspring these butterflies will produce.

[Padfield]

What an amazing thing to witness. I imagine overspill from the centres of population explosion will provide genetic reinforcement for small or moribund colonies and perhaps colonise fresh areas too - must be good. If the UK is anything like Switzerland there are plenty of insectivorous birds who had a lean spring and will benefit enormously from a good supply of protein to bring up stronger summer broods as well!

I'm sorry to miss this phenomenon.

Guy

[Neil Freeman]

In an age when the word 'amazing' is often overused, for once this sounds like a perfect time to use it.....Absolutely Amazing

Neil F.

[Neil Hulme]

Yep, totes amazeballs. That's it ... I'm banned from my own diary.
Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Chalkhill Explosion - More

Yesterday (4th August) I returned to Friston Gallops for another helping of this mind-blowing event. This time I retraced Michael Blencowe's and Mike Mullis' footsteps, as I was keen to see for myself how far along the huge site this Chalkhill extravaganza continued. Despite their report I was still amazed at the numbers way back towards the coast, such a distance away from the core area. In previous years, even when the population has been high, there were very few away from the northern part of the grassland. Unsurprisingly, when exceptional numbers appear, the variety in the gene pool comes tumbling out. As the butterflies began to roost I made a quick search for aberrant forms, finding 7 ab. postcaeca (6 male and a stunning female) in about 45 minutes.

Male ab. postcaeca

Female ab. postcaeca

Friston Gallops looking North

[NickB]

Interesting report - in Cambs, where our colonies mostly inhabit linear features - Dykes, old railway lines - or are surrounded by agricultural land or unsuitably managed NRs, there is little habitat to colonise outside of these narrow confines. (Over the past few years, a satellite colony has established itself about 5 or 6 miles away - again on a Dyke - the Fleam Dyke, where management practices and natural rabbit-grazing provide ideal conditions for the larvae and ants that support them....)
So far, it looks like being another good year - but as it is later and the emergence seems to have been longer this year - the concentrations have not been as high as last year, so far as I can tell.
Nice abs Neil!

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Neil,

That's a really super shot of the male ab. postcaeca. Its simplicity in composition and detail is really stunning.

Now back from abroad I can see there's some catching up to be done ...

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

[Susie]

Unsurprisingly, when exceptional numbers appear, the variety in the gene pool comes tumbling out. As the butterflies began to roost I made a quick search for aberrant forms, finding 7 ab. postcaeca (6 male and a stunning female) in about 45 minutes.

Beautiful photos, Neil.

Is that what is causing all the abs now? Just genetic chance showing because there are such high numbers? Nothing to do with the exceptionally hot weather we had just over a week ago cooking the wee critters in the ground when they were forming their colours?

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks Susie.

"Is that what is causing all the abs now? Just genetic chance showing because there are such high numbers?". The short answer is "yes". The complex issue of genetically versus environmentally driven aberrations, which in this case involves discussion of spot production, requires the sort of one-finger-typing time available only when the butterflies have hung up their boots for the year. The prolonged, extremely hot weather which sometimes leads to a high incidence of crippled specimens lacking spots hasn't been a factor this year; the short warm spell we had a few weeks back wasn't in the same league as the drought conditions that roasted Denbies last year.

Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Running Slow

There's little doubt that the awful weather we've suffered this year is still affecting the butterfly calendar. Last weekend (5th August) I crossed the county line to look at Southleigh Forest and Havant Thicket (both in Hampshire), where a few Purple Emperors have been recorded this season. Emperors failed to show but at least 15 freshly emerged Brimstones were very busy nectaring along the ride edges, oblivious to members of the opposite sex. The first flush of summer Brimstones is usually seen in the later part of July.

Usually keeping to the same timetable is the Peacock, but it was only yesterday (8th August) that I first saw the species in any numbers this summer. 5 or 6 brand new males were gliding between the thistles in a rough meadow below Cissbury Ring. As Jack mentioned recently, if this was a rarity it would probably be one of the most highly prized butterflies on the planet.

Male Purple Emperors are still being seen with some regularity, even in Sussex where numbers have been low this season. In most years I give up looking for Emperors on about the 25th July. The season is still running two weeks late!