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Have a goodun
Wurzel
Your favourite, Wurzel!Wurzel wrote:The backlit shot is a cracker tooWurzel
Hi Dave,millerd wrote:1st September
During the course of the day, we saw a regular succession of Red Admirals fly in from the sea, and a number Small Tortoiseshells patrolling the water's edge. A wander through the heather on the dunes behind the shore showed that the Red Admirals were congregating there, nectaring avidly on the heather in groups of three or four. In this area we also found a Small Copper, a Brimstone and an aged Grayling, plus a great number of Silver-Y moths. We had a bit of lunch and a cup of tea at the NT café, which had potted lavender dotted around by way of decoration. Up pipes Elliot: "Look, Dad, a butterfly. It's a Painted Lady!" And so it was. My first (and thus far, only) one of the year. It too was feeding like there was no tomorrow, and only once paused to bask on the ground - presumably it was also a new arrival from the south. The lavender was also playing host to a White - I initially took it to be a Large White by the size, but I now think it's a Small White because the black tips are not extensive enough for the other species.
Dave
Hi Dave,millerd wrote:From this and other posts, it looks like the South Coast is playing host to a lot of immigrant Red Admirals.
Dave
Interesting stuff.millerd wrote:I think it's believed they do so as larvae. Not strictly hibernating, though - instead the warm microclimate down there may allow them to remain just about active. Proper cold would kill them in all stages, as their natural home is the Med and points south. One curiosity is that Clouded Yellows are not thought to be colonial - so any spring butterflies would disperse, rather than stay and breed in situ. Breed twice in fact, to maintain an annual appearance in late summer/autumn as they seem to do.
A bit of a mystery, and one that should probably be studied for a longer period. Maybe this is being/has been done - does anyone know?
Dave