January 2013
Re: January 2013
May be butterfly weather by Sunday. Temperatures set to hit double figures again in certain parts.
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Re: January 2013
Here in Glorious Gloucestershire we had a pleasant period of low winter sunshine in mid afternoon. I noticed two or three of those apparently same species of "Bluebottle" Flies about my patio as I did some work on my cars. First time i was able to make some progress outside for about a week now.Torbay Flyer wrote:No butterflies but this afternoon it was warm enough in Sidmouth, Devon for a couple of flies to be sunning themselves
As a pre-school boy, both my parents referred to those flies as Bluebottles. Shades of the Goon Show but, that name my parents used pre-dated the Goons by several years ...
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Re: January 2013
With the sun shining this afternoon and much milder temperatures I called on High and Over on the off chance of finding Wall Brown larvae. After 20 minutes of searching I was very surprised to find 2 of them feeding. Each one was about 1.5 cm long. They were both close together and only about 2 ft from where I found one last year.
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Re: January 2013
Excellent find (again!) Bob. How exposed were they; I've only ever seen Satyrid larvae up the grass stem when it's dark (using a torch)?!
Cheers,
- Pete
Cheers,
- Pete
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Re: January 2013
Hi Pete. Thanks for the message. I had started to hunt for them by gently moving the grass apart. However, the two I found were about 3 inches up the brown grass stems they are pictured on and I spotted them as they sat there. The surrounding grass was about 5 inches tall, both green and brown. They were actually quite easy to see despite them being so much smaller than the ones I found last year, which was in March so obviously older!! It was through looking at the Thomas/Lewington book that last year led me to the likely area and it also says that the wall larvae come out to feed on mild days. The site is in full sunshine and protected from the breeze which also helps.
Regards.
Bob.
Regards.
Bob.
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Re: January 2013
Ahah ... a micro micro-habitat...badgerbob wrote: .
The site is in full sunshine and protected from the breeze which also helps.
Regards.
Bob.
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Cotswold Cockney is the name
All aspects of Natural History is my game.
All aspects of Natural History is my game.
Re: January 2013
Remarkable footage that, Bob, given the fact that it's still January.
Larvae are hard enough to find in July!
Larvae are hard enough to find in July!
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Re: January 2013
Evidence that you can successfully observe butterflies in the dead of the UK winter. Now search the January Sallows for hibernating A.iris larvae. Easier to spot with no leaves on the shrubs ...David M wrote:Remarkable footage that, Bob, given the fact that it's still January.
Larvae are hard enough to find in July!
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Cotswold Cockney is the name
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Re: January 2013
Another trip up there today I got a shot of the larva in the undergrowth to give an idea of the terrain as well as the area it was in!!
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Re: January 2013
Showing the larva in context with its habitat was a great idea Bob
and I think the Species-Specific Albums could benefit from similar images of other species.
I have also sent you a PM.
Vince
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I have also sent you a PM.
Vince
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Re: January 2013
Bob. Some of the best postings for a long time. But how are you so convinced it's Wall Brown and not Speckled Wood? I have bred both and the larvae are almost indistinguishable.
Jack
Jack
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Re: January 2013
That's a very good question, Jack, and one I asked myself when looking at Bob's images. Aside from the paler green of the Wall larva (that Bob's images exhibit), and after looking at several photos on the web, I concluded that the placement of the most significant stripe on the side of the larva is an indicator. In the Wall, the spiracles are above this line (indicating a line much lower on the side the larva, and as shown in Bob's images) and below this line on the Speckled Wood.Jack Harrison wrote:Bob. Some of the best postings for a long time. But how are you so convinced it's Wall Brown and not Speckled Wood? I have bred both and the larvae are almost indistinguishable.
Jack
Cheers,
- Pete
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Re: January 2013
Hurrah, I have a Janaury sighting! Barely...
One single solitary Purple Hairstreak egg found during 15mins fairly intensive searching of a large oak tree. In previous years I've found several on this particular tree in a matter of minutes, so this does not bode well. I assume Purple Hairstreaks had a poor season thanks to last year's excuse of a summer, so productivity could be expected to be lower than is usual. Combine that with the marauding flocks of hungry Long-tailed Tits (well known to eat butterfly eggs when the winter weather is harsh) and I can see why I had trouble finding any at all!
Have to agree that "habitat shots" would be a very welcome addition to the site. Pete, how is it that you haven't thought of that before?
Cheers,
Gibster.
One single solitary Purple Hairstreak egg found during 15mins fairly intensive searching of a large oak tree. In previous years I've found several on this particular tree in a matter of minutes, so this does not bode well. I assume Purple Hairstreaks had a poor season thanks to last year's excuse of a summer, so productivity could be expected to be lower than is usual. Combine that with the marauding flocks of hungry Long-tailed Tits (well known to eat butterfly eggs when the winter weather is harsh) and I can see why I had trouble finding any at all!
Have to agree that "habitat shots" would be a very welcome addition to the site. Pete, how is it that you haven't thought of that before?
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Cheers,
Gibster.
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Re: January 2013
Pete, Vince and Jack. Many thanks for your comments and interest in my posts. I agree Jack that both species are very similar but going by the Thomas/ Lewington book the side stripe is much more pronounced in the wall whereas the speckled has a more pronounced stripe near the top which these do not have. Also the larva are all in grasses above rough broken ground with the grass roots exposed beneath the grass. This is a favoured egg laying type of area where the wall lays on the roots of the grass and the young larva crawls upto the grass. Having said that the main reason is that I have found many wall freshly hatched on this bank as well as the pupa I found last year. Although there are speckled woods nearby there are possibly 10 times as many wall here and it is probably one of the top sites in the UK to see this species.
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Re: January 2013
Well done that man. That's one more than meGibster wrote:Hurrah, I have a Janaury sighting! Barely...One single solitary Purple Hairstreak egg.
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Agreed - this would make a nice addition to the Habitat section associated with each species. Will think about this, given that several species would use the same habitat. And thoughts most welcome!Gibster wrote:Have to agree that "habitat shots" would be a very welcome addition to the site. Pete, how is it that you haven't thought of that before?![]()
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Cheers,
- Pete
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Re: January 2013
Hi Pete,
As it's a larval habitat (microhabitat?) would this particular image be better off in the description of the larva?
As it's a larval habitat (microhabitat?) would this particular image be better off in the description of the larva?
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Re: January 2013
It would indeed! Good thinking, especially since "habitat" could (and probably will) vary between stages for the same species.Matsukaze wrote:Hi Pete,
As it's a larval habitat (microhabitat?) would this particular image be better off in the description of the larva?
Cheers,
- Pete
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