Pete Eeles

[millerd]

Wonderful PBF pictures, Pete. The intensity of the colour when they are new is amazing.

Dave

[Nick Broomer]

Sounds like you had a great day, although a hectic one, but well worth it, with some lovely photos.

All the best, Nick.

[Vince Massimo]

Cracking stuff Pete . I particularly like the mating pair and am looking forward to the results of your latest livestock intake.
No harm in buying a lottery ticket for this Saturday either.

Cheers,

Vince

[jonhd]

Hi Pete,

Jon here - we met at the Dukes site. They certainly were dark, weren't they? I've compared your photo, and the ones I took, and they seem to be tonally similar, but darker than the Duke pictures I took last year at the same site... The chocolatey-brown is not far removed from H000000! Any idea why?

[Pauline]

Just seen your PBF mating on the Hants site Pete - smashing shots!

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks Pauline - and good to meet you John!

Yes, the Dukes are very variable aren't they - if these are darker than average, I'm not sure why this would be, since the colour is (obviously!) determined by the genetic makeup and isn't environmentally-controlled. Here are shots of the few I found:

Darkest

Average

Brightest

Cheers,

- Pete

[jonhd]

Pete,

re

I'm not sure why this would be, since the colour is (obviously!) determined by the genetic makeup and isn't environmentally-controlled.

pardon my ignorance, but I thought temperature (and other environmental factors) does affect colour & markings?... In particular, during pupation.

Jon

[Pete Eeles]

Of course you're right John, the appearance (and every other aspect) of an individual is determined by its genes and its environment. However, I believe that the environment only has an effect on wing colour if there are temperature "extremes" just prior to (or during, or just after) pupation, something a few breeders have reproduced consistently in captivity to produce a series of aberrations.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Pete, hopefully I'll be able to try and find a few next weekend but I'm off to the Isle of Black tomorrow for a few days, managed to slip that one past the wife Unfortunately I haven't seen any records of them yet

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pete Eeles]

Greenham Common

I managed to get out for a couple of hours around lunchtime, and was immediately greeted by my first Small Heath of the year as I stepped out of the car, which was a welcome sight. I knew that most species would be buzzing about with little opportunity for photos at this time of day, although I did manage to see the 3 species I was expecting - including Dingy Skipper (22), Grizzled Skipper (8) and Green Hairstreak (4). I also saw a single Peacock and also a female Orange-tip. Having recently read Mike Slater's excellent "Field Class Lesson 4 - Finding Dingy Skipper Eggs" (download on this page: http://www.warwickshire-butterflies.org ... nloads.asp), I decided to take a look at some likely spots, since I've never seen the egg before. I first looked for a hollow, then for some bare ground inside the hollow, then for some Bird-foot Trefoil hanging over the bare ground and, blow me down, I immediately found my first Dingy Skipper egg! I was hooked, and looked for more, but found none in another 30 minutes of searching. Beginner's luck I guess! I'll definitely be taking another look at some point, and marked the egg I found since it was still pale green, and not the distinctive orange that it becomes after about 5 days.

Small Heath

Green Hairstreak

Grizzled Skipper

Dingy Skipper egg

This evening I took a look at some of the livestock being reared through. A first instar Orange-tip larva, around 2mm long, was showing the distinctive secretions on the tips of its hairs. But what I really wanted to get a photo of were the Grayling larvae, which are now about 15mm long and in their penultimate instar. The trouble is, they drop to the ground with the slightest disturbance. And so I brought their pot indoors, having removed the netting that protects them, and left them in darkness for a while. They eventually moved up from their daytime home, hunkered deep down in the grass tussock, to the tips of the stems of Fescue on which they feed. I also released a fresh Poplar Hawkmoth that had emerged from a pupa I was given.

Orange-tip first instar larva

Grayling larva (penultimate instar)

Grayling larva (penultimate instar)

Grayling larva (penultimate instar)

Poplar Hawkmoth (male)

Cheers,

- Pete

[Maximus]

Hi Pete, Sorry to hijack your personal diary but we have two Garlic Mustard plants and Orange Tip females have laid four eggs on each plant! Is there any way to ensure all larvae survive when the eggs hatch, given their canibalistic tendancies? They have probably been on the plants now for about a week.
Mike

[Pete Eeles]

Hi Mike,

Orange-tip are possibly the most cannibalistic larvae we have, and the only way to ensure that all larvae survive is to put them on different plants (at least, different fronds of the same plant). If it were me, I'd remove 3 of the 4 eggs (carefully) and place them in separate containers until they hatch and then gently move the larvae (using a find paintbrush) to another plant.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pauline]

They are great photos of the immature stages Pete - and a Dingy Skipper egg!!! You must have better eyesight than me

[Goldie M]

Love the photo's of your Duke Pete, I took a shot of a Duke at Gaits Barrow that also seemed dark to me. The weather had been cold except for one or two days, in fact we thought this year there wouldn't be any. Goldie

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks for the kind comments all

Ireland - Part 1

A hastily-arranged business trip required me to visit Dublin on Wednesday and, given the glorious weather predicted, I also packed my camera, hoping that I might be able to grab some time in the evening to visit some local spots before flying home. Given a series of logistical mishaps, I ended up staying over until Thursday and decided to take the day off, heading home Thursday evening instead.

One species I've been desperate to see is the newly-identified Cryptic Wood White, which was originally "lumped" with Real's Wood White and, prior to that, considered merely a subspecies of Wood White. Seeing this species would complete my list of all resident butterflies in the British Isles. I'd previously corresponded with Ian Rippey, the well-respected butterfly recorder for Northern Ireland, who was extremely generous with his time and knowledge. The only regret I have of my trip is not meeting Ian face-to-face; something I hope to rectify in the near future. Based on Ian's advice, I drove from Dublin up to Craigavon Lakes in Northern Ireland, moving from the land of Euros and kilometres, to one of pounds and miles The scenery was quite stunning as I drove past the Mountains of Mourne in County Down and the weather was superb, which gave a special glow to this Emerald Isle

Craigavon Lakes - a view from the road

Craigavon Lakes - looking back to the road

Craigavon Lakes - looking further ahead and between the 2 lakes

Arriving on site, I saw my first and unmistakable Cryptic Wood White within the first 20 feet! And another, and another. I was so engrossed watching these delicate gems that I didn't venture more than 100m from where I was parked, and missed out on a walk around the lakes and even more juvernicae But I was perfectly happy where I was! After a couple of hours I'd pretty much seen everything on show, and managed to get shots of male, female and several courting couples (including a video). Although I didn't see a mating pair, I did watch an ovipositing female and managed to get a photo of the resulting egg.

Cryptic Wood White (male)

Cryptic Wood White (female)

Cryptic Wood White (courting couple, female on left)

Cryptic Wood White (courting couple, female on left)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blpiQHdeCV4[/video]

Cryptic Wood White (ovum)

I must admit, the only real difference I noticed between this species and the Wood White is that it was quite happy flying over open ground, meaning that it would turn up literally anywhere, and I can see why it's so widespread across Ireland.

An added bonus, given my winter pastime of sorting out the various subspecies descriptions (with Guy Padfield's incredible help, and encouraged by Mark Colvin's enthusiasm!), it was great to see in the flesh (or is it "in the chitin"?!) Irish subspecies of Green-veined White (ssp. britannica) and Orange-tip (ssp. hibernica) also. Unfortunately, these critters weren't hanging around, and I only managed to get a single shot of the Green-veined White, although it most definitely conformed to the subspecies description, being much darker in colour than typical napi.

Green-veined White (female) ssp. britannica

I saw about 20 Cryptic Wood White in this small area in total, together with 2 Small Heath, 4 Green-veined White, 2 Orange-tip (both male), 4 Large White and 26 Orange-tip ova (all laid on Cuckooflower). This was my first "proper" trip to Ireland (albeit brief) and I'm absolutely hooked, and will definitely be returning; the scenery is stunning and I got a real sense of "space", even when driving along the roads between towns. With the end to a superb day, and promising weather for the Thursday, I was wondering what to do. To be continued

Cheers,

- Pete

[David M]

Fascinating stuff, Pete. We rarely get any information from Ireland now that Dave McCormick seems to have stopped posting.

I look forward to the next instalment.

[Pete Eeles]

Ireland - Part 2

On Thursday I was torn between seeing Irish subspecies of Marsh Fritillary, Common Blue and Small Copper, which would have had me stay in the east of Ireland, or visiting the unique Burren on the west coast of Ireland, home to the baynesi subspecies of Dingy Skipper, and a location I've long-wanted to see. The Burren won out in the end, because I really wanted to make the most of my trip, and see as much of Ireland as I could! Setting off from the outskirts of Dublin at 0630, I passed through more glorious countryside as I headed west on, I have to say, some of the nicest roads I've driven on - with hardly another car in sight. It didn't feel long before I was entering County Galway, before taking a route south-west, into County Clare, home of the Burren. This massive limestone outcrop can be seen from many miles away, and I eventually homed in on the small village of Boston, just north of Lough Bunny, for the simple reason that it resides within the Burren National Park and many of the photos in Adrian Riley's excellent British and Irish Butterflies were taken here.

On the edge of The Burren

Getting out of the car I spied a Green-veined White and, while not in particularly good condition, was in marked contrast to the individual I'd seen the day before - this one being much paler in colour and what I would consider "normal". The conclusion is that the <i>britannica</i> subspecies isn't found all over Ireland (although some authors suggest that it is) and that Verity's original description of this subspecies, which states that the darker form is found only in Northern Ireland and Scotland, is correct. Although jumping to conclusions on the basis of two photos is a bit much! But I shall take another look at the specimens at Oxford University Museum the next chance I get to correlate with Verity.

Green-veined White (female)

My first good look at the limestone pavement stretching away for, literally, miles into the distance was quite something - a feeling of being on another planet for sure! I quickly learned to watch my step as multi-tonne boulders would shift under foot. The cracks between the slabs were home to a multitude of flowering plants including Bird's-foot Trefoil, the larval foodplant of the Dingy Skipper subspecies found here, as well as several orchids. It may sound strange, but in the blazing sun some of the grass-filled areas with their rich flora reminded me more of an alpine meadow! I can see why this region is considered the butterfly hotspot of Ireland.

The Burren

The Burren Flora

After an hour or so of finding the right sheltered spots, I eventually found what I had come to see - the Dingy Skipper ssp. baynesi, that is found only here on the whole planet! According to its description, "Ground colour brownish-black, light markings very pale grey, often approaching white". I managed to find a dozen or so individuals over a 3 hour period (I was too busy taking in the view!) and the last I saw (and the last figured below) certainly conformed to its description and really stood out! The habitat seemed ideally suited for them - with plenty of nectar sources and larval foodplant, and plenty of bare rock to warm up on.

Dingy Skipper ssp. baynesi

Dingy Skipper ssp. baynesi

Dingy Skipper ssp. baynesi

Dingy Skipper ssp. baynesi

As well as the Dingy Skipper, there were several Wall in the area, although they were all very flighty and never settled with their wings open given the bright sunlight. The occasional Wood White would also flutter by and I also managed to see a singe Brimstone ssp. gravesi, albeit in very poor condition. Just as I headed back to the car, a bright orange butterfly flew right past, which I initially thought was another Wall. On settling, however, it showed itself to be an immaculate female Pearl-bordered Fritillary, capping off a most excellent trip and certainly not bad for a last minute change of plan!

Wall (male)

Pearl-bordered Fritillary (female)

Cheers,

- Pete

[Wurzel]

Cracking reports Pete and some cracking butterflies Perhaps the subspecies of Green Veined White should be renamed the ashy white as it's more grey than white and that Pearl - it almost leaps out of the screen

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks Wurzel!

Greenham Common
Having spent the last week in the US on business, and having missed all the good weather, I had to get out for a couple of hours today to restore my sanity! I again visited my local patch at Greenham Common and was relieved to see that the Common Blue are out in really good numbers, having crashed at the end of last year. I must have seen 30+ male, 6 female and a couple of mating pairs.

Common Blue (male)

Common Blue (female)

Common Blue (mating pair, male at top)

I then went to re-locate the Dingy Skipper egg that I'd found over a week ago now, and couldn't even find the scrape it was in! Since it was the only egg I found within a 30 minute period, I was rather gutted, wondering if I'd ever manage to find another. The area of the common I visit is carpeted in Bird's-foot Trefoil, the larval foodplant, and it did feel like I'd be searching for a needle in a haystack. However, putting the simple guidance of a) Find a hollow/sheltered piece of ground, b) Look for bare earth and c) Look for the foodplant growing out over the bare earth, paid dividends, since I managed to find 5 very conspicuous orange eggs in the space of 10 minutes! One was found right next to a path, and 2 eggs were found in the same scrape. In the second figure below, you can see the scrape at the bottom of the picture. The next picture shows the scrape itself and you can just make out an egg toward the top right.

Carpets of Bird's-foot Trefoil

Scrape at bottom of picture

A close up of the scrape

I then went back to the car to add some extension tubes, allowing me to get some half-decent shots of the eggs. Sanity has been restored

Dingy Skipper ovum

Dingy Skipper ovum

Dingy Skipper ovum

Dingy Skipper ovum

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

Really interesting stuff, Pete!

I've been studying your baynesi, because it struck me at first that this bright grey/white was found on most fresh dingy skippers - and yet they did look different. When I compared the patterns it became apparent that a major difference is the submarginal, wavy, grey band, beyond the dark postdiscal band. In your baynesi, and especially in your second picture, that band is complete and well-developed, while in most dingies from elsewhere it is broken and poorly developed. I wonder if this is what makes baynesi look so exotic.

Love the dingy eggs too. That is something I must try (except for the go back and get different lenses bit! ).

Guy