July 2013

[badgerbob]

My thanks to Nigel for getting me down to Dorset to see the Lulworth Skipper. This is a species that I've never seen before so I was very keen to get it this year as I'm now nearly there on the mainland butterfly list. Just the Chequered to go now. There were plenty of Skippers present on the cliffs above Durdle Door and after an early start from Sussex we arrived just after 8am with a sea mist lightly covering the cliffs. I found a superb male before the weather warmed up and then there were butterflies all around. A few males and lots of females performed well for us. Having seen many Essex Skippers recently I was interested in the antennae differences so I managed to get an underside shot and saw that the Lulworth has orange tips where the Essex has the black tips. Marbled Whites were in their hundreds and also seen were 2 pristine Painted Lady.

[Vince Massimo]

I was just sitting quietly on the patio doing my 15 minute "Big Butterfly Count" for the day when all hell broke loose. Apart from the usual species, I had egglaying Small Whites, a Purple Hairstreak in the Oak tree, then two "garden ticks" - a Large Skipper and a male Essex Skipper. Then a Comma swooped down onto my new Hop plant and started laying eggs everywhere. In the end I counted 20 eggs, most of which were on the upper surfaces of the leaves, but some were on the undersides and on tendrils.

Comma egglaying on Hop - Caterham Surrey 27-July-2013

Comma egglaying on Hop (plus eggs) - Caterham, Surrey 27-July-2013

3 Comma eggs on Hop - Caterham, Surrey 27-July-2013

3 Comma eggs on Hop - Caterham, Surrey 27-July-2013

Then the rain came.......

Vince

[Jack Harrison]

Croig NW Isle of Mull 27th July

We had seen the usual Speckled Woods, GV Whites and one Scotch Argus on our way to Croig. Then in what I thought to be unlikely habitat of boggy grassland at NM 401540, wife was first to spot a Scotch Argus.

Habitat

Many more were seen and they certainly lived up to reputation. As soon as the sun went in, they dived for cover and hid deep in the vegetation making photography imposible.



We walked to the beach where Graylings were anticipated on the small dunes but no luck there. However, two DG Frits seen in flight and a possible SPB Frit. Plenty of Meadow Browns and GV Whites and two each of Common Blue and Small Tortoiseshell. On the return to the car two Graylings were a bonus on the path and a rock. (I would favour the name Cryptic Brown).



A female DG Frit seen close up but just as I homed in with the camera, it was off and away.

On arrival back home in Tobermory we were greeted by four Tortoiseshells.

Eight species in a day is not a bad total for Mull.

Jack

[Debbie]

A quick visit to Wyre _ Earnswood Copse today before the rain.

Lots of Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Ringlets, Whites and some S W Fritillary's.

I also saw this, and my guestimate is a Cinibar Moth? (taken with sx50)

It was lovely to see so many butterflies today.

Debbie

[dilettante]

I also saw this, and my guestimate is a Cinibar Moth? (taken with sx50)

You are corright in your guestimate

[Willrow]

Parc Cwm Darran, Glamorgan. With the weather forecast offering a rather wet end to July and early August I decided to make the most of today's remaining fine conditions and pay a visit to one of my local patches. Since my last visit a couple of weeks ago the tall grasses have become bleached by the sun and I must admit looked in need of a good drink There was lots of activity and my hope was to find an Essex Skipper among the many Small Skipper but It was not to be and my search must go on. Fourteen species were seen in a very localized area; these included Marbled White, Dark Green Fritillary, Small Copper, Common Blue and healthy numbers of mint fresh Gatekeeper.

Today's star of the visit was a beautiful newly emerged Small Copper that allowed time for some reasonably close shots, I have often found the species can be rather skittish in this regard and happily this one proved to be the exception to the rule. A Common Blue male was also rather kind to me...and why not and remained compliantly, much to my satisfaction. Its not always the rarities that provide the greatest satisfaction and these two butterflies rival any in the beauty stakes, I enjoyed my few hours greatly and ended my visit by indulging myself in a snack and a mug of cha in the small visitor centre cafe...and by coincidence the grasses also got their drink...and I got bl***Y soaked running back to the car that just happened to be parked three quarters of a mile away

Bill

[David M]

Was at work till 1pm this afternoon so no butterfly site visits made, however there was a 2nd brood Wall Brown in my back garden mid-afternoon so be on the lookout for this species over the next couple of weeks.

[sahikmet]

This specimen was at a recent visit to Aston Rowant, which I discovered this evening. Marks on both wings? Any idea what caused this please. Cheers Sezar

[Mark Senior]

Spent 2 hours at Castle Hill NR Woodingdean , Brighton yesterday Friday . Lots and lots of butterflies

Small/Essex Skippers many hundreds if not thousands
Large Skippers still some about perhaps 20
Silver Spotted Skippers 2 definitely seen
Meadow Brown Lots
Ringlet 10-15
Speckled Wood 2
Gatekeeper circa 50
Marbled White circa 200
Dark Green Fritillary 30-40
Chalkhill Blue circa 200
Common Blue 6
Small Blue 3 ( presumably 2nd brood )
Small White circa 50
Large White 3
Green Veined White 2
Peacock 4
Red Admiral 1
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Painted Lady 2 ( both very fresh newly hatched )

20 species seen plus Holly Blue en route to site . Surprised not to see Small Heath or Brimstone disappointed not to see Small Copper and had hoped
for a 2nd brood Wall Brown given the 1st brood was very abundant there .

[nomad]

Any members know what the two partly white [ aberrations] of Meadow Browns shown are called or where I can find out. Thanks Peter.

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Peter,

Not sure if you meant to include a picture(s)?

Any members know what the two partly white [aberrations] of Meadow Browns shown are called ...

Meadow Browns can be subject to a wide degree of variation. It is not uncommon to find pathologically aberrant specimens which are marked with irregular and asymmetrical pale patches. Many of these 'aberrants' are unnamed; some of those which are can be found below:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/ ... utterflies

I hope this helps.

Kind regards. Mark

[Willrow]

Before we come to the end of this unforgettable July I thought I would submit an earlier sighting report from an excursion in North Wales during a holiday earlier in the month.

A couple of pleasant hours were spent searching out Grayling (Race Thyone) and Silver-studded Blue (Race Caernensis) both being described as relic (Race) species that have adapted to changes on the Great Orme, near Llandudno since the last ice age. The search for the first mentioned species didn't last long as I went straight to the small quarry area that you see on your left as you enter the visitor centre car park. At least a dozen Thyone were active in the mid morning heat that measured around 27c and was to get even hotter. As I do regular counts of Grayling at several sites back home in South Wales I was fascinated to compare the difference in size between my local insects and this miniature North Wales race, the difference is stand out, Thyone is indeed a true miniature, I've always liked and enjoyed Grayling and it was an absolute delight to see them on the Great Orme which is a unique place, highly recommended for a visit - and not just the butterflies!

The Silver-studded Blue were also relatively easy to find as they occasionally nectared on the heather, I saw just two females but they simply vanished in a whirl and presented no chance of a photograph. The males were also manic in the heat but I did at least get a few record shots, I would have loved to have spent the day with them, however I had promised my wife lunch in Llandudno in exchange for a couple of hours with these two special races of butterfly...and on a family holiday we have to behave don't we So our short visit to the Great Orme produced a very positive result and I've made a mental note to return with time to spare next year

Bill

PS. This is how hols should be, I get my butterflies and my long suffering wife gets her lunch, a wonderful compromise don't you think

[nomad]

Hi Peter,

Not sure if you meant to include a picture(s)?

Any members know what the two partly white [aberrations] of Meadow Browns shown are called ...

Meadow Browns can be subject to a wide degree of variation. It is not uncommon to find pathologically aberrant specimens which are marked with irregular and asymmetrical pale patches. Many of these 'aberrants' are unnamed; some of those which are can be found below:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/ ... utterflies

I hope this helps.

Kind regards. Mark

Hi Mark. Thank you for your help. The pictures have been posted previously on this July thread and have been added by request to the Meadow Brown aberration image album. I can see nothing like the ones I saw on the Cockayne data base. I have spent many years in the field and have never seen anything quite like these.
Regards Peter.

[jenks]

To echo Bill`s comments, its time for me to submit some sightings for July before the month ends.

Fri 19 July. An early finish from work and down to Kenfig NNR by 16.00 hrs. Very hot but Dark Green Frits and second brood Small Blues in evidence. Also Small Tort, Comma, Meadow Brown and Small Skipper seen. Best sighting though was of Red veined Darter. This vagrant dragonfly is increasingly being seen here. I saw possibly 10 around the pool but others I spoke to had seen 30-40 this day. Black tailed Skimmer also seen and thousands of Common Blue Damselfly.
Went on to Old Castle Down, Ewenny, and both Dark Green Frit and High Brown Frit were bombing around the top of the down , c.50 of the former, definite 6 of the latter. Also 12+ Small Pearl Bordered Frit seen, now getting to look very worn. Back at the car at 18.30, the temperature gauge still showed 33 C !.

Sat 20 July. Set off early for Wurzel country arriving at Bentley Wood 08.15. Silver Washed Frit, White Admiral were seen straight away in the car park, followed by Comma, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Small and Large Skipper. At 10.00 I set off down the track towards the cross roads, seeing Green veined, Small and Large White, Marbled White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Meadow Brown,Gatekeeper and Brimstone. What struck me along this ride was the number of White Admirals. Some did come down to nectar on bramble but many were flying high making one think firstly of Purple Emperor. BUT 2 Purple Emperor did appear, one flying high over the tree line, one flying low around the sallows, obviously looking for females. At the crossroad I turned left and headed for Donkey Copse. A valezina female Silver washed was seen here nectaring on the bramble and then at the copse a male PE savouring the fish paste laid as bait on a log. This was obviously the same individual that Wurzel saw the following day. I too had seen and spoken to " the man with the bait ". He ( the PE that is ) stayed on this log for 20 minutes or more. I then left and went to Martin Down, hoping for some "blues". And eventually I did, but only 2 Chalkhill Blues. Dark Green Frit and Marbled White were here in profusion. After an hour or so I headed back to Bentley Wood. The time was now 16.30 and I thought probably the best time for hairstreak. So I headed back down the ride to the crossroads and sure enough the Oak trees on the right hand side had several Purple Hairstreaks fluttering around the tops. Heading right from the cross roads down to the elms I saw 4 White letter Hairstreaks around the tops. So, the sightings for the day..
Bentley Wood ;
Silver Washed Fritillary 30 + (including 1 valezina )
White Admiral 25-30.
Comma 1
Marbled White 1
Brimstone 1 female
Large Skipper 6
Ringlet 30 +
Speckled Wood 8
Small Skipper 16
Green veined White 2
Small White 10
Red Admiral 2
Large White 3
Peacock 2
Purple Emperor 3-4
Gatekeeper 20 +
Meadow Brown 20+
Purple Hairstreak 7-8
White Hairstreak 4.

Martin Down ;
Dark Green Fritillary 40-50
Small Skipper 16
Marbled White 50 +
Meadow Brown 30+
Small White 4
Peacock 3
Gatekeeper 25
Chalkhill Blue 2 male
Ringlet 8
Small Tortoiseshell 3
Brimstone 1 male

Jenks

[badgerbob]

After the heavy rain yesterday it seems that all the butterflies are about. I can't remember seeing so many for some time. At one point there was a big clump of wild Thyme and butterflies and bees were really going at it with well over 20 butterflies of 8 species nectaring on it. Small White, Small and Essex Skipper, Marbled White, Small Tortoiseshell, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Large White. Small Skippers were everywhere but it was the Silver Spotted Skippers that were the stars of the day with pretty good numbers. One fresh female was approached by a male and courtship commenced with him trying to clamp on to her unsuccessfully.

[Ian Pratt]

Arreton Down on the Isle of Wight is the place to go to see chalkhill blues. Over 1000 this afternoon over the whole Down.

[David M]

Was a really odd day weatherwise today. The morning forecast was fine so I was down at Alun Valley near Bridgend by 9.45am.

I spent quite a bit of time Hairstreak hunting and saw one White Letter male who refused to come down lower than 15 feet and a Purple Hairstreak fluttering about in the oak nearby. I then visited the gun club meadow and bumped into the guy who does the transect. At this point it was warm and sunny and there were swarms of butterflies everywhere, including this female High Brown Fritillary which was so heavily suffused with black near the body area that she may qualify as an aberration:



The weather then suddenly went crazy; heavy showers followed by 10-15 minutes of sunny, warm weather. It was interesting to watch the butterflies' reaction to these swift changes. Many would dive into the grasses but some clung on determinedly to their thistle heads until the rain stopped!

I patiently waited between the elm and oak on the wooded slope after leaving the meadow and eventually a female White Letter Hairstreak descended to the lower boughs on an egg-laying run:



Totals seen today were:

Green Veined White 100+
Meadow Brown 100+
Ringlet 60-80
Hedge Brown 60-80
Large White 20-30
Small White 15-20
High Brown Fritillary 15-20
Common Blue 5
Peacock 4
Red Admiral 3
Small Skipper 3
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Silver Washed Fritillary 2
White Letter Hairstreak 2
Large Skipper 2
Brimstone 1
Dark Green Fritillary 1
Purple Hairstreak 1
Comma 1

[Matsukaze]

A few Chalkhill Blues on the wing at Westbury Beacon today, including this aberrant individual. Can anyone put a name to the aberration?

[jenks]

July butterflies Part 2.

Weekend 20-21 July. After an overnight stay in Salisbury, it was off to the delightfully named Slop Bog. Wurzel has written about this place, with good reason. Sandwiched between the busy A31 and a housing development its a small local nature reserve of peat bog and heath near Ferndown, Dorset, and is an amazing place. In the 30 minutes up to 10 am I saw 20+ Silver studded Blue on the Cross leaved Heath, and the ditch near the entrance had Keeled and Black tailed Skimmer.
Then, off to Durleston Country Park. Lulworth Skipper was showing in some numbers ( I stopped counting at 30 ) whilst the numbers of Marbled White seen was amazing. I would estimate 200 +.
At 2 pm I left for South Wales with 1 more stop in mind--Alners Gorse. I got here at about 4 pm . After entering the reserve, the track goes downhill. I then turned left. The hedge on the left hand side has elm trees whilst on the right hand side, oak trees. Scanning the elms was difficult as I was at that time looking into the sun, but 3 or 4 White letter Hairstreak were seen amongst the top branches. Purple Hairstreak were much more numerous, 15 or 16 seen flitting around the canopy and higher branches. Other butterflies seen were Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Skipper, Small and Large White. And then at 6 pm it was time to head home and face up to work on the Monday !.

Saturday 27 July. A morning visit to a local reserve - Aberbargoed grassland. This is an area reclaimed from coal mining after the closures in 1984 - 85. The coal waste and bare ground is favoured by Grayling and these were showing in good numbers, 20 +. The surrounding grassy areas had Common Blue ( 2 ), Dark Green Fritillary ( 2 ), and numerous Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small White and Small Skipper. Then at mid day the heavens opened and I had to make my way as quickly as I could back to the car, bearing in mind that the gradient off the old coal tip is about 1 in 4.

So seven days of chasing butterflies ended with me soaked through but happy. Shame I missed meeting Wurzel at Bentley Wood ( he was there the following day ) and Bill ( Willrow ), who was at Parc cwm Darran just 3 or 4 miles away from Aberbargoed yesterday. Its always good to meet other UK butterfliers. But there is still time for more butterfly trips this year.

Jenks.

[dorsetguy]

Not sure whether this has been mentioned yet, but there have been a number of Swallowtail sightings in Dorset this year, including recent reports of egg laying and caterpillars (photos here - http://www.dorsetbutterflies.com/news/index.html). Have there been any records of gorganus breeding in the UK before?