millerd

[millerd]

Try Sunday, Wurzel - looks a better day all round than Saturday.

26th July

An early escape from work, which allowed me to head off up the M40 to Aston Rowant. I arrived on the slope to the north of the motorway at around four or so, and was quickly surrounded by butterflies. I don't think I could ever conduct a formal transect count because I'd lose track of them so easily, especially in these numbers. Where to start? The first thing that specifically caught my eye was a Large Skipper chasing a Meadow Brown chasing a Small Tortoiseshell. Then there was a Dark Green Fritillary (one of five or six seen) being hassled by another couple of Meadow Browns. Then I noticed nearly every marjoram flower had either a Chalkhill Blue or a Small/Essex Skipper on it - and the ragwort sported Gatekeepers and the occasional Small Copper. And that doesn't even take account of the Marbled Whites, many other white butterflies, a Brimstone or two, Peacocks, Small Heaths and one or two very tatty Common Blues. Burnet moths abounded, Silver Y moths whizzed about madly, and many other smaller moths were around too.

It was an amazing sight. However, what I came to see was the Silver-spotted Skipper. In recent summers, I've visited on cool days with intermittent sunshine. This makes the SSS easy to find, as they bask on the bare patches of ground: rabbit scrapes and sheep paths, mostly. They are also less likely to burst into flight. Today was different - they were extremely active. I don't think I've ever seen them with quite so many other Skippers around either, and they are very different in the air. They look almost green in the sun, and move in such irregular patterns they are almost impossible to follow in flight. You have to keep your eyes peeled and trust to luck. Fortunately, there were plenty flying - a rough estimate of those I saw would be 30 or more across the whole hillside, including several females. They were sparser in numbers away from the ends of the slope, which curiously is where there were more of the other Skippers.

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Great stuff Dave

I am hoping to get down to Aston Rowant one day next week, probably make my mind up depending on the weather nearer the time, the forecast looks a bit 'mixed'

Cheers,

Neil F.

[millerd]

I hope you make it, Neil - well worth a trip. In a few more days, the DGF may have gone, but Common Blues and Brown Argus should appear, plus even more SSS.

27th July

Hang on - wasn't it supposed to rain all day today? Well, it dawned sunny, and imagining the clouds might roll up at any time, I set off briskly around my local patch. Soon it was far too warm for brisk, so ambling took over. Gatekeepers and Whites were just warming up and more relaxed than later in the day. Similarly, I caught sight of several Peacocks basking high up in trees, but it wasn't long before they were down on thistles, teazels, burdock, knapweed and wild buddleia (anything purple really). The various White butterflies weren't so fussy, and included yellow flowers in their diet - which of course are the preference of Gatekeepers. I also came across many, many Meadow Browns of all ages, sizes and colour variations. A few Essex Skippers remained, a few Small Heaths darted amongst their bigger cousins and a few Speckled Woods tussled in the shadows. As the morning wore on, I also noticed Small Tortoiseshells and Commas here and there, though the numbers of the latter have dwindled a lot, as one might expect. The hutchinsoni brood just hasn't the staying power of the overwinterers. Finally, I saw my first second brood male Common Blue, which was far to busy and energetic to consider being photographed. Lunchtime approached, the sun remained resolutely out and the temperature climbed - again.

A nice fresh female...

... and another!

GVW

Small

Small

Small - very yellow from this angle (same butterfly as the last one, though)

Large

Large

A bit later, just as it clouded over, I popped briefly into Harmondsworth Moor, One or two Marbled Whites were still flying, and I glimpsed a very blue female Common Blue, but otherwise, everything was heading into the bushes and undergrowth as the skies darkened. In the half hour I was there, the temperature dropped by 5 degrees: 29 down to 24. Really quite noticeable.

Essex - noticeably grey underneath

Very worn now

Just as I was about to leave, I saw a very odd-looking Gatekeeper in the grass. It had pale patches (as Meadow Browns sometimes have) on the hindwings - these were visible from both sides and were the same on both wings. It only flashed the upper wings briefly at rest, but the patches could be seen in flight. My only half-decent picture was from underneath.

The light shone right through the pale patches on this Gatekeeper

Finally, I came across this bee, which looks so loaded with pollen that not all its legs seem to be able to function. I have no idea what sort of bee it might be.

But what Bee might this Bee be?

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave,

If that bee doesn't have a common name I propose 'Baggy Trousers Bee'

Neil F.

[Wurzel]

Great report Dave with lush shots especially the "Small Lemon"
Is the bee a heavily laden Ashy Mining Bee?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

You could be right about the bee, Wurzel - it looks like photos I've found on the net, though without the baggy trousers...

28th July

The weather seemed not too bad after the storms of yesterday evening, so I went down to Denbies. What I hadn't counted on was that it would be really windy, with a strong gusty breeze blowing pretty well straight up the hillside. The sun was a bit in-and-out too, so all in all I had lots of excuses for taking some really poor butterfly pictures today. As I wandered down across Steers Field, Chalkhill Blues erupted from the grass on all sides, and this was just a foretaste of the rest of the hill. There were a lot of Chalkhills, many newly emerged, and with good numbers of females around too. They really do keep a low profile in windy weather, and agitated male butterflies were often the best clue to finding them. I came across six mating pairs, and watched several females laying eggs well down in the grass.

There were two accumulations of Chalkhills on dog poo, with over twenty males on each deposit - attracting the interest of passers-by who were at a loss to understand why the expanses of wild flowers weren't proving as popular. To be fair, there was a lot of nectaring going on as well.

In amongst the myriad of male blues, I noticed a few with orange hindwing spots on the upperside, a variety I've seen here before known as ab. suavis.

There was also one male with reduced underside spotting - there are always a few of these about too.

The Chalkhills were the main attraction, but not the only one. I saw Small and Essex Skippers (plus a single Large Skipper), large numbers of Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers, Ringlets, fading Marbled Whites, three female Dark Green Fritillaries, a glorious new Peacock and Whites of all species. I didn't see any Common Blues, Brown Argus or Small Coppers.

To finish off, I had a walk around the area through the gate to the east of Steers Field. There were plenty more Chalkhills here, but there, sitting atop a Marjoram flower head, was a Silver-spotted Skipper. It soon dived into the grass as the sun went in, but I managed to see that it had not gone far. Good to see - but the only one today in not especially good conditions. There were in fact a few spots of rain shortly afterwards.

Last of all, I managed a shot of a Silver Y moth, which wasn't actually moving - unheard of...

Dave

[Wurzel]

Shots look pretty cracking to me Dave especially the Silver Y and the first mating and solitary female Cheers for the weather report from earlier in the week - it was indeed pretty good today and I did manage to get out

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave, great report and photos as usual

I especially like the female CHB open wing shot, lovely fresh sheen to her. And well done on the Silver-Y, don't think I have ever seen one that wasn't vibrating its wings so I don't usually bother trying to photograph them.

Cheers,

Neil F.

[David M]

I like the Essex Skipper image - I wondered what the hell I was looking at at first but after a couple of seconds I noticed the butterfly top left!

[millerd]

That's actually the same Silver-spotted Skipper as in the other image, David! They appear to have black undersides to their antennae too. I should have labelled them - it really isn't obvious at all

Dave

[millerd]

Thanks to all for your encouraging comments - it was worth the battle with the wind yesterday.

29th July

Windy again, if not more so, and I set off round my local patch in hope rather than expectation, particularly as to the northwest ominous clouds were looming ever nearer. I was immediately buzzed once on the path by Two Red Admirals, three Peacocks and four or five Commas. It turned into a walk dominated by Commas, and looking carefully at them, I could see there was clearly a great deal of variation in age, size, colour and patterning. The more recently emerged individuals were darker, with the more characteristic look of those which hibernate - a taste of Autumn already. I must have seen at least 20 different individuals.

I watched two together in what I imagined to be courtship behaviour - I don't think I've ever seen two Commas in such close association before. One of the two was unusually pale, both on top and underneath, with much fainter markings than normal.

The pale individual above (upperside)

Other butterflies seen included a selection of Whites again, Speckled Woods, Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns, more Red Admirals and more Peacocks. Heavy rain and wind clearly disagrees with Gatekeepers - they all looked really the worse for wear compared to only a couple of days ago.

I reached the open meadow area northeast of J14 as the sky darkened ominously. A brief burst of sunshine caused a flash of blue from the grass - a new second brood Common Blue was clinging valiantly to a grass stem. He quickly turned head down and closed up, but presented a lovely fresh underside.

And now the sad part. Sometimes as we go out and enjoy the butterflies in their exuberant soaring and gliding, their delicacy and beauty perched on flowers, we forget that they are also part of the food chain. As I scurried back home to try and beat the rain, I first came across a Gatekeeper that had met its end by way of a spider - and another of the same species was happily nectaring inches away from the corpse.

Then, as I walked through the riverside glades frequented by Red Admirals, I witnessed something much more dramatic. A Red Admiral was indeed present, swooping around in the half dark under the trees, but it was not alone. I became aware of another shadowy shape zigzagging around the small clearing, and suddenly it darted purposefully at the butterfly - and caught it. The dragonfly (as it turned out to be) carried its prey to a point high up in a briar where it proceeded to devour it. I managed by dint of arms-length full zoom and flash to get a shot of this meal. I have once seen a smaller dragonfly catch a Small Heath, but otherwise they seem generally not very good at catching butterflies - or the butterflies are good at evading them.

Before I left the spot, another Red Admiral was already in situ... And I reached home before the rain did.

Dave

[Nick Broomer]

Some more excellent reports Dave accompanied by some lovely photos, especially the Chalkhill Blues one of my favourite butterflies.

All the best, Nick.

[Wurzel]

That Comma definitely looks paler than usual Great shots and some very interesting behaviours described in detail. I've never seen butterflies being predated before, better start peeling my eyes a bit more

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave,

I have also noticed that butterflies usually seem quite good at evading dragonflies. I have even seen a male Speckled Wood attempt to chase a large hawker type out of his territory

Mind you the other side of that coin is when I read an article in Warks BC magazine a couple of years ago about an Emperor Dragonfly seen taking a female Purple Emperor out of the air at Ryton Wood

Cheers,

Neil F.

[millerd]

I suppose the bigger the target, the easier it is for the dragonflies, Neil. And though many butterflies show aggression to each other and to potential predators, it has to be largely bluff, as they have no weaponry at their disposal. It's amazing what Purple Emperors get away with, to be honest.

30th July

Not back from work until 1830, but the sun was shining so I found it impossible to resist a walk before it went down completely. As I had seen last night, the niche occupied by the recently eaten Red Admiral had been filled by another individual. I passed by and at this late hour, with only a few hours of sunshine earlier, not much was flying. I saw a single Gatekeeper, two more Red Admirals, a Small White, a Peacock and just the one Comma (instead of 20).

There were plenty of Meadow Browns in the long grass, and I was quite surprised to find three Essex Skippers still up and about when I'd seen none at all yesterday in the same spot.

I found two male Common Blues, basking in the rays of the lowering sun, which I hope is the vanguard of a bigger emergence.

Common Blue with fat Cinnabar moth caterpillar

On the return home, the first Red Admiral was still there. He was not happy at my intrusion into his bit of path, and repeatedly dived at me until I moved. Eventually, by keeping still, I persuaded him to settle on a suitable vantage point and watch me closely. This allowed me to take his portrait, with flash being necessary as it was pretty dark down there under the trees. I left him swooping and diving, running the gauntlet of several dragonflies that were also patrolling the area.

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave,

Cracking Common Blues in the evening sun

As with a few things this year, I am seeing loads of Cinnabar caterpillars around here, almost every bit of Ragwort seems to have some on.

Cheers,

Neil F.

[millerd]

Thanks, Neil. Yes - loads of ragwort and loads of Cinnabar caterpillars. In some places, I suspect they ate themselves into starvation, though they will crawl a fair way to a fresh plant if they chomp one down to the ground.

1st August

Hot. I left work near Heathrow at about four and headed for Box Hill. The car thermometer read 34 degrees near the airport, and 36 on the slow crawl down the M25. In the shade going up the zigzag to the top of hill, it was a fresher 32 degrees...

I made for the scrubby slopes to the east of the main viewpoint hill, down from the North Downs Way. A strong hot wind was blowing straight up the hill, and most of the butterflies were towards the bottom of the slope. One of the first I saw was a Silver-spotted Skipper, sitting in customary fashion on a madly waving scabious flower. I had ten individual sightings of this species, but can't discount seeing the same one more than once. The odd thing was that they seemed to prefer the windswept flowers to those in sheltered spots. They also pointedly avoided flowers with Burnet moths on them and were not at all happy if any other insect joined them on a scabious.

I saw about equal numbers of Chalkhill and Common Blues (over a dozen of each), and good numbers of Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers. It was sometimes difficult to distinguish these in flight, as some of the female Gatekeepers were very large. There were also three or four aged Marbled Whites, struggling to fly at all and gamely trying to walk up flower stems to find nectar. I spotted a couple of Small Skippers too.

new individual, but a bit crumpled

While trying to follow another Silver-spotted Skipper in flight, I failed to watch my feet, and stumbled over a female Dark Green Fritillary basking on the ground. It took off alarmingly quickly and let itself be carried miles away by the wind. I saw two more later on, but got no closer. Frustratingly, the angle of the sun started to cause the Blues to go into roosting mode, but the heat meant that they clearly didn't feel the need to bask open-winged before doing so. This is something I've observed before on hot evenings. I managed one shot of a Chalkhill male and another of a dark Common Blue female, but that was about it. Most of the female Common Blues were much bluer than this one.

female Chalkhill Blue, ignoring the Burnet moth

male Chalkhill Blue

very dark female Common Blue

male Common Blue

Back at the car, a couple of Large Skippers were squabbling over the brambles, putting up a few Gatekeepers that were attempting to settle down.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Great report Dave and I'm jealous of the Silver Spots - I still haven't been able to get out for them and with a trip to the in-laws in Wales next week I'm hoping that I haven't missed them

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

They should be around a little while yet, Wurzel. Fingers crossed you'll get to see them.

2nd August

I had only the chance of a brief walk around my local patch today - the sun was out when I left work at five, but within an hour it had disappeared. I felt conspired against! Interesting - today there were more Whites than anything else, and far fewer Commas and Gatekeepers - in fact I only saw half a dozen of each.

A summer Comma, looking faded

And another

A new one, in winter colours

Meadow Browns were widespread again, but the Essex Skippers have come to end, sad to say. I only found a few Common Blues again - two females and a male.

Female Common Blue

A second female Common Blue

One female was very dark, and very small, but was definitely not a Brown Argus - a shame really as my patch has been bereft of these this year. There were Peacocks here and there, and the final offering was a new brood Small Heath.

A shiny new Peacock

New brood Small Heath

Dave

[millerd]

I seem to have got a bit behind with this - a brief catchup is in order.

3rd August

I visited Cherwell Valley Services on the M40, and found the water meadow round the back carpeted with water mint. This creates a lovely smell as you walk across it and attracts butterflies no end. There were lots of Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Whites of all types, Small and Essex Skippers, Common Blues, Peacocks, a Comma and a Small Tortoiseshell. It's good to see a piece of meadow like this left to its own devices.

Essex - the proboscis must be longer than the butterfly by some margin

Small

On returning home, the local patch was alive with White butterflies, and as it was late afternoon, Red Admirals and other Nymphalids were much in evidence too. Nothing else of note, really, just good to see so many individuals of several species flying this year.

4th August

Another local walk, and one which shows the real value in doing the same thing regularly - no two days have the same highlights. Today, as well as the good showing of White butterflies and common Nymphalids, I found several Common Blues, including a mating pair where both partners were fresh - so often one or other is a bit worn and they look ill-matched.

Female GVW

However, the real bonus today was to find a Clouded Yellow. I disturbed this individual from the ground, patch of Bird's-foot Trefoil in fact, and it landed close by on another, before then flying just a little way further on. The sun had gone in, so the flights were very short, and I was able to get close for a picture or two. I believed the butterfly to be a female, and optimistically feel it might just have been laying eggs when I initially disturbed it.

Clouded Yellow where originally seen - on BFT

Dave