Long tailed Blues in Kent

[Trev Sawyer]

Neil was telling me on Tuesday that the white tips to the tails do soon disappear and you know you have a pretty fresh butterfly if they are intact. The main wing edges may stand up to a few skirmishes with little sign of wear, but the enthusiasm with which the males spar with each other and spiral way up into the sky during their intense dogfights means that the tips to the tails are soon reduced or even lost completely. Now there are a few more males appearing, I reckon the little male has just had his first proper punch-up.

Trev

[lee3764]

Some great shots of the LTBs from everyone visiting the area.

The little furry fellow has one white paw and one brown on its front legs, an ab maybe. It also appears to have a couple of large ticks on its head.

I'm hoping to visit the area for the LTBs on Saturday as the weather forecast is for a little sunshine although fairly windy. Anyone else visiting this weekend.

Yep..........We hope to visit all the way from Cornwall! My 10 year old son, Robert really wants to see these Long-tailed Blues as do I. He reached 49 species this year and 52 in his life for British species in Britain but this will be a once in lifer. Really grateful to Neil for tips & advice earlier. Thanks & hope to be there Saturday PM & Sunday Am.
Cheers,
Lee & Robert Slaughter (Cornwall).

[Paul Harfield]

Hi

Excellent Long Tailed Blue pics from everyone I just wondered how long it is taking people to locate the butterflies I am hoping to visit in a weeks time, the earliest I can get there. Hopefully I will not have missed them.

[Susie]

Are any of the Sussex sites as good as Kent for ltb? I would love to share this amazing experience but don't have too much time so the shorter the journey the longer I can spend looking for/at the wee beasties.

[lee3764]

Are any of the Sussex sites as good as Kent for ltb? I would love to share this amazing experience but don't have too much time so the shorter the journey the longer I can spend looking for/at the wee beasties.

Errrr.......Susie...You might have a bit of a wait if you miss this chance this year as the last good year for Long-tailed Blues was in 1945 (68 years ago)!! All I need to do is find a family room to book in a Premier Travel Inn in Dover or Ramsgate nearby for Wife & me and Robert & Michael my 10 & 8 yearl old sons! Don't care if I am knackered all next week.....This has to be the chance of our lives to live this experience! Don't care about much else this weekend......I'll start worrying on Monday!
Anybody else feel like me? It's a long way from Cornwall but we'll do it. Should be on site by 1:00pm on Saturday if all goes to plan! Do hope to meet a few fellow enthusiasts & we'll show each other the L.T. Blues hopefully!
Cheers all,
Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).

[millerd]

Thursday 26th September:
I spent the day from 1130 to around 4 at Kingsdown Leas today. There were four or five other folk there looking for the Blues - one chap had been on site since 8am. It was mostly sunny, but with some fast-moving lowish cloud, but the two main negative factors were the brisk northeast wind and the lower temperature (only 16 or 17 at best, I'd say).

Over about 40 minutes, I had seen only a couple of Adonis Blues and a Speckled Wood. Then something small and brownish dashed across the path - I tried to follow, but it flew very fast, and more importantly straight over the cliff and out to sea. I'll never know what that was... However, only a few minutes later, a very similar butterfly landed quite close to me in the grass. On looking closer, it was unmistakably a Long-tailed Blue. After a good long look to make absolutely sure, I composed a shot and before the shutter was pressed it took off. I followed it in the air for a few seconds, long enough to glimpse the almost iridescent brownness that new female blues have, and the shiny blue near the body. Then it was gone with the wind. Patient searching along the site thereafter by myself and the other folk there was in vain. None of us saw another during the whole day.

One point of note: there was a gentleman with a net. Fortunately, he had no more luck than anyone else, but discussion with others there revealed that someone during the week (yesterday?) had also been netting and had taken four - two of which he took away for his collection. I have to say we all took a dim view of this - our opportunity to see such a rare insect bred on these shores has been diminished by such completely selfish behaviour. Various punishments were suggested...

A theory was proposed somewhere on this forum that perhaps the Long-tailed Blue, being of a migratory bent, might elect to head south at the end of the season. Today heralded a significant change in the weather: it was cooler, and the wind blew strongly from a very different direction, one in fact that would carry a strongly-flying insect across to France with ease. The sun was shining, ensuring that such an insect would be active. Finally, days are now shorter than nights, and day length is decreasing markedly every day. These factors together might well trigger a southward migration. The LTB I saw was about ten metres from the edge of the cliff, if that. One strong gust and it would have been away heading downwind towards the sun and over the sea.

(I'm just trying to come to terms with having seen only one, only briefly, and not getting a photo! )

Dave

[David M]

One point of note: there was a gentleman with a net. Fortunately, he had no more luck than anyone else, but discussion with others there revealed that someone during the week (yesterday?) had also been netting and had taken four - two of which he took away for his collection. I have to say we all took a dim view of this - our opportunity to see such a rare insect bred on these shores has been diminished by such completely selfish behaviour. Various punishments were suggested.

....and I'd be more than happy to summarily administer it.

If I make the journey (and I'm seriously considering it) from south Wales and I find someone trying to net this species then that net will be rendered unusable within seconds.

[Neil Hulme]

Hi David,
Perhaps you could offer them a very quick look at the chalk succession, in reverse stratigraphical order?
BWs, Neil

[IainLeach]

Have to agree with previous views on what to do with a net. We didn't see anyone netting on Wednesday thankfully and it has been busy all week I think so it might be difficult to get away with it.

[David M]

Hi David,
Perhaps you could offer them a very quick look at the chalk succession, in reverse stratigraphical order?
BWs, Neil

Well, I wouldn't go that far but I'd be happy for what's left of the net to take a gravity assisted descent.

[Padfield]

How unbelievably selfish, to take any of these historic butterflies that people are coming from all over the country to see. I trust photographs are being taken of of the killjoy(s), so when the story hits the nationals - as it surely must - it can be fully illustrated.

Guy

[Marc Heath]

Utterly disgusting behaviour. If I were to see this behaviour when I was there that net would be thoroughly shuffed up their arse. I suggest if anyone is seen trying to net this species a photo is taken and publically put on the forum to be be disgraced and shamed. How people can do this to any butterfly is out of order but to take specimens away to be pinned and displayed in their house is unbelievable. Should you be reading this forum, you're actions are disgraceful, moan over, have a good evening!

Marc

[Pete Eeles]

Utterly disgusting behaviour. If I were to see this behaviour when I was there that net would be thoroughly shuffed up their arse.

Don't hold back Marc

I agree - there are some very selfish people out there who are a disgrace to the butterfly community. I've no problem with nets being used for the right reasons (and there are good reasons) but can't think of any reason to net a Long-tailed Blue.

Cheers,

- Pete

[lee3764]

I hope there are some Long-tailed Blues left for my family to see on Saturday and Sunday as we have to undertake a 700 mile round trip from Cornwall & have just paid £88.50 for a Family Room at a Premier Travel Inn for Saturday night to see this species on British soil! Netting this species just to point out is not illegal from the species point of view, but with 100's of lepidopterists in Britain coming to see a few specimens at this locality how on earth is it justified for 1 person to take all they see on one day rendering all other folk wondering if there are any left!! After reading this I hope from my and others point of view that no-one else takes any away with them. Let us all get photos and let the adult butterflies lay their eggs PLEASE!!!
Cheers,
Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).

[essexbuzzard]

Are you sure absolutely sure about this though? I was there all day yesterday and didn't see any nets,with so many eyes and ears,surely they couldn't have got away with it?


However,the above punishments are certainly appropiate if they did!


Lee,if you do come,try to mix with the other people there-the more eyes looking,the better the chances of success! It worked for us! They were a bit harder to find yesterday then the Heath Frits at our field meeting at Greenscombe in June! The very best of luck.

[millerd]

There was definitely a chap with a net today, but I didn't take his picture. An altercation on top of a cliff is perhaps best avoided!

The detail about the earlier episode was relayed by one of the other folk I met there, so I can't vouch for it first hand.

Dave

[essexbuzzard]

Hmmm.

Hope he didn't catch anything-apart from a cold,maybe!

If people are catching them,they are spoiling things for perhaps hundreds of other people,some of whom have come a very long way. They are selfish idiots of the highest order. Not to mention giving the rest of us a bad name.

[David M]

There was definitely a chap with a net today

Okay folks, this is 'hey lads hey' time.

Photographing anyone with a net henceforth is COMPULSORY.

The strong likelihood is that these people are KILLING these precious insects and thus depriving everybody from being granted the rare privilege of seeing them (mostly for the first - and possibly only - time in this country).

Fire at will.

[millerd]

And if he's not called William...?

Dave

[Susie]

I'll join the rest of you in saying that netting in this situation is disgraceful.

If someone did take butterflies for pinning and deprive these critters of life and us of the chance of witnessing the spectacle I hope karma bites them in the bum and the pinned specimens don't bring them happiness.