Maximus

[David M]

Excellent reportage, Mike. You've clearly taken a real interest and I can't wait to see how things developed.

[Nick Broomer]

Ditto, you have certainly got my attention Mike.

All the best, Nick.

[Pauline]

Morning Mike - I know we've spoken several times about your efforts to encourage the butterflies and protect the caterpillars but somehow it brings it alive seeing the photos. Really well done and I shall try to follow your example next year with my Whites. I can't wait for more news of the Orange Tips and hope they eventually repay you by providing some excellent photo opportunities.

[Maximus]

Apologies for the delay since my last posting, but thanks Neil, David, Nick and Pauline. Hope all goes well with your BH's Pauline


21st November

Although Large and Small Whites remained the most common butterflies in the garden, we began to get visits from other species. The first of these were Small Tortoiseshells which were attracted to the buddleia and also spent time basking on the wall in the sun.

This was a particularly well marked individual

A species that found the Verbena to its liking was the Comma, there seemed to be a regular influx of them into the garden, with some of them in July being the beautiful Hutchinsoni type.

Gatekeepers began to appear in late July and were seen frequently nectaring on the Scabious.

However one of the biggest surprises of the summer came on 31st July when the garden was host to the following three species.

Ringlet on Cosmos

Meadow Brown on Oxeye Daisy

SW Fritillary on Erysimum Bowles Mauve

SW Fritillary on Cosmos

The Cosmos seemed to be attractive to both the Ringlet and the Silver-washed Fritillary, (where she came from remains a mystery to us), and the Meadow Brown seemed to prefer the Oxeye Daisy. Cosmos also appears to be a magnet for all types of Bee, there were always plenty visiting the flowers. TBC...

[David M]

A Silver Washed Fritillary in the garden is a notable event! I take it you're not far from woodland?

[Maximus]

We have no woodland nearby David, which is why we were very surprised to see this butterfly in our garden. It was a nice surprise and she stayed for about 20 mins before moving on.

[David M]

She could only have been on a long-range egg-laying mission then, surely?

[William]

Wonderful shots of the Silver Washed Fritillary Maximus . The purple/ silver and gold is a lovely combination. Like you, I had a few in the garden this year. A knowledgeable friend of mine witnessed the same phenomenon and suggested that, due to the lovely warm weather, the bramble blossoms had gone over more quickly and so Fritillaries ended up ranging about a bit more (and turning up in gardens) to find nectar - can't say I was complaining!

[Wurzel]

Lovely shots Mike especially the well marked Small Tort. I'm very envious of the Silver Washed as that's a species I never had in my garden when I had one

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Thanks Wurzel and William, yes the bramble flowers were over early this year William, like you I'm not complaining if it means more SW Fritillaries in the garden


As 2013 is nearing an end I need to begin to conclude my diary, taking up where I left off with our garden butterflies. We recorded a total of fifteen butterfly species in our garden in 2013 which was much better than 2012. Perhaps a better summer and an increased quantity of nectar rich flowers made all the difference?

Brimstones were regular visitors as were Peacocks later in the summer.

There were also other firsts in 2013, Small Skipper, Common Blue and Holly Blue.

In addition to the butterflies we were lucky to see the following....I'm not 100% sure of some ID's

Elephant Hawk Moth, tatty but still flying strongly

Silver-Y tatty but enjoying the nectar

Slow Worm

Brown Hawker?

Migrant Hawker?

Angle Shades Caterpillar?

[Wurzel]

A great reminisce Mike I'm struggling with my own caterpillar identifications at the moment but it looks like it could be an Angle Shades. Looking on my App I'd agree with Brown and Migrant Hawker but I might not be right At least I got to have a play with my apps
Have a great Christmas
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Thanks Wurzel, glad you got to use your apps, have a great Christmas yourself

A merry Christmas and a great new year to all on UK Butterflies

[Maximus]

As winter is dragging on and the forecast was for sunshine today, we decided that we needed to escape from indoors for a couple of hours and get some fresh air and do something butterfly related. So we headed for Noar Hill with the intention of looking for Brown Hairstreak eggs. We checked many Blackthorn suckers in the lane alongside the reserve but it took a while before we found our first egg, the first we had ever found

Neatly laid in the crook of the branch was...

..the first egg, which was really pleasing to find.

Once we got our eye in we began to find more, laid in a variety of different positions on the blackthorn..

This egg appeared to have been freshly predated, possibly as it was laid in a more exposed position. Often wondered why the eggs are white and not darker coloured, as they really stand out against the Blackthorn?

All in all we spent a very pleasant afternoon at Noar. Nice to think that these eggs should be hatching in about three months or so I really must get some extension tubes sometime

[Pete Eeles]

Well done Maximus!

I'm not sure if that last shot is of a Brown Hairstreak egg, which are usually laid in fork in a branch, and certainly not at the tip of a thorn. Let's hope it belongs to some other critter

Cheers,

- Pete

[David M]

Great winter images.

I concur, once you have found a few Brown Hairstreak eggs everything suddenly becomes much easier.

You soon get a 'feel' for where they're likely to be and within a short space of time, they're popping up with indecent regularity!

[Nick Broomer]

Well done Mike. It is always great to find something for the first time, as in this case the Brown Hairstreak ovum. Gives one a great sense of achievement.
And photo number six is a lovely shot of the egg. I went out with a friend of mine at the weekend to look for Brown and Purple Hairstreak eggs and, we managed to find both. The purple Hairstreaks were a first also.

All the best, Nick.

[Maximus]

Thanks Pete, it did look like a Brown Hairstreak egg, but the photo is not very clear, as it was in a very dark spot, let's hope it wasn't

Thanks David, yes I agree that after the first one you do begin to get a 'feel' for where they are likely to be and can then begin spotting them from a metre or so away.

Thanks Nick, it was great to find the Brown Hairstreak ovum for the first time, it gives you a real buzz Glad you got to see them too, how did you get to find the Purple Hairstreak eggs, given their normal location?

Mike

[Maximus]

There are signs that Spring may be just around the corner, but one must never underestimate what February may bring

Early Crocuses

Snowdrops in flower

A fat fly (species unknown) basking in the sun

[Nick Broomer]

Hi Mike, the Purple Hairstreak ovum were found on the lower branches of Oak. One ovum was found on a small Oak no more than about nine feet high, but you have to be careful about which trees you check for eggs as the PH are quite particular on which species of Oak they choose to lay their eggs.

All the best, Nick.

[Maximus]

Inspired by Nick (hideandseek) and Jack (Jackz432r) we decided to visit our local Oak wood to see if we could find some Purple Hairstreak Ova. Once there we noticed that a large amount of Oak twigs had been blown down from the canopies of the Oaks, during the recent high winds. We decided to search these to see if any contained eggs. After about half an hour we found what we were looking for, tucked up at the base of a bud.

Purple Hairstreak Ovum

Our first ever sighting of Purple Hairstreak eggs Some time later we found a second, tucked up tightly right in between the Oak buds.

Now all we need to find out is, what is required to rear these to adulthood