Badgerbob

badgerbob · Post by **badgerbob** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 5:41 pm

Thanks Jason, James and David. It was certainly the highlight of my insect year so far!!

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:01 pm

Just catching up with things after a weekend in the loft

and WOW

That has got to be the most stunning Moth I've seen/not seen!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

badgerbob · Post by **badgerbob** » Tue Apr 08, 2014 6:27 pm

Yes Wurzel. It was a WOW moment for me!! Today I was hoping to find another one, preferably a male, but not unexpectedly I failed!! I also once again failed on the Wall pupa hunt. The good thing about spending time doing these hunts though is that you never know what else you will turn up. On Sunday of course, I wouldn't have found the Emperor Moth if I hadn't been pupa hunting. In doing this over the last couple of years I have found a few scarce moths that were not known from this small area. Today I found yet another Wall larva which was just about fully grown, this gives me hope that there are still plenty of larva to turn into my quarry. I also found today what I am almost sure is a green form Marbled White larva, at first I thought it was a Speckled Wood but on looking on this site and also in the books the Specklie has a green head. I hope that Pete or Vince will confirm the id!! To waste a bit of time today I also attempted photographing one of the local Robins that I think have some chicks in a nest nearby.

: Green form Marbled White larva?

: Robin

http://bobsbutterflies.blogspot.com

badgerbob · Post by **badgerbob** » Wed Apr 09, 2014 5:31 pm

A sunny day with a cool breeze down here today. I managed a longer day out today and it was generally a hunt for the Orange-tip. Despite several now being seen I still hadn't seen any until today. To start the day I had my first Green Veined White, then it was mainly Small Tortoiseshell with lots of egg laying on the vast nettle banks. This included one group of 3 butterflies all laying on the same nettle!! At last there were several Orange-tips around some Cuckoo Flower but the stiff breeze and the bright sun made it difficult to get any good photos. It was also good to see my first Large Red Damselfly of the year.

: A threesome of egg laying

: More egg laying.

: Large Red Damselfly

http://bobsbutterflies.blogspot.com

Butterflysaurus rex · Post by **Butterflysaurus rex** » Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:15 pm

That threesome Small Tort egg laying party photo is amazing! I've never seen anything like it, oh and the other photo's aren't too bad either

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:22 pm

Hi Bob,

Great photo of the threesome. I also like the male Orange tip, great combination of colours

Cheers,

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Thu Apr 10, 2014 6:49 pm

Fantastic shots of the OT's and egg laying Small Torts

I saw a Comma showing the same posture the other day and now I know what it was up to.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

badgerbob · Post by **badgerbob** » Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:32 pm

This one is for Wurzel!! I know how much he likes Green Hairstreaks. A very long walk from home today in the sunshine. I met Neville and Janet Richardson and they told me they had seen a Green Hairstreak, I wasn't able to find that one but I did find 2 more. Unfortunately, all I could manage was a poor record shot before it flew and was lost. A smart Green Veined White was also seen along with around 15 Speckled Wood, Peacocks, Small Whites and Small Tortoiseshell. A rather tatty Red Admiral was near the start of the walk. Several Common Heath and a Chinese Character were the moths seen.

: Green Hairstreak

: Speckled Wood

: Speckled Wood

http://bobsbutterflies.blogspot.com

Butterflysaurus rex · Post by **Butterflysaurus rex** » Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:52 pm

Excellent stuff Bob, great to know the Green Hairstreaks have started. I had a look for some Speckled wood today but it seems they were hanging out with you instead

Best Wishes,

B'saurus

Post by **Pete Eeles** » Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:43 pm

badgerbob wrote:This included one group of 3 butterflies all laying on the same nettle!!

Just catching up after a week away from home, and I have to say that's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen!!! Absolutely amazing!

Cheers,

- Pete

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:46 pm

Cheers Bob

But they're up there with my favourites now that I know of three definite sites to see them

Have a goodun

Wurzel

badgerbob · Post by **badgerbob** » Fri Apr 11, 2014 4:09 pm

I'm amazed at the response to the three Small Tortoiseshells laying on the same nettle. Today I met up with Downland Boy who was hoping to see a Marbled White larva. He arrived before I could get there and as I was rushing to catch up with him I saw my first Wall Brown adult of the year, a pristine male. Once looking for the larva a near fully grown Wall larva was seen before I stumbled across the first Marbled White larva, once again the green form. Shortly after the 'Boy' found a brown form. Following this another 6 green form were found in a pretty quick time. All the Marbled White larva were not much bigger than 1 cm in length.

: Marbled White larva brown form.

: top view of green form.

Pauline · Post by **Pauline** » Sat Apr 12, 2014 6:01 pm

Well done finding those larva Bob - I have never seen Marbled White before and your shots have inspired me to look for some when opportunity permits.

badgerbob · Post by **badgerbob** » Sat Apr 12, 2014 6:36 pm

Well, it had to happen eventually!! After countless hours over the last 2 years I managed to locate my 2nd Wall Brown pupa. 2 years ago I found one, then last year the only one I found was being eaten by ants, then today success at last. I was only about 10 minutes into the search today as well so the back hadn't even started to ache. After taking a few pictures I went to locate the larva that I've been following and it was feeding up and is probably near ready for pupation. Whether it will be found after that is doubtful though going by past experience. Before this I had a short walk to see what else I could find but with a cool breeze blowing and weak sunshine it wasn't much. A nest of Browntail moth larva and a reasonable condition Peacock.

: Browntail Moth larva

: Peacock

: Wall Brown pupa

: Wall Brown larva feeding

http://bobsbutterflies.blogspot.com

badgerbob · Post by **badgerbob** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:37 pm

I didn't have a lot of time this morning so it was just a quick dash around my little patch. I was very pleased however to see both male and female Wall Brown as well as the pupa and larva. I'm not quite sad enough to search for an egg to make up the full set!!! Well maybe when there are lots more females about! Yes I am actually quite sad.

robpartridge · Post by **robpartridge** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 5:20 pm

Some might call it sad but that sort of dedication puts me to shame! Respect!

Rob

William · Post by **William** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:39 pm

Superb stuff Badgerbob, that set of life stages is a testament to your hard work, and brilliant photos to boot

Post by **Pete Eeles** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:42 pm

William wrote:Superb stuff Badgerbob, that set of life stages is a testament to your hard work, and brilliant photos to boot

I completely agree with the posts above - incredible dedication and just rewards!

Cheers,

- Pete

David M · Post by **David M** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 8:26 pm

That's a tremendous image of the Wall Brown pupa, Bob.

An A+ rating if ever I saw one.

badgerbob · Post by **badgerbob** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:24 pm

Thanks to you all very much for the comments about the Wall immature stages. To think I was almost on the point of giving up on the pupa as there was so many other delights happening but that challenge of finding these immature stages in the wild is addictive. As I mentioned on an earlier post when looking for a particular target it is amazing what else turns up, like the Marbled White larvae and the Emperor Moth, totally unexpected and so rewarding. I now have the fun of following the pupa as it gradually changes and hopefully this one will complete the cycle unlike the one I found 2 years ago!!

Badgerbob

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