Sunday 29th June 2014 - Large Blue Central....
Bill (Willrow) and I visited Daneway Banks today following the positive feedback from others on this site, and we both absolutely concur; it is a
magnificent location.
Walking down the lane from the lay by this precipitous hillside emerges into view, imperiously dominating the landscape.
It is a vast site, and, I have to say, much easier on the feet than Collard Hill. What's more, it has capacity to deal with large numbers of visitors which Collard sometimes does not, with often crowds of people setting up 'camp' in the known hotspots.
There is a grassy field adjacent to the entrance to the main site, and Bill & I decided to take a quick look. As I was opening the gate, I spotted a Large Blue on a marsh thistle, so the omens were already very good.
Once on the main site we soon found a very obliging male who was more than happy to pose during an overcast spell:
We moved up towards the upper entrance gate, from where this image was taken:
Adjacent to this gate is another which leads to the upper part of the site. We went through it and hung around for a minute or two as the territory looked promising. That was judicious because a male flew by and came to rest right by us:
Whilst we were observing this male, a much brighter specimen zoomed into view - our first female of the day:
We spent a delightful 10 minutes or so watching her, but her behaviour perplexed us. Correct me if I'm wrong, but her plant of choice appears to be marjoram:
She had no interest in any other plant, and she kept bending her abdomen as if to oviposit, but she never actually laid because I checked several times once she'd moved on and found nothing. Curious.
In total, we found 15 different Large Blues, although the area with the greatest abundance of wild thyme was strangely bereft of their presence. One male that we
did find in this spot was unusually dusky:
Other interesting features of the day were the amazing numbers of Marbled Whites. If I were to put a figure to them then it'd be more than 1,000. They were everywhere (Meadown Browns in similar numbers too).
Species range/numbers were:
Marbled White 1,000+
Meadow Brown 1,000+
Ringlet 200+
Small Heath 50-100
Small Skipper 50-100
Small Tortoiseshell 30-50
Large Skipper 30-50
Large Blue 15
Common Blue 6 (badly faded, which makes their ground colour similar to LB)
Dark Green Fritillary 5-10
Green Hairstreak 2 (practically all the green had worn off these two)
Silver Washed Fritillary 2 (both seen adjacent to the woodland to the west of the site)
Speckled Wood 1
Painted Lady 1
Green Veined White 1
I know your a bit casual about them due to your experiences with them in France, but this is 'proper' HF habitat 
I just always seem to be somewhere else when they emerge and by the time I have the opportunity their short flight season is over. Not sure if I will get the chance again this year now so if not, I really must make them top of my list of targets for next year.
) and your company 
...enjoy!!!