June 2014

[kevling]

Travelled down to Southend today.
First stop was Starvelarks Wood (Little Haven Nature Reserve). A little later in the month than I would have liked, but we did count five
Heath Fritillaries in a small area.

The target species of the day though was White Letter Hairstreaks. We moved on to Hadleigh Country Park and walked to the far south west corner of the site known as Benfleet Downs (Grid Reference TQ785858). Having located some elm, a small number of WLH soon descended to the brambles to nectar. With only a brief sighting of one high in the canopy of an elm last year, this was my first close encounter (and what a top butterfly!).

As we made our way back through Hadleigh Country Park we also noted:

Marbled White
Large White
Skippers (Small, Large & Essex)
Blues (Common & Holly)
Meadow Brown & Ringlet (by the dozens)
Red Admiral
Small Tortoiseshell
Comma
Small Heath
Speckled Wood
and Peacock Caterpillars

Regards Kev

[MarkIvan]

Purple Emperor on the ground at Southwater Woods, Sussex today.

Took me by surprise. Wasn't settled for long, probing around in some damp mud, bit of wing missing already.

Mark Cadey.

[Lee Hurrell]

Silver Washed and Dark Green Fritillary out at Sheepleas, Surrey yesterday.

Many more Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Marbled White than I've seen for a few years too.

Lee

[Steve Babbs]

A good weekend for white admirals considering Suffolk used to be so poor for them. Yesterday I had 3+ at Wherstead Woods, near Belstead and Wolves Woods appeared to be full of them. Certainly more then I've ever seen in Suffolk, possibly anywhere. Today I saw about five at Old Hall Woods, Bentley. Also about three silver-washed frit.s at Wolves Wood. Also one marbled white at a site in Ipswich where they have been introduced. However, failed to find any white-letter hairstreaks in Ipswich.

Incidentally for anyone with an interest in Suffolk Wildlife I've set up a Suffolk Wildlife group. New members much welcome.

Steve

[jasonbirder]

Spent some time up in the Lake District and surrounding area's over the weekend...
Good numbers of Mountain Ringlet on Irton Fell...not many out at the first (lower) colony and those at the second colony (further up) all looked a bit "past it" so perhaps I'd missed the best time here and would have been better at Honister or one of the other Fells...saw at least 20 - 30 in 4 hours yesterday...frustrating to photograph in very breezy conditions!
Good numbers of Large Heath at Meathop Moss...they were literally everywhere you looked!
Walked Smardale Gill this morning and saw good numbers of Northern Brown Argus best numbers in the abandoned quarry area around the Lime Kilns after the Viaduct.

[kevling]

Great shot of the White Admiral Steve. I was in Wherstead Wood one evening last week and saw a single one. Interesting to read them being in Old Hall Wood too. I was looking to explore both there and Shrub Wood (opposite side of A137) in search of them. Will certainly take a trip to Wolves Wood one afternoon this week for the SWF. Do I just follow the set path around there?

Regards

Kev Ling

[downland boy]

I post the following photos of a female Silver-studded Blue by way of a cautionary note when deciding whether or not you have found yourself an aberrant. All photos are of the same female taken on 20th June in varying light conditions.

[JCL]

[quote="jasonbirder"]Spent some time up in the Lake District and surrounding area's over the weekend...
Good numbers of Mountain Ringlet on Irton Fell...not many out at the first (lower) colony and those at the second colony (further up) all looked a bit "past it" so perhaps I'd missed the best time here and would have been better at Honister or one of the other Fells...saw at least 20 - 30 in 4 hours yesterday...frustrating to photograph in very breezy conditions!

Has anyone seen them at Honister yet this year? May be going next weekend.

James

[Lee Hurrell]

I had a lovely ad-hoc evening in Brighton last night and saw 2 Red Admirals on the pier. The first was flying strongly inland so I presume had just made landfall and the other was fluttering around the eaves a of building, presumably looking for a nice spot to roost. This was at 21.05!

Cracking sunset too.

Lee

[Steve Babbs]

Great shot of the White Admiral Steve. I was in Wherstead Wood one evening last week and saw a single one. Interesting to read them being in Old Hall Wood too. I was looking to explore both there and Shrub Wood (opposite side of A137) in search of them. Will certainly take a trip to Wolves Wood one afternoon this week for the SWF. Do I just follow the set path around there?

Regards

Kev Ling

Kev

I think they were found in Old Hall Woods the year after I first had them in Wherstead - which would make it 2004. They're certainly spreading in Suffolk! It's probably a better site. The best area for both wa and swf, at Wolves Woods, is found by just turning right when the footpath splits. The ride then opens up for a superb butterfly area.

Steve

[David M]

Good numbers of Silver Washed Fritillaries and White Admirals in Lower Woods, near Wickwar, Gloucestershire on Sunday 22nd June.

[Willrow]

Super photo's David, sound's a rather inviting location

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

[David M]

Super photo's David, sound's a rather inviting location

It's a cracking location, Bill, if these two species are what you're after. Purple Hairstreak abounds here too though it's a bit early in the season for them so make the most of the incredibly fresh Frits & Admirals whilst you can.

T'was only an hour from Abergavenny so it was well worth the trip, and now that I've indulged myself I can 'prospect' for Purple Emperors without feeling the need to do justice to these two magnificent 'beasts' at the same time!

[jasonbirder]

Daneway Banks
What a superb site...literally alive with butterflies...we recorded 10 species in a couple of hours. More Marbled White than I have ever seen...must have been a hundred on the wing!
Found an active but confiding ♀ Large Blue ovipositing on Thyme which allowed plenty of photo ops...but no open wing shots!

[David M]

So glad you caught up with your quarry, Jason.

[JCL]

Hi

Does anyone know whether the Cumbria/Lancs High Brown Fritillaries are out yet? And another RFI on whether Mountain Ringlet is out at sites other than Irton Fell, eg Honister. Planning a trip this weekend...

cheers

James

Spent some time up in the Lake District and surrounding area's over the weekend...
Good numbers of Mountain Ringlet on Irton Fell...not many out at the first (lower) colony and those at the second colony (further up) all looked a bit "past it" so perhaps I'd missed the best time here and would have been better at Honister or one of the other Fells...saw at least 20 - 30 in 4 hours yesterday...frustrating to photograph in very breezy conditions!

Has anyone seen them at Honister yet this year? May be going next weekend.

James

[Hoggers]

I saw approximately 9 White Letter Hairstreaks at Reculver Country Park this morning

Happy Hunting,

Hoggers.

[Cotswold Cockney]

Not a butterfly but, a very beautiful moth ~ A Scarlet Tiger not far from my garden but about one hundred metres away in our road. Unfortunately squashed possibly knocked down by a passing car. Few days ago whilst driving nearby saw what I thought almost certainly was another colourful day flying moth, the Cinnabar. A very brief en passant sighting. Maybe it was a Tiger.

I can see local Cotswold beauty spot Painswick Beacon from my bedroom window, about two miles away. Saw Scarlet Tigers there a few years ago. Make that ten years ago at least on a time flies basis when you've passed those three score years and ten.

Reminds me of my first encounter with this attractive moth. Back about 1955 with my schoolboy friend up near Haresfield Beacon, not far from Painswick. Searching some nettles and brambles in early May, we were able to see our first ever Duke of Burgundy butterflies. That day we found a number of larvae which due to our then lack of experience, we believed to be Red Admirals. We were wrong. On that same day in that area we saw someone approaching dressed in desert coloured shorts, shirt and hat with a large Kite Net on a long Pole.

It was Dr. Kettlewell who did that study of the Peppered Moth and melanism. He was able to inform us what our larvae were. All our larvae produced fine examples of this attractive day flying moth which I have seen many times since in many Cotswold localities and elsewhere. We also found numerous larvae of the Bluddy Nosed Beetle on Goosegrass that day. Clevers or call it what you will. That large coarse Galium species ( Bedstraw ) which their seeds attach to your socks and clothes. Have bred Humming Bird Hawk Moths on Goosegrass. It grows in my garden now.

Later that year saw adults of that Beetle. Long time since I've seen one of those.

Great days gorn forever.

Edit to add an amusing sequel.

Later that season in the same locality, again with my friend who had a much more extensive knowledge of these things, called me over to show me a "black" Scarlet Tiger which despite that, he sincerely believed must have been down a sooty chimney or something. I immediately told him what it was. About ten years before, me aged about five, in my East London back garden, I found a completely black version of a Garden Tiger. By pure coincidence, it was at rest on our coal storage area ~ all houses had those in those pre-central heating impoverished post war years....

My friend the late Derrick Isles, had a note published in The Entomologists' Record later that year of his Black Tiger.

Dr. Kettlewell knew about that stuff ...

[Susie]

I had a lovely ad-hoc evening in Brighton last night and saw 2 Red Admirals on the pier. The first was flying strongly inland so I presume had just made landfall and the other was fluttering around the eaves a of building, presumably looking for a nice spot to roost. This was at 21.05!

Cracking sunset too.

Lee

I think there must be an influx of red admirals. A walk around st Leonards forest this morning turned up half a dozen and I had some on the buddleia in my garden right up til dusk at 10pm on Sunday.

[Ian Pratt]

First silver washed fritillaries(3), small skippers (2), and ringlet (5) seen at Walters Copse Newtown IOW today, together with 2 commas, and numerous meadow browns and white admirals. Ian