jackz432r

[David M]

I'm always envious of October Speckled Woods! As you say, jack, the season is now in complete wind-down. I'm actually wondering if there'll be another opportunity to get out and see a butterfly.

Hopefully after this 'hurricane' things will settle down somewhat.

[Paul Harfield]

Hi Goldie, Wurzel & David
I don't think my wife would be very pleased Goldie, if I told her there were miniature crocodiles in the garden
Thanks for the suggestion Wurzel, but it is not Elephant Hawk. I was over your way on Sunday (report to follow), butterflies were well into double figures so the season has not quite wound down just yet.
We may well have had the remnants of a hurricane David (perhaps it was not quite as bad down here), but I still managed to find a Red Admiral in a sheltered corner at Bournemouth Town Hall today

[Paul Harfield]

Sunday 19.10.2014 Shipton Bellinger

Shipton Bellinger has been a new site for me this year. I got to see my first Brown Hairstreaks there back in September. The thing that has struck me most about this site is that it has a lot more to offer than just Brown Hairstreaks and I promised myself to revisit at other times. This seems to be an early site and I have noticed that it is very good for Holly Blues and also that there is vast expanses of Ivy here. Reports of third brood Holly Blues at various places elsewhere made me think this would be as good a place as any to see one. On Sunday the weather forecast thankfully looked to be about as good as I could expect for October so I headed off.

For much of the first hour the sun frustratingly stayed hidden behind a band of cloud even though there was plenty of blue sky around and the butterflies stayed equally as hidden. Thankfully, from midday, I was treated to a delightfully warm and sunny afternoon. It was a little breezy but the high hedgeline here keeps the tracks fairly sheltered. The track that turns left at the crossraods and goes back toward the village has the most abundant Ivy. Although much of it has almost finished flowering now I concentrated my efforts in this area.

First Comma of the day was a bit battle weary

It is such a lovely feeling when you have been on site for a while without a sighting and then the first Red Admiral of the day flutters around your head and settles in a sun drenched spot close by As the afternoon went on more and more Red Admirals appeared I counted 9 down the left hand track. After a while a couple of Commas came down to bask in the warm sunshine. Further up the track Brimstones started to appear first a male spending much of its time fluttering around very close to or within the foliage almost as if it were undecided whether to venture out or stay in hibernation mode. I saw 4 males in total and then a couple of females started to appear they seemed even more indecisive, barely venturing out of the foliage. Fluttering around for a while and then returning to shelter under a leaf or within an Ivy clump. As I walked up the track another butterfly jinked toward me. This one was small and brown and quite ragged. It did not stop and flew up high over the hedge line being buffeted by the breeze before I lost sight of it. I can only assume that this was a late Brown Hairstreak though I could not be sure.

This male Brimstone could not decide what to do with himself

Female Brimstone similarly barely showed herself

This male Brimstone was a little bolder and came out to bask in the sunshine

One female Brimstone disappeared into this overhanging clump of Ivy whilst the resident Red Admiral nectared

I checked out a couple of the other tracks but none seemed to hold anywhere near the the number of butterflies as my first location. Just a couple more Red admirals was all. Down one of the tracks I came face to face with some discarded rubbish, a pile of old lorry wheels. Do people have no morals No Holly Blues had shown so once I had had my fill of the Brimstone and Red Admirals I decided to head home satisfied with my days tally. As I walked the track that runs parallel to the main track and approached the point where it rejoins I spotted a flash of orangey yellow coming towards me.

A different shade of yellow for my final sighting of the day

Do people have no morals?

The unmistakeable sight of a Clouded Yellow came past me at a rate of knots at about knee high. I could see this was a male. It flew past and did not look like it had any intention of stopping. However it turned around and flew back towards me and by a stroke of luck I was standing close to perhaps one of only a couple of isolated nectar sources along this track. It stopped to refuel almost right at my feet low in the grass. I managed a couple of shots before it carried on out of sight. But as I made my way up the track I spotted it again standing out like a sore thumb settled on the grass. Unlike many Clouded Yellow encounters this one seemd to be giving me ample opportunity to get up close. It moved a little further on to nectar on perhaps the only red clover flower I saw before flying off out of sight. A great end to my visit and perhaps my last butterfly outing this year.

Total Tally for the day:
Red Admiral 12
Comma 2
Brimstone 6 (4 male & 2 female)
Clouded Yellow 1 male
Brown Hairstreak 1? possible

[Wurzel]

Great report Jack with great photos to accompany it There's another cracking site nearby that I can PM you about - it holds a slightly greater range of species than Shipton

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Paul Harfield]

Thanks Wurzel

Saturday 25.10.2014 Knowle Village, Aytesbury Copse

I began the day optimistically, but it did not turn out as bright as expected. I had almost given up on any sunshine when a large patch of blue sky loomed in the distance. I arrived at my butterfly hotspot at gone 4pm which for a late October day is obviously well past the window of opportunity. To my unexpected delight, as I walked the wide grassy track at the edge of the copse, I disturbed a female Clouded Yellow from its roosting place and almost simultaneously a Comma also flew up. I managed to lose sight of both as they disappeared over the hedgeline. I climbed the fence to the other side of the hedge approximately where the Clouded Yellow was last seen, not expecting to catch up with it. As I walked along the sunny side of the hedge I was amazed to see the Clouded Yellow settled on a small Oak sapling in the hedgerow. Further on I could also see the Comma fluttering around some Ivy. This was a very pleasing and unexpected result to end the day

Unexpected Clouded Yellow 25.10.2014

In fact I was so enthralled that I returned the following day in even less perfect conditions and was amazed to find what I think is the same butterfly in a similar position close by, but this time in full roosting mode with antennae clenched tight.

The same butterfly the following day. This time in full roosting mode with antennae clenched 26.10.2014

[Wurzel]

That is a great find Paul - I managed to get out the other day and saw a Cloudy which bombed by so I about your shots

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Paul Harfield]

Saturday 1.11.2014 Stephens Castle Down & Aytesbury Copse

On Saturday I was determined to make the most of my last day of freedom (my family have been on holiday in Turkey for the last 2 weeks) Thankfully the weather forecast was favourable and accurate though perhaps not as good as Friday when I was at work.
I thought I would check out Stephens Castle Down, my local downland site hoping for perhaps a late Holly Blue. I was however perhaps a little too early in the day. After notching up just one Red Admiral by midday, I set off for another site just a few miles down the road.

Aytesbury Copse is rapidly becoming a favourite butterfly spot for me, it has been very productive from early in the year and is still coming up with the goods into November Slightly disappointingly it had clouded up somewhat and become a little more windy by the time I arrived. I headed straight for the hotspots, a wide grassy track between ancient woodland and farmland and a small slightly abandoned area of rough grass next to a farm equipment shed. The few small clumps of Ivy along the track had no Red Admirals or Commas, but just as my heart was beginning to sink a Clouded Yellow flew up and flew along the grassy track into the distance toward the farm shed.

Clouded Yellow

As I made my way off the track round behind the farm shed I spotted a Clouded Yellow nectaring on the scattered Hawkweed and Ragwort. This one was a male which please me immensely I hoped in my mind that it had managed to find the female I had found in the same location last weekend. Whilst I took a few photos of this individual I spotted 2 more bombing about across this small grassy area. A large dark cloud then blotted out the sun and all action stopped for what seemed like an age. I paced around in the dingy conditions unable to locate any of these Clouded Yellows waiting for this black cloud to pass by. Eventually the sun did reappear and with it the Clouded Yellows came back to life. I never tire of Clouded Yellows and could watch them forever.

There are also some large patches of Nettle here which are currently lush with regrowth. I spotted a Red Admiral fluttering around the Nettle patch over in the corner of this area so I went over to investigate. There were in fact two Red Admirals here flying quite slowly over the Nettles occasionally settling and basking. This looked like egg laying behaviour and when I watched a bit more closely I could see they were indeed laying eggs and lots of them. When I checked the Nettle tips for evidence I found that many already eggs on them from previous visits. I am not sure if this is unusual or not but I will try and keep tabs on these eggs/larvae over the coming weeks. I have retained 2 eggs to rear through in different conditions.

Two egglaying females basking and both missing the tip of an antenna

Egglaying was carried out with wings half closed and half open

I had a prior appointment with a haircut so only had till 2pm. When my time was up I made my way along the track back to the car just in time to watch another Clouded Yellow. This one was a female and I watched as it skipped along the edge of the track laying eggs as it went. Surprisingly these eggs were laid on the smallest Clover leaves along the well trodden grassy track rather than the lusher, bushier plants close by.

There were also a couple of Dragonflies which I think were Common Darters, one of which decided my boot would be a good place to settle. A great end to what will probably be my last butterfly outing of the year.

[Wurzel]

Great report Paul, with some great shots and that first Cloudy is a cracker

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Paul Harfield]

Hi Wurzel Thanks for the comments. I have not seen another butterfly since

Saturday 15.11.2014 Red Admiral

In my last post I mentioned that I had retained a couple of those late Red Admiral eggs. In fact my intention had been to just retain one, but when I inspected the Nettle Tip more closely at home there were actually 2 eggs on it. One of these was laid on the 1.11.2014 and I would think the other was laid within a couple of days of this. I am unsure whether these late offspring are expected to survive the winter, I suppose it depends on how bad the winter is.

Freshly hatched Red Admiral larva 15.11.2014

Freshly hatched Red Admiral larva finding its way onto fresh foodplant 15.11.2014

When I unexpectedly found I had 2 eggs I decided to keep one outside, mildly protected but in an outside temperature conditions. The other I kept in a cool garage. I have acquired an accurate digital thermometer for work, but this has come in very useful for recording temperatures for larvae
I noticed that the ova I had kept in a cool garage had become slightly darkened on Friday 14.11.2014. When I returned from football training on Saturday morning this ova had hatched. I had actually inadvertently left it in the kitchen in slightly warmer conditions after checking it on Saturday morning. Whether this increase in temp was the trigger to hatch or whether it was already destined to hatch I am not sure. The ova which is outside is still currently showing now change in colour.

Unhatched Red Admiral ova 15.11.2014

Sunday 16.11.2014 Clouded Yellow Tragedy!

At the same time that I collected the Red Admiral eggs I also collected a single Clouded Yellow ova also laid 1.11.2014. I thought the likelyhood was that this would perish over the winter so have kept this in similar conditions in the cool but not outside. When first laid this was yellow but after a couple of days became orange and over the last few days has become much darker. I took some pictures yesterday at the same time my Red Admiral had hatched and noted in the pictures that the egg had a distinctly darker top and could see some shape within though I could not see this with the naked eye. I suspected this was also close to hatching. Yesterday evening my son spotted that this one had hatched before me as it was very difficult to pick out against the old clover leaf on which it was laid. Early this afternoon I tried to get some pictures of the larva. I managed to get a couple of shots before clumsily knocking this tiny larva on the floor This was a tragedy for me, I spent the next hour or so searching with a magnifying glass to no avail I have learned a valuable lesson here but am truly gutted. Even my wife was quite sympathetic Better preparation next time is an absolute must.

Clouded Yellow Ova a few hours before hatching 15.11.2014

Clouded Yellow larva the day after hatching 16.11.2014 and shortly before I mislaid it!

[Maximus]

Hi Paul,

I know how you feel, but as always what can go wrong does go wrong However, we all learn from these experiences

Mike

[Paul Harfield]

Thanks Mike. Thankfully I have not been as clumsy with the Red Admiral larvae

Saturday 29.11.2014 Almost A December Sighting

I was hoping to attend the 'Winter Social' but with a very tight schedule this was starting to look in doubt. My wife was due to come out of hospital, football training, household chores etc. Thankfully it all came together. I even had to get my youngest son to a football party, but this happened to be on a direct route from home to Otterbourne. Drop off at 1.45 and pick up 6 or whenever, perfect

Late morning I popped around the corner for some fresh nettle for my Red Admiral larvae when, to my surprise a Brimstone flew up from the path This is my latest ever sighting. I legged it home to get my camera but by the time I returned it was nowhere to be seen but then I spotted a Red Admiral fluttering around. Unfortunately I ran out of time and had to go and get my son from football. The weather was warm and sunny so I planned to pop out briefly when I got back for 10 minutes.

One of three Brimstone seen

These 2 Red Admirals had regular airborne tussles between basking for brief periods

I am glad I did because on my return there were now 2 Red Admirals and surprisingly at least 3 Brimstone ( 2 male & 1 female) This would give me something to boast about later in the afternoon Not quite a December sighting but my latest butterflies by some margin. And all 5 minutes round the corner from home

I finished off an enjoyable afternoon at the Forge in Otterbourne catching up with other UKbers at the Winter Social. Looking forward to next year already

[Wurzel]

Cracking stuff Paul and very envy inducing indeed The Social was great wasn't it I hope there is another one next year.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Paul Harfield]

Thanks Wurzel. By the look of it we might get 2 next year if the spring one gets going. Meanwhile there are still butterflies to be found

Saturday 6.12.2014 My First Ever December Sighting

After walking my son to the reptile centre this morning at 10am I meandered my way home in the bright sunshine. There was still frost on the ground from a cold night, but there were places where there was some warmth. I thought there might be a chance of butterfly. I popped out again at lunch time for half an hour to a sheltered spot close to home. I was pleased to find at least 2 Red Admirals flitting around the sundrenched remains of a fallen Oak Tree under which there is a large expanse of lush Stinging Nettles. I shall revisit this spot over the winter whenever conditions feel right

My first ever December sighting

Fallen Oak tree creating a sheltered location for at least 2 Red Admirals

At home both Red Admiral eggs have hatched. The largest of these larvae is now 21 days old and just 7mm in length. Hopefully these will survive the winter.

21 day old Red Admiral larva

[trevor]

HI Jackz432r

Good sighting, keep looking, the odd one can be seen in every Winter month,even on rare mild sunny January days!
Good luck.

TREVOR.

[Wurzel]

Cracking find Paul - I was hoping for a December Red Admiral as that would have meant a butterfly in every month of 2014 - but with this colder weather coming in I don't know if this will happen On the plus side a cold spell will do the butterflies of 2015 some good

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Paul Harfield]

Thanks trevor, I will keep looking and hopefully I can be lucky in January as well

Thanks Wurzel, good luck with your December Red Admiral. There are certainly some around as you will see

Saturday 13.12.2014 More December Action

Today was another Bright Sunny Saturday after a frosty night. I could not resist the temptation for a quick look at what seems to be my winter Red Admiral hotspot. At 12.30 there was still frost on the ground in places that had not been touched by the sun. I made the 10 minute walk to the spot I visited last Saturday. This is a sheltered south east facing corner of a field with a horizon which is uninterrupted by buildings or trees. I was pleased to find a single Red Admiral this time, a different individual in better condition to the one I photographed here a week ago

A fresher Red Admiral than last week

Out of curiosity I took some temperature readings in the area. Air temperature in the sun was around 7.5 degrees, but in the spots where the Red Admiral was basking I was surprised to find the temperature was up between 12 and 13 degrees. I noticed that there was a lot of bird activity in this area, I hope the other Red Admirals from last week have not been taken by the birds and that this individual can survive unscathed through the winter. I took many photos of this individual today so hopefully I can identify it again if I am lucky enough to run into it again over the winter.

There were also bees and ladybirds about and something unusual growing in an Oak tree (not sure if it is some sort of fungus or gall )

This Bee seems to have mites at the joint between leg and thorax. How common is this in Bees?

One of several Seven Spot Ladybirds seen close together

I have no idea what this is growing in an Oak Tree. Maybe a Fungus or a Gall of some kind?

Hopefully the sun will keep shining on Saturdays at least

[David M]

Congratulations on your sighting, Jack.

Adult butterflies within a fortnight of Christmas Day are to be cherished!

[Wurzel]

To sum up my feelings about your December Red Admiral I'd need to quote a line from The Life of Brian..."you, lucky, lucky B...etc" That's a great reward for your time As for the mites on the Bee - they get wherever they can and I assume the keratin at the joints may be thinner and so easier to puncture for their mouthparts

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Paul Harfield]

Thanks David
I have got my fingers crossed for next weekend. Seriously though, winter sightings are certainly a pleasure to behold but if they happen too often it is probably not a good thing.

Thanks Wurzel
I will try not to find too many more winter ones

[Paul Harfield]

CHRISTMAS EVE 2014

I thought I might be in with a chance of a Christmas Eve Red Admiral today after a bright sunny morning. After several passes of my local hotspot after lunch and after all Christmas shopping was done, sadly I saw none

One of several butterflies spotted basking on our Christmas tree this year!

However, I noticed the other day that our Christmas tree is sporting some interesting decorations this year. Not your typical symbol of Christmas, but as winters become warmer it could become one When I asked my wife where she got them from she informed me they had been on the tree for the last 3-4 years My powers of observation are incredible, God only knows what I have managed not to notice out in the field this year

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL on UK Butterflies