Cheers Goldie
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
I must confess that my moth mania has gone one step further as I've got a folder for each species, even if I get only a tenth of teh Bitish species that's a whole lot of folders!
The “Aristocrats”
14 White Admiral, 21-06 Bentley Wood
I love White Admirals and yet of all the butterflies they are the most likely to make me curse. I just can’t seem to ever get the perfect classic closed wing shot of those stunning underside markings. They will glide by cutting through the air, appearing more white than black; shining in the dappled July woodlands before they slow and turn and drop to a Bramble or Fern frond. As I approach and get set to take my shot they will slowly lower their wings and that will be me chance gone until they depart and land somewhere else when the ritual will be repeated. I also swear that their wings morph as when in flight they appear to be much, much longer resembling the Julia of butterfly houses and Zoos. However, when I examine photos or watch one resting on a leaf the wings don’t seem noticeably longer and just look normal...
Anyway back to business. This year I felt concerned for the White Admirals – well those at Bentley at least as despite being almost a fortnight earlier they didn’t seem to be around in the same numbers as last year, and that year they seemed to be down on the year before etc. I hope this isn’t an actual trend and is just an artefact caused by not being able to visit Bentley Wood as much as in previous years? To temper this slightly depressing thought; I was lucky enough to find 4 individuals in one glade at a new site for me so perhaps it isn’t all doom and gloom?
![WA1.JPG (738.98 KiB) Viewed 1461 times So close!](./files/thumb_9821_fb4edbfa0b3d38a24289c46196bb0ef8)
- So close!
15 Purple Emperor, 06-07-2014 Bentley Wood
They were only slightly earlier this year and in terms of numbers it is very difficult for me to judge. The populations further afield seem to be doing very well – with Fermyn and Botany Bay producing great results for fellow butterfliers. There were also a couple of reports closer to home from new haunts. So taking this into account they could be judged to have had a good year however for me personally it was another frustrating one! Two trips led to views of two individuals but they were both very, very fleeting and getting shorts just wasn’t a possibility. This is the second poor year for me for Purple Emperor but I’m taking to heart the fact that this has happened before. In my first proper year of butterflying I managed only glimpses of His Nibbs through a telescope. The second year ‘He’ was in a similar place and slightly lower down but the views were still not the best. Then in my third year I was buzzed, had two males on the deck in different places along with an Empress on the deck to cap it all. Hopefully my there cycle will come to fruition in 2015!
![PE.JPG (646.03 KiB) Viewed 1461 times "Here's what you could have won!"](./files/thumb_9821_216ade98d1e2a12d5628f7d95cebfb47)
- "Here's what you could have won!"
16 Red Admiral, 19th January Harcourt Terrace
I think it was an improved year all round for Red Admirals in 2014. First up a Red Admiral was my first ‘official’ butterfly of 2014 and it was a massive 3 and a bit months earlier than in 2013! The earlier sighting of an awakening hibernator boded well for the species and so it continued throughout the year. Whilst there weren’t record breaking numbers there definitely wasn’t the paucity of 2013 and there were individuals present on most trips and at most sites. My sightings throughout the year showed a few times when they were absent which would tie –in.
It was harder for me this year to judge the autumnal showing. In previous years I’d relied on observations made in the back garden of the butterflies in the Ivy Arch and bushes. Even in 2013 I was still able to use this as an indicator despite moving home as my sister in-law bought the property so I was able to visit and observe. Unfortunately this summer as well as breaking out and shifting 14 tons of concrete from the old paths, patios and green house footings I also had the horrible task of ripping out the trees and shrubs including the Ivy from the old oasis. This meant my indicator was gone but luckily the Devenish stepped in and sightings there at the end of October as well as individuals at work and on the eve of the Social (in the train station ticket office) allowed me to estimate their presence. To which end I reckon there was a pretty good autumnal showing this year still not as good as previous years but better than last for sure. There were also some really late, late records and I myself was lucky enough to film one on my iPod while I was doing some last minute Christmas shopping! I will partly remember 2014 as the year the Red Admiral became my Alpha and Omega butterfly; first of the year to awaken the desire and finally there in the dim lights to bid the year farewell. In fact I might have recorded a Red Admiral sighting in every month of 2014...
![RA 1.JPG (1.36 MiB) Viewed 1461 times RA 1.JPG](./files/thumb_9821_4d4fd7d149e98f6687dd705c6e9d189b)
![RA 2.JPG (1.37 MiB) Viewed 1461 times RA 2.JPG](./files/thumb_9821_13f0c113cb53fed190ff160807eea197)
17 Painted Lady, 06-06 Larkhill
My first sighting of this species was almost 2 months earlier than last year and was a much appreciated addition to my Larkhill list. However the early arrival didn’t equate to the bucket loads that I’m longing to see. In fact this year was probably on a par with my worst ever year for sightings of this species with a paltry 4 individuals all year! It was also a quieter year for Clouded Yellows and the rise and fall of both species are said to be in sync. I must remember that when a ‘big one’ comes not to get lost in yellow and ignore the ladies! Whilst I saw only 4 individuals they were reasonably widely dispersed with sightings in Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset and Ceredigion in chronological order. So not a good year for Painted Ladies; perhaps 2015 will be the one or will we have to wait longer?
18 Small Tortoiseshell, 1st January Bob
For me it was another great year for Small Torts and they seem to be thriving in the west. I also heard reports that they’re on the up in the east as well, so overall I would say that it was another great year for them. This year I started walking a path at the back of work regularly and these almost daily walks often threw up Small Tortoiseshells in excess of 20. Adding further evidence to their booming numbers was the fact that I saw a Small Tortoiseshell at all bar one of my visits/sites; with only Slop Bog not holding a Tortie (I reckon there was one there but the Silver Studs had tied it up so they’d get all the attention
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
). It would be nice if their continued good fortune was shared by their larger cousins.
In terms of their phrenology my view was slightly skewed because I had Bob, so a sneaky look on New Year’s Day meant my first sighting was almost as early as possible. However my first proper sighting of a free flying imago was the 16th Feb and so was a couple of weeks earlier than 2013 – possibly due to a generally milder start to the year.
19 Peacock, 08-03 Five Rivers
My first Peacock this year was almost a month earlier than in 2013 and from then on Peacocks seemed to show similar patterns to their cousins the Small Torts. So not only were they earlier but they were also about in good numbers – possibly more than last year. As they were having a good year I managed to see them in almost as many sites as the Small Torts with Collard Hill possibly being the only site that didn’t throw up a Peacock to add to the Small Tortoiseshell on the day list.
I noticed two things about Peacocks this year. First was the subtlety (not a word often associated with Peacocks I know) of the differences in variations of the markings – most noticeably the ground colour which serves to highlight the ‘eyes’ on the hind wings. Some were wearing dark mascara and eye shadow and others had gone for more golden hues.
![P1.JPG (1.75 MiB) Viewed 1461 times 'Golden'](./files/thumb_9821_21266b121f03548d9e95f60104ab7739)
- 'Golden'
![P3.JPG (2.29 MiB) Viewed 1461 times 'Panda eyes'](./files/thumb_9821_badbf0c0829b90c95b52a60cf904f083)
- 'Panda eyes'
The second thing was that there seems to be the opposite distribution pattern to the Small Tortoiseshell with Peacocks more numerous in the East whereas Small Torts seems to favour the West. The evidence for this is only anecdotal but of the people that I’ve spoken to that feel the Peacock did better than the Small Tort this year almost all live in the Eastern side of the country.
20 Comma, 08-03 Five Rivers
All in all I think the Comma had a pretty good year. It’s really hard to judge this as it is one of the commoner species and is always ‘there’ turning up in a range of habitats and often when something else that you were hoping for has also just turned up. I often feel guilty at the short shrift that I give Commas especially as they have such splendid livery which would make them even more spectacular and much sought after if they were rare.
So apart from a general gut feeling that they too had a good one I also call upon other anecdotal observations to back this up. For example the fact that my first one of 2014 was a whole month earlier than 2013. Also I recall seeing good numbers at all three key times throughout the year; emerging hibernators, H.Commas in the summer and the final brood settling down to hibernate and emerge, hopefully quite soon!
21a Map, 13-08-2014 Site X
I shouldn’t really have included this in my Tally but I put it on the when it was still possibly a natural immigrant from the continent. But then the rumblings as to their origins took a different turn I was considering removing it from the Tally. In the end I settled with making it an ‘a’ for posterity. I would really like to see a real life Map immigrant one day but what if the caterpillars from this clutch survive? Would the possible 2015 spring generation count as British born or do the Map have to survive for a number of years before they are included on the British list? What happens if some Maps do make it here, stay and survive to set up colonies that come into contact with this one at Site X? It hurt my head thinking this through so in the end I gave up and just enjoyed remembering the day.
Have a goodun
Wurzel