I might be able to get my hands on a Moth trap this year so I'll be able to try that out as well . I tried my local 'early site' today - no joy still a week or two more to wait 
Fritillaries
I saw my first Small Pearl a little over two weeks earlier in 2014 than 2013. However I’m not sure if this was because they had emerged earlier or because I visited the site earlier? At the time my sister was over from Oz and so much of my butterflying was of the ‘have a quick look over here’ variety whilst on family outings. I was also keeping a look out for Philzoid so he could make the trip over for them and hence I was keeping a very close eye on the Wiltshire sightings page. When there was the first sniff of one at Bentley Wood during the week I was there that weekend grabbing my chance when I could and also doing my required recon; there too was my first Small Pearl.
My second trip with Philzoid was the following weekend and by then they’d built in numbers but they still weren’t as common as last year so I felt they didn’t have as good a year this as last and I’m hoping that this is just a blip or even better, an error of my judgement.
Like a lot of species in 2014 the Pearls were out earlier this year than in 2013 but only by about a week for myself personally as I visited once they had started emerging. When I made my annual visit to Bentley for them they were out in greater numbers than I recall but again this was because I was visiting slightly later in their flight time and so they were already actively seeking a mate and some were already egg-laying. This was great as I witnessed behaviours that I hadn’t seen before which added to my overall view of the butterfly but it also meant that those gorgeous closed wings shots just weren’t possible as the butterflies were flying, feeding or rummaging around on the ground amongst the grass. Despite feeling like their numbers were slightly down this year they seemed to last longer than in previous years – possibly because there a few cooler days so they didn’t burn out as quickly.
I picked up my first DGFs almost a month earlier this year compared to last but apart from that it felt like things were pretty much the same with no real change in their numbers. I managed to find them at Lulworth again which was pretty late and they were at Martin Down although I made far fewer visits there this year. What was nice was that I managed to find them The Devenish which was a ‘first’ sighting for me from that site although there were only one or two.
The main thing I noticed this year was the level of variation in the females. The males to me look pretty alike and all conform to the ‘big, powerful ginger beastie mould’ whereas the females show a range of variation from subtle to almost garish. Over the course of one visit I saw the more usual females with the spots on the rear margins looking white but there were plenty of females that were more dusky, diffused with colours from green through to purple as they caught the light. One individual in particular took on the greenish hue of a valesina along the wing margins closest to the body.
When I came to think back over my encounters with the Silver-washed over 2014 I found it a tricky task. I hadn’t visited Bentley Wood nearly enough this year and also missed out on trips to various other woodlands during their flight times so my initial thoughts tended towards them not having a particularly good year. But then I realised that I was biasing myself as when I thought more and more about where and when I’d seen this species I came up with more and more highs.
They arrived a couple of weeks earlier than last year and I had a flurry of sightings during this period when there were one or two early males flying. At this stage I became quite frustrated with them as they just didn’t want to play ball almost constantly patrolling and when they did occasionally break to take nectar they never stopped long enough for me to train my lens on them. Eventually this period passed as their numbers increased and I entered into a joyous time where I experienced ONE Silver-washed related high after another. There was the stunning Valesina, my first few at The Devenish, a surprise male doing a fly-by whilst having a picnic at Studland, good numbers all on one Bramble on a later trip to Bentley and then the ‘piece de resistance’ a female egg-laying four/five feet up a tree. So the more I recollect the more I’m convinced that they actually had a good year – not the best ever but at least slightly up from last year.
For me 2014 was a spectacular year for Marsh Fritillaries as I was able to make three visits to my Marshie site at various stages of their flight period. This meant that I witnessed the full gamut of ‘state of dress’ that the Marsh Fritillary can show from pristine through to greasy individuals on my final visit.
My first visit was only a couple of days after their emergence had first been observed and was about 10 days earlier than last year. I found myself in the golden glow of the early evening I standing on the side of the down surrounded by them. They were by far the most common butterfly and it seemed that at every footfall 6 or 7 would be disturbed to flap away a short distance. As there were so many butterflies the probability of some variants/aberrants was greatly increased and so I wasn’t surprised when I was able to find a couple on my first two visits.
On my second visit numbers had built still more to higher numbers than last year and there was a nice mix of fresh and tired along with representatives of both genders. By my final visit they were all past their best but there were still bucket loads of them. Adding to my feeling reckoning that 2014 was a good year for Marshies was the fact that I also relocated some at a site in Hampshire in similar numbers to last year.
Wurzel
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. I do remember seeing them when we were at Collard Hill on the 22nd of June and they were particular flighty. As we were focussed on looking for Large Blue, and were also distracted by a female Cloudie and a 'rare' Painted Lady, they didn't get a look in. Though still plenty of time the holiday abroad in July meant I was away for the peak in their flight period. Can't remember seeing any at the Map site either but that would've been at the back end of their season.
...not to be repeated.
