April 2015

[David M]

First Green Veined White of 2015 for me seen at Danygraig cemetery, Swansea this afternoon:

[JohnR]

First f Orange Tip seen today in SW Surrey, no boys spotted yet!

[bugboy]

First Orange Tip in North London today, male at a distance and no photo opportunity unfortunately. Lots of Small/GV whites including a female GVW laying eggs.

[millerd]

First Holly Blues today here near Heathrow since 9th November... seems the late third brood last Autumn hasn't caused any drastic problems.

Dave

[walpolec]

walpolec The Isle of Scilly Speckled Wood is a quite distinctive form with orange pale patches instead of the normal cream...
It's only found on the Scillies

This is subspecies insula - there is a description and a few images on the relevant species page on UKB. It looks like an intermediate stage between our familiar Speckled Wood and the continental southern version.

Dave

Thanks to all for the confirmation that this is a Speckled Wood, but I'm still fascinated by how orange it is on the forewing. The blotches themselves (which are cream normally) don't look that different - I'm more interested in the orange area in the middle of the forewing -this doesn't seem common in the "normal mainland" version or the insula one.

I attach a pdf showing images of three different individuals that I photographed in Scilly last week. The orange one is at the bottom.

Cheers
Chris

[NickMorgan]

I saw my first Orange Tips of the year today just before it clouded over at lunch time. Plenty of Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks and a Comma, too,

Over the weekend we also had a Small White and a Red Admiral reported.

[Cotswold Cockney]

First positively ID-ed Male Orange Tip through my garden today. May have been the second. One I saw a few days ago was almost certainly a male but blinded by sun so not sure.

Quite warm in Gloucestershire today. One of those fine spring days when Glos has to be one of the best places on the planet to be. Loving it :thumbup:

[Philzoid]

Sunday 12th along Basingstoke Canal Woking:- Brimstone 6; Peacock at least 20 (very flighty); 1 Comma; 1 Speckled Wood and a Green-veined White

Phil

[Greenie]

A stroll around Hutchinsons Bank near Croydon this afternoon produced a Green Hairstreak that just allowed a single shot before disappearing , a male Holly Blue that didn't stop and several pairs of Brimstone , acting out their aerial ballet .

[Mike Robinson]

On my rounds today I came across these two in close quarters. From a distance I assumed they were in the process of mating, preparing to mate or finishing mating.

Then on looking at the picture at home I noticed that the upper Butterfly is a Small White Butterfly and the lower one, a Green-Veined White Butterfly.

Which leads me to wonder; is it possible to have Hybrid Butterflies please?

[Scott Barron]

Painted Lady this afternoon (14th April) on the coast path between Perranuthnoe & Cudden Point, West Cornwall. My 11th species of 2015 so far.

[Padfield]

Which leads me to wonder; is it possible to have Hybrid Butterflies please?

According to Descimon & Mallet (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/jim/pap/des ... 0print.pdf) some 16% of the European species are known to hybridise in the wild and 'half or more' of these result in fertile offspring. Interspecies mating is also known even where there is no hope of any offspring at all - when it just (apparently) represents a mistake. Interspecies predatory behaviour by males, of course, is even commoner!! I've watched males desperately trying to mate females of quite different species, with predictably unsatisfactory outcomes for the lusty male.

Guy

PS - painted ladies were flying through my village in Switzerland today and yesterday too, about a month ahead of schedule.

[prettybutterfly]

I visited my Granddad today and in his garden I saw a Peacock and my first Holly Blue of the year.
I'm looking forward to seeing my first Orange Tip of the year and would like to see a female laying eggs.

Emma (Aged 10)

[MrSp0ck]

is it possible to have Hybrid Butterflies please?

Dryadula x Dryas hybrid pairing

I have had a few hybrids in my greenhouse, normally only notice them when they hatch, or the original pairing. Mostly they are closely related species, and with Heliconids, when pupal mating is frequent. I have had the following H. erato [f] x H. charithonius [m], H.hecale [f] x H. atthis [m] & the best so far H. hecale [f] x H. charithonius [m].

The resulting adults are normally male, so act as such and if fertile pair with either of the parent species. I think that the larvae of Green-veined White x Small White would get through ok but would be widespread in the area they were seen as only single eggs are laid, The female GVW will most probably pair again with a GVW male.

[bugboy]

Then on looking at the picture at home I noticed that the upper Butterfly is a Small White Butterfly and the lower one, a Green-Veined White Butterfly.

Which leads me to wonder; is it possible to have Hybrid Butterflies please?

Witnessed this last week, it would seem it's not that uncommon! (heavily cropped)

No idea whether either male was successfull, she really was doing her best to get away. Like you Mike, I only realised I had 2 seperate species when I got home and checked the photos

[Mike Robinson]

Padfield (Guy), MrSpOck and bugboy: thanks for taking the time to reply to my question re. Hybrid Butterflies. It is very much appreciated ...

[Pieter Vantieghem]

Mixed copula's don't necessarily lead to hybrids of course, but indeed hybrids in butterflies do exist and hybridization is for example well known in Swallowtail and Corsican swallowtail. Another well know example is Erebia 'serotina', once described in the Pyrenees as a species on it's own but in fact a hybrid of Erebia epiphron and Erebia pronoe. Other examples are the blues of the subgenus Lysandra (bellargus x coridon for example),...
In this article discussing taxonomy in butterflies you can find 2 images with some other hybrid butterflies (p57 and p59): http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/jim/pap/des ... llet09.pdf (edit: I just now see it is the same article Guy posted but now the full version with images and references)
A mixed copula of small white and green-veined white has been seen in Belgium 2 years ago: http://waarnemingen.be/waarneming/view/79022301
On this page you can find pictures of mixed copula's between Maniola jurtina and Erebia aethiops and Maniola jurtina and Aphantopus hyperantus: http://lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Maniola_Jurtina

[Mark Senior]

First sighting of a Grizzled Skipper at Mill Hill , Shoreham is reported on the Sussex BC site . Strangely it was a female and it was egg laying .

[Mike Robinson]

Pieter Vantieghem: thanks very much ...

[Vince Massimo]

Last September I found three Brown Hairstreak eggs in my front hedge here in Crawley, West Sussex. All have survived predation and the first of them hatched this morning (15th April). The egg was south-facing and the larva was located making its way to the nearest leaves. The plant is Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera) which has been in leaf for some weeks.

Brown Hairstreak egg - September 2014

Hatched Brown Hairstreak egg 15-April-2015

I have also been monitoring eggs on nearby Blackthorn where the leaf buds are now just breaking and found another hatched egg (also south-facing). Last year eggs in this area were reported to be hatching on 5th April.

Vince