Bugboys mission

[trevor]

Thanks, Bugboy, I'll take your word for it. Thanks for your input. The gold markings were spectacular,
just like gold leaf.

Have a great season,
TREVOR.

[bugboy]

Thanks Goldie, yes I've had a very good few days

No problem Trever. Some of those micros are stunning if you look at them properly, it's just finding them in the first place!

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Buggy - and great news about the Glanville's - hopefully they come to fruition!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bailey1409]

Hi there

Just seen your Beautiful Carpet image, I hope that you don't mind me saying, but to me it looks like a Scorched Carpet.

Cheers

Maurice

[bugboy]

Hi there

Just seen your Beautiful Carpet image, I hope that you don't mind me saying, but to me it looks like a Scorched Carpet.

Cheers

Maurice

Thanks, all comments welcomed Maurice, and I just checked my ID guide (which I should've done properly first time round rather than just flicking through to get the scientific name ) and you're right it is a Scorched Carpet!

[bugboy]

Spent a few hours pootling round my local patch to end a wonderful April. Not masses going on, a couple of Peacocks, single Comma and S Tortoiseshell. Lots of whites, mostly GV as far as I could tell, getting whisked along with the brisk wind. One male Small White did settle for me though. A male Holly blue also settled near me and attempted to bask but just as I was about to get my first open winged shot of the year he was literally blown of his feet and vanished over the hedge. The only other species was a single male Orange-tip patroling.

Here's a few other inhabitants of my local patch today:

Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus)

Mistle Thrush

Hairy Shieldbug

April has been the month where the butterfly seaon really kicked off for me, 14 species now ticked off including 3 lifers (and 16 if we include other stages adding 2 more lifers as larvae)



I wonder what May will bring?

[Wurzel]

Nice Holly Blue Buggy - it's surprising how many HB's I've seen recently perched on anything but Holly or Ivy Digging the Shieldbug too!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel

May has started cloudy and a little chilly but I thought a little trundle around Chobham Common might bring up something interesting (secretly hoping for Green Hairstreaks). The bare sandy ground and sheltered paths running through the Gorze might just be enough to make something active. As it turned out, 4 hours walking around brought just two glimpses of Speckled Woods, not even a wind swept white! Luckily I always pack my binoculars so I filled the lack of butterflies with a bit of twitching. Wood larks, Stonechats, Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Garden Warbler (a lifer for me), various Tits, Goldcrest all showing well and a Red Kite drifted over quite low several times.

Took a whole set of him as he soared past , my favourite UK bird of prey.

some other bits and pieces:

Male Common Heath moth

Female longhorn moth, Adela reaumurella I think.

St. Marks Fly

Orb Spider (Agalenatea redii)

and I few things I can't name, suggestions welcomed from you intelligent bunch

Spider egg sac?

Thought the leaves would make this easy but can't find anything in my books

Thanks for browsing

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Just catching up with your diary Bugboy, I particlarly enjoyed your Glanville Fritillary larvae sequence.

Best Wishes

James

[peterc]

Thanks Wurzel

May has started cloudy and a little chilly but I thought a little trundle around Chobham Common might bring up something interesting (secretly hoping for Green Hairstreaks). The bare sandy ground and sheltered paths running through the Gorze might just be enough to make something active. As it turned out, 4 hours walking around brought just two glimpses of Speckled Woods, not even a wind swept white! Luckily I always pack my binoculars so I filled the lack of butterflies with a bit of twitching. Wood larks, Stonechats, Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Garden Warbler (a lifer for me), various Tits, Goldcrest all showing well and a Red Kite drifted over quite low several times.

Red Kite, Chobham Common #1.JPG

Red Kite, Chobham Common #2.JPG

Red Kite, Chobham Common #13.JPG

Red Kite, Chobham Common #14.JPG

Took a whole set of him as he soared past , my favourite UK bird of prey.

some other bits and pieces:

Common Heath male, Chobham Common #3.JPG

Longhorn Moth (Adela reaumurella) Chobham Common #1.JPG

St. Marks Fly, Chobham Common #4.JPG

St. Marks Fly, Chobham Common #6.JPG

Orb Spider(Agalenatea redii), Chobham Common #5.JPG

and I few things I can't name, suggestions welcomed from you intelligent bunch

IMG_6372.JPG

Spider egg sac?

IMG_6307.JPG

IMG_6308.JPG

Thought the leaves would make this easy but can't find anything in my books

IMG_6368.JPG

Thanks for browsing

Buggy, I think the pink flower is Lousewort Pedicularis sylvatica. I happened to come across a few of these plants just a mile from home on Wednesday and scarce in Hertfordshire

Peter

[Wurzel]

Great set of shots of Buggy, I too have seen the first plant that you feature and don't have a clue what it is, so hopefully someone else will be able to help us both out
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Buggy, I think the pink flower is Lousewort Pedicularis sylvatica. I happened to come across a few of these plants just a mile from home on Wednesday and scarce in Hertfordshire

Peter

Thanks Peter, it does match up in my Guides

Also found out that the funny white lantern thing is indeed a spider egg sac, Agroeca sp. Commonly called Fairy-lamp spiders

[bugboy]

In search of Duke's

So May is already wetter than April, not the best start but since I'm getting massively jealous of all the Duke Of Burgundy pictures I took a chance this afternoon when the weather seemed to be clearing up a bit. One of the sites I'd singled out over the winter, near Tring, was my target. It seemed relatively easy to get to. As it turned out it was easier than I thought, half an hour on the train and a 10 minute walk

Getting there the weather was still unable to make up it's mind what to do, April and May seem to have swapped this year. Not entirely sure exactly where the Dukes supposedly hang out here but there is a lot of Cowslip everywhere. A little wandering around as the clouds thickened produced nothing much and then the cloud thickened a lot and for 20 minutes I sheltered under a beech tree as the heavens opened.

Wasn't looking too good but venturing out I did find a female Orange-tip who had taken shelter on some Cowslips, probably not as camouflaged as she was hoping for but it was my first chance this year to get up close to a female and she did look very pretty surrounded by the yellow flowers:) The sun tried to come out a couple of times, each time she was tempted to fly off only for it to vanish again until eventually she took off and vanished half way up a Beech tree!

As it turned out she was the Only butterfly I was to see. I did spend a bit of time looking at cowslip leaves....just in case, but no. Lots and lots of Garlic Mustard around and I did find a fair few Orange-tip eggs though, my first of the year.

So I remain jealous of everyone elses pictures for now. Not entirely sure if it is still an active site for Dukes but to my untrained eye's it looks perfect, a mosiac of sheltered rough chalk grassland, open woodland and riddled with Cowslips.

And to finish here's a couple of other inhabitants:

Cardinal Beetle

Orange Ladybird

[Wurzel]

I too didn't have any success with Dukes today Buggy but I hoping that it's because they haven't emerged over this way yet (no reports in Wiltshire still) Great shot of the Orange Ladybird - Philzoid was telling me about those today, I'd like to see one

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Those Kite shots are great Buggy I haven't seen too many Kites so still get excited by them - especially when 3 were above my garden recently for the first time

[kevling]

Buggy,

Nice find with the Orange tip egg. I'm struggling to the butterfly itself this spring, let alone an egg

Regards Kev

[peterc]

Buggy,

Sorry you didn't find the Duke yesterday. Was the place you visited Duchie's Piece in Aldbury Nowers NR? Although one of the best butterfly sites in Hertfordshire the Duke, unfortunately, is no longer found there but I could be wrong

ATB

Peter

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, Orange Ladybirds are quite widespread so you have every chance of stumbling across one in your travels, I see them quite often

Thanks Pauline, I don't get Kites near me so whenever I go outside London I always keep an eye out for them. I'm quite chuffed they came out since they were taken with my 105mm Macro lense!

I've been quite lucky with them this year Kevling. Try Box hill if you can, lots of Cuckoo Flower there and seen a few there already.

Indeed Peter, that was the site. If thats true it's a shame since it's so easy for me to get to and on the face of it it seems perfect for them. The signage there claims 30 species are seen there though so it wont be my last visit.
A good friend in Hemel Hempstead is putting me up over a weekend in a couple of weeks and since he is a keen birder, persuading him to go to the Whipsnade Duke sites didn't take much effort at all, fingers crossed the weather sorts itself out by then and I catch the flight time!

[bugboy]

Well today would have been a perfect butterflying day if it wasn't for the wind and rain and clouds....so I ended up doing a spot of DIY instead, bit of painting. So just to brighten up the evening here's some more Orange-tip pics from the past weeks:

Box Hill, 22nd April

Hutchinsons Bank, 28th April

Box Hill, 22nd April

Box Hill, 22nd April

I feel better now

[bugboy]

Well it's been a quite week for me on the butterfly front, work and then rain on my days off. On the plus side I work outside a lot so I do occasionally see bits and pieces flitting around. Holly blues seem to be having a very good spring brood in London and today I managed to stop long enough to snap a female Brimstone on my phone. In the bright sunshine I couldn't tell where the camera was focusing until I looked at it later, as you can see it was focusing on everything except the butterfly, even though it was set to 'macro' mode......... oh well.

The weather is looking better next week, certainly in the south east anyway, so I may have a few trips and get a few more species ticked off on my 2015 list

I can see there's been lots going on in other diaries so I may have to put an hour aside later to go through them all. I do try and keep up with everyone even if I don't always comment