Butterflysaurus rex

[Butterflysaurus rex]

My apologies for the late replies everyone, I've had a very difficult week culminating with my mum being rushed into hospital - making an eagerly awaited and long planned visit to Heyshott for the Dukes impossible. Despite everything I have still managed a couple of local Butterflying excursions, reports to follow.

Hi James,
I'm pleased that you saw some Pearls in Abbots Wood. The site you visited now has the main population
( if it's the site i think it is ). To me the number of Pearls this year is about the same as last year, so i'm
hoping that they are at least holding their own.
It is interesting that neither of the Females in your images have laid their eggs on Violets ( at least they
don't look like Violets ).

All the best,
TREVOR.

Thanks Trevor, yes it was at the main site. I thought the number of Pearls was a little bit up on last year, it was certainly good to see some, still as difficult as ever to photograph though.

Morning James

I think the superb images you have captured are much more interesting and challenging than roosting Pearls. I would have loved to witness that so I am very envious I believe that Pearls lay eggs in a variety of places including leaf litter close to the food plant but I would be happy to be corrected on that one.

Thank you Pauline you're very kind. I believe you are correct, Pearls do indeed lay their eggs either on or somewhere near their food plant.There are so many violets at Abbots that a newly hatched PBF larva wouldn't have far to walk for it's first meal.

Interesting behaviour Rex and nice shots I really must get round to sorting my Pearl shots out...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I'm looking forward to seeing them Wurzel! I love your Holly Blue shots btw

This week - a two part entry. PART 1

After that hot day last Sunday chasing Pearl Bordered Fritillaries around Abbots Wood I managed to make a quick return visit on Monday in cooler weather. I didn't have a lot of time to spend there there but I did find a Pearl at rest.

Yesterday I popped over to a couple of my local spots, no substitute for my planned trip to Heyshott - but events conspired against me. The disappointment was compounded by it being a perfectly glorious and sunny day. So all I could do was make the best of it closer to home before visiting my mum in the hospital. Thankfully I had quite a productive day... so productive in fact that I will have to split this report up into two sections.

Holly Blues were everywhere, it was very warm so they didn't sit for long but I still managed to grab a quick shot - more by luck than skill.

I then came across my first Common Blues of the year. I saw 4 in total, the start of many more to come I hope.

Although these are not the first Wall Browns I've seen this year they are the first photos I've taken since last October. I'm very lucky to have a good population of Wall on my doorstep. They are one of my favourites.

And that's all for part 1 - see you in part 2

Best Wishes

James

[Wurzel]

Cracking stuff, bring on Part 2 soon please
Smashing Wall
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

HI James,
No, there had just been a duel!.

All the best,
TREVOR.

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Cracking stuff, bring on Part 2 soon please
Smashing Wall
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, Most of my Wall photos seem to be males, I would like to add more females to my Wall folder. IF I can get close enough that is!

HI James,
No, there had just been a duel!.

All the best,
TREVOR.

By the looks of it they are about to begin round 2. Speaking of round 2..........

PART 2

Around 1pm I stopped off at a Green Hairstreak spot to eat my lunch, and hopefully observe any GHS activity going on at the same time. This proved to be a good idea because I did see quite a few active Greenies putting on a show. One GHS in particular caught my attention. She was busy laying her eggs roughly a meter away from me. At one point I stood up to have a drink moving a little closer for a better look, I took a mouthful from my water bottle and when I looked down again she actually flew between my legs! That's certainly another first for me!

I sat and ate my lunch expecting her to fly off at any moment and find another spot to lay some eggs. However she really seemed to favour this area - in the shelter of a small Hawthorn bush. For the whole 20 minutes (possibly half an hour) that I sat there as she busily laid what must have been a considerable number of eggs.

Here she is ready to deposit another Ova.

During my observation I could not help but notice that she was paying attention to one plant in particular, she returned to it several times. Now a couple of my reference books mention that Green Hairstreaks lay their eggs "singly; on tender shoot or flower bud" so when I carefully had a look I was rather surprised to see at least 3 Ova together.

Here's an attempt at a singling out an egg, not a great shot but these eggs are absolutely tiny!

Hopefully quite a few of her eggs will make it through to adulthood and we will see large numbers of these beauties next spring.

No Heyshott or Dukes for me (possibly this year) but I still had a really good day - all things considered.

Best Wishes

James

[bugboy]

That last hairstreak is practically glittering out of my laptop screen! Stunning shot!

[Pauline]

Great shot of the eggs James I took a shot of one a couple of years back after watching it being laid on gorse and they are so tiny it is almost impossible to get a decent photograph of them - don't know how you managed it

[Wurzel]

Great shots Rex That last one is being a bit of a tease, almost showing the topside of the wing

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

HI James,

Yes i'd go for that last shot, they are not an easy Butterfly to photograph in the sun. Looks as though
this one was in the shade, lovely shade of green.

All the best ,
TREVOR.

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Thank you Bugboy, Pauline, Wurzel and Trevor. Sorry I didn't reply earlier I've been ill and out of action for almost a month!

Just before I fell ill I was out looking for Wall Browns and I came across this lovely female, I took the photo on the 16th of May. Little did I suspect that this was to be my last butterflying trip for quite some time.

After a planned trip into Kent to see some Heath Fritillaries fell through I didn't think I would get to see any this year. Thankfully an unexpected opportunity came up to go on Wednesday. The weather was not great, it was VERY windy and sunshine was a rare commodity but I did manage to get some photos - phew!

It was so good to be outside again doing one of the things I love after such a long time. I also met some lovely people there which made the day even better.
Hopefully I won't be so unwell again for a very long time.

All the best

James

[Katrina]

Lovely photos, especially the first Heath Fritillary

[David M]

Excellent array of Heath Frit images. I bet it was an almost cathartic experience getting out after your earlier frustrations?

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Lovely photos, especially the first Heath Fritillary

Thank you Katrina I really liked your last Silver Studded Blue photo. I've not seen SSB's before, I hope I manage to take a photo as good as yours when I see some.

B'W's

James

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Excellent array of Heath Frit images. I bet it was an almost cathartic experience getting out after your earlier frustrations?

You're not wrong there David, it was thoroughly miserable being stuck indoors feeling awful for over 3 weeks! The lovely Heath Fritillaries made me feel so much better. This was a species I had not seen before too.

ATB

James

[Willrow]

Wonderful set of Heath Fritillary pics James, I just can't get enough of this lovely butterfly...thanks for sharing them

Kind Regards,

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[trevor]

HI James,
Don't like the ill bit, hope the Heath Fritillaries provided the tonic !. Lovely images too.

Stay healthy,
TREVOR.

[Pauline]

Sorry to hear you've been ill James. Those HF shots are fabulous. I love the colour combinations and the composition - very artistic and the kind of images I aspire to

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Wonderful set of Heath Fritillary pics James, I just can't get enough of this lovely butterfly...thanks for sharing them

Kind Regards,

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

Cheers Bill, they really are lovely aren't they, I wish they weren't so scarce so we could all see them more often.

HI James,
Don't like the ill bit, hope the Heath Fritillaries provided the tonic !. Lovely images too.

Stay healthy,
TREVOR.

Thanks Trevor, they certainly did, I was glad to see that you had a good day there too. I was only stay able to stay for a couple of hours but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Sorry to hear you've been ill James. Those HF shots are fabulous. I love the colour combinations and the composition - very artistic and the kind of images I aspire to

So kind of you to say that Pauline, it was one of the longest periods of illness from a virus I've ever had. it's so good to be out and about again.

Best wishes

James

Saturday Sun

Yesterday I had a wonder around not too far from home. My hopes were not high, the wind was strong and gusty yet again and we're in the June gap. Anyway I thought I'd get some much needed exercise - if nothing else.

The wind was so strong that even the most sheltered places didn't provide much shelter. My expectations seemed to be confirmed when I reached one of my local hotspots and all seemed lifeless. So I sat down and waited for a bit. Then suddenly I caught a glimpse of something, to my surprise and delight a beautiful and fresh female Common Blue landed nearby! I quickly grabbed my camera and managed to get a few photos between gusts.

A bit further down the slope I found a second fresh looking female!

And then I noticed a few fresh and fluffy looking Small Heath's, one even posed for a rare photo op!!

Thanks to these sightings I easily exceeded my meagre expectations for the day, and I got my much needed exercise as well.

James

[Neil Freeman]

Hi James, glad to see you are out and about again after your recent illness

Lovely Heath Fritillary images, particularly the second from last, love the background colour

Cheers,

Neil.

[Maximus]

Simply stunning Heath Fritillary shots

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Hi James, glad to see you are out and about again after your recent illness

Lovely Heath Fritillary images, particularly the second from last, love the background colour

Cheers,

Neil.

Thank you very much indeed Neil, it was a lovely way to re-start my Butterflying activities. I was a bit out of practice with the camera so it was a relief to see some of my photos came out ok.

Simply stunning Heath Fritillary shots

Hello Mike, thank you for the kind and generous compliment. I have to say your photos have been wonderful, your also seeing a lot more species than I am down this way. Having said that I've not been out and about for very long, I did see my first Meadow Brown of the year today, summer really has begun!

Best wishes

James