www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Nice array of images there, Dave.

Sadly, in a couple of weeks this variety of fauna will seem like a distant memory. Best to capture it all while we can!

That moth is so well camouflaged I couldn't spot it at first, great shot.Goldie

A great selection of shots recently Dave. I particularly like that moth which I most probably would not even have noticed.

Thanks, everyone - I was lucky with that moth. I spotted it flying behind the tree so it wasn't as hard to track down as you might think.

I've been up in Yorkshire again for a few days, and it seems I didn't miss anything good in the way of weather. It might have been better up there if anything.

Saturday 22nd August: A hot day forecast in London. Before heading north, I hopped over the stile to the nearest part of my local patch. I was greeted by a Holly Blue (of course) and a Painted Lady warming up on the brambles. Then it was off onto the motorway. I decided the schedule had time for a circuit of the north side of Aston Rowant (it's difficult to drive past on a sunny day), so the brief detour was made. Plenty of Chalkhills were still flying, as were Silver-spotted Skippers and Brown Argus, but the warm sun and stiff breeze had them all dashing madly about. Most were concentrated at the bottom of the slopes today, where I also came across my first Small Coppers since May and only the second spot I've seen them this year. There were a few Common Blues, various whites, Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers, Small Skippers and a single Clouded Yellow bowling along at high speed. One of the female Chalkhills lacked underside spots, no doubt qualifying as an ab. Pressing on northwards via Rugby and Holmfirth and no opportunities to look around more, we eventually came off the M1 and onto the A64 amidst torrential rain. Astonishingly, it grew darker and darker, wetter and wetter, until it was almost impossible to see. As we took refuge with others in a layby, the hail started, along with the lightning show. The temperature plummeted from 22 to 14 degrees. It was phenomenal - though it probably lasted 15 minutes at most. Arriving at our final destination 20 miles further on, it wasn't even wet...

Dave

Yorkshire

Sunday 23rd August:
Part One - Wilberfoss
After yesterday's rain, it was a beautiful really warm sunny day. However, despite the warmth, a strong wind was blowing from the south east. This seemed a bit incongruous, really, but it did not deter the butterflies from gathering on the buddleias in my sister's garden. Peacocks were much in evidence: last year they were all around three or so weeks earlier and had disappeared by the end of August. There were also a sprinkling of Small Tortoiseshells, lots of all three species of White, and a Red Admiral or two. One Small Tortoiseshell insisted on settling on my stomach for a while. However, the most surprising sight of all was a very late male Large Skipper nectaring on the buddleia with everything else. Part Two - Wolds Way
Making the most of the day, we went out up onto the Wolds, close to where we had walked a few weeks ago near Millington. Surprisingly, a couple of Marbled Whites were still around, being blown madly around in the wind, plus a few Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks, a Comma and the odd Meadow Brown. To continue a theme started yesterday, a Small Copper appeared, followed by a male Small Skipper in surprisingly good condition. One of the boys managed to see a Common Blue, and track it to the spot where it sheltered from the wind. Another photo of the view from this area, looking the other way to last time. Part Three - Calley Heath
On the way back, we popped into Calley Heath, on the A1079 between Wilberfoss and Pocklington. We found half a dozen each of Brown Argus and Small Copper, all rather worn. The damper parts of the sandy heath, close to the ponds, had a carpet of rock rose, so it is not hard to see how the Brown Argus has colonised it. No doubt the sorrels required by the Coppers are here too. Dave

HI Dave,
Lovely report. You fail to mention the five- in -one in your first image !. Talk about modesty.

Best wishes,
TREVOR.

Great photos Dave love the Holly Blue , no sign here of Small Coppers yet. Goldie

Thanks, Trevor - didn't like to mention it as four of them were the same...

Thanks, Goldie - it was quite a nice Holly Blue for late in August. If the weather ever picks up I have my fingers crossed for a third brood again this autumn.

Monday 24th August: A sunny start at least, and the Peacocks were out in numbers on the garden buddleia as usual.The second of these looks as if it has charred the edges of its hindwings - very dark fringes. With the likelihood that the sunshine wouldn't last, we headed off out to another favourite spot not far away, Allerthorpe Common. Overall, we saw 13 species:

Meadow Brown

Gatekeeper Speckled Wood Small Skipper Large White
Small White
Green-veined White
Brimstone

Small Copper Peacock Small Tortoiseshell Red Admiral

Painted Lady None were in high numbers, though the Coppers, Tortoiseshells and Peacocks were most numerous. Having previously seen so few Small Coppers this year, to see them on four sites in three days was very welcome.

We also came across several examples of this pale and unmarked moth. After looking at the photos later, I also noticed the tiny orange geometrid moth caterpillar below the moth - like Pluto, it moved against its background... Finally, we stumbled upon this splendidly warty toad, shortly before it clambered off the path and down a hole. Dave

Hi Dave, some nice shots there esp the Painted Lady (and the toad ) Dare I suggest that your moth might be Dingy Footman? Or then again, perhaps it is a Buff Footman? Either way, I am sure someone will correct me and then we'll both know

Thanks, Pauline - looking at the images I've found, Dingy Footman comes closer. There were several of these, and I also failed to mention that the heather was full of Silver Y moths.

Tuesday 25th/Wednesday 26th August: Not much sunshine on Tuesday and we travelled back down on Wednesday. Curiously, almost all the Peacocks had disappeared from my sister's garden on Tuesday. Maybe the change to cooler weather had been the trigger for them to look for hibernation sites. A few Red Admirals remained, plus the White butterflies. Large White caterpillars had installed themselves on the abundant nasturtiums and could be found in various sizes. On Wednesday, the show was stolen by a particularly splendid Red Admiral - there was nothing else around. Dave

Home again.

Thursday 27th August: I had a walk around my local patch for the first time for a few days (several days of rain apparently - things were better in the north it seems). Most noticeable was the lack of Holly Blues - I only saw one, and a pale and feeble individual it was too. Gatekeepers had also almost vanished, though Meadow Browns persisted as they do well into Autumn, and the paths were home to quite a number of Speckled Woods. Here too were the usual patrolling Red Admirals, and one brand new autumn Comma perching on a sign. There were still good numbers of Common Blues, even a couple of fresh females, and in amongst them flitted a few Brown Argus and Small Heaths. One Small Heath appeared in the meadow area nearest home - a first for this spot I think. All three Whites were in evidence, and down low by the path I found a mating pair of Green-veined Whites. Both seemed fresh and the female was a beautiful lemon colour on the underside. Dave

A fantastic set of shots Dave especially the Small Torts, Red Admirals, the Small Heath and the 'Access Comma' At least I know where all the Small Tortoiseshells are - they're up North

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks, Wurzel. There were certainly Small Tortoiseshells around up there, and seen just generally in the countryside too. I wonder if the southern ones have just taken one look at the weather and hidden themselves away till next year. The Peacocks round here certainly have.

Friday 28th August: My rescued Red Admiral caterpillar emerged from its chrysalis today, and was placed outside not far from where it was found. I left it waiting for a sunny interval in which to stretch its wings. During the brief trip out, I saw two others of the species, a few Speckled Woods, plus a Comma. The latter showed its uniformly dark underside - such a contrast to the late spring hutchinsoni version. Dave

Saturday 29th August: Unexpectedly sunny this morning, so I decided to have my annual look at Bookham Common for Brown Hairstreaks. Taking the path west of the Hundred Pound Bridge car park as usual, I was somewhat taken aback to find that further on the path has been widened considerably, very much to the detriment of the blackthorn that bordered it. Not so much pruned a bit, this has been cut right back, dug up even, and the detritus just thrown back onto the remaining blackthorn behind it. The hedge where I saw hairstreaks last year, and watched an egg being laid, simply no longer exists. A fair bit of blackthorn remains elsewhere, but I do wonder how many eggs were destroyed in doing this, and the opportunities for laying this year have been greatly reduced. I can understand the need to maintain paths and prevent them being completely overgrown, but this all seems a bit drastic. Anyway, suffice it to say, no hairstreaks were seen at all.
However, there were other butterflies. A few Gatekeepers remained, and large numbers of Meadow Browns were nectaring on the abundant water mint and fleabane that flourishes in the open areas. A few Specked Woods patrolled the path. The Small Copper colony at the edge of the field towards the far end of the path produced several individuals, and there were also Common Blues amongst them. Unusually, I saw no Nymphalids at all - normally the mint attracts a variety at this time of year.

With the sun still shining, I headed back to the M25 and carried on down to Denbies Hillside, which I surprisingly hadn't visited since the middle of July. Things then improved...

Dave

Saturday 29th continued...

After the disappointment of Bookham, I carried on to Denbies, which very rarely disappoints. The first butterfly to appear (at the bottom of Steers Field, before even going out onto the hillside proper) was a male Adonis Blue. Though not in great shape, this one turned out to be the first of many seen, some of which were pretty fresh. There were also quite a few fresh Chalkhills as well, and I would be hard pushed to decide which were the commoner. The weather became more overcast, but stayed warm, and this proved ideal, as the butterflies were less active and opened up a great deal more than on a hot sunny day. There were little blue jewels all over the hillside, some pale sky blue, some brilliant turquoise. It was difficult to decide sometimes which to get close to. There were good numbers of female butterflies around as well, particularly towards the top of the slope, and both species were observed. Their similarity makes estimating numbers and proportions tricky, but I'd say that there were more female Chalkhills than Adonis.
Male Adonis: Female Adonis: Male Chalkhills: Female Chalkhills: I concentrated on the Blues, but in the course of gentle perambulation across the hillside, I must have seen a good dozen or so Silver-spotted Skippers. They mostly appeared when chasing other butterflies, which was often. Mixed dogfights of both Blues, a Silver-spotted Skipper and a Meadow Brown happened at least once. Meadow Browns were everywhere too. I also came across Small and Large Whites, a few Small Heaths, several Brown Argus, and just one solitary Common Blue. This seems very odd - I have more Common Blues a stone's throw from home than I ever see at Denbies.

One particular aggregation of butterflies was notably eye-catching, but is unfortunate for the setting. In past years, I have seen large numbers of Chalkhills gather on dog droppings; today it was group of four Adonis and two Chalkhills gathering minerals. Lovely to see the two closely-related species together - shame about the setting.

Dave

Love the Adonis shots Millerd, dog Poo and all Goldie

Cracking Blues Dave Glad they compensated for the lack of Brostreaks

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Goldie and Wurzel. The Blues put on a great display and it was an enjoyable afternoon. The Adonis in particular were mostly fresh and I would guess that given a bit of sun another trip down there soon would be well worth it.

Sunday 30th August: More unexpected sunshine, though not for as long as Saturday. I stayed local today and saw some more Blues, but of different types. I counted four Holly Blues in various spots, worn and looking rather smaller than they do when fresh. The brambles have all but finished flowering now so the butterflies were not enticed down from flying high over the hedgerows. Speckled Woods were now more frequent than at any time this year, which is quite usual, and they popped up almost everywhere. Heading out onto the main meadow area between the M25 and the River Colne, Small Heaths bounced up from the grass every few metres, their best showing this year as well. This area is where they are mostly found: There were also quite a few Meadow Browns, mostly females, with some really fresh individuals amongst them. Common Blues were also in good numbers, mostly worn, but clearly there are odd ones still emerging. One posed obligingly at several angles. The odd Brown Argus was still flying too. The season is definitely winding down...

Dave

Hi! Dave, looks like the Small Tortoiseshell has come over the Pennines, not in my garden though I saw them yesterday together with a Red Admiral and a Peacock next door, I managed a few shots Goldie

I can't believe how fresh that Meadow Brown looks! They've all but expired down here in S. Wales.