www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

You are enjoying a great start to the year, Bugboy. You've seen more than just about anybody. I hope things continue to be sustained in your local area...I'm used to being a week or two behind in south Wales, but right now, I'm using your PD to guide me as to which species to look out for a week or so in arrears after your first postings.

bugboy wrote:

Pauline wrote:Lovely images recently Buggy. I particularly like the rejection sequence and some of the earlier OT's look like they're glowing. That PH egg has definitely now hatched as you can see. Difficult to tell from earlier shot but I am still of the mind that it was work in progress at that point.

I'll take your word for the previous picture Pauline, you have far more experience with these than I

peterc wrote:That is a cracking Red Admiral photo you have there, Paul. How did you get the bands as red as that ? Beautiful.

ATB

Peter

Thanks Peter . A couple of reasons for the intensity: firstly she was very fresh, no more than a few days old (she still had that gorgeous velvety look about her) and secondly that picture was taken in overcast conditions so didn't have the sun bleached look. The photo below shows the same animal taken 5 minutes previously in sunny conditions and you can see the red is slightly less intense (no less beautiful though )
IMG_0463.JPG

Thanks Paul. Yes that makes sense. I imagine your Red Admiral, considering how fresh it was, overwintered here perhaps as a larva?

ATB

Peter

Love the orange Tip shots Bugboy, keep them coming I can never see enough of them . Goldie

I'll try Goldie, although this coming week may be a bit of a struggle if predictions of winter conditions returning coming to fruition

I did my transects at work this weekend, struggled a bit to fit them in in between clouds and there wasn't a great deal on the wing. I did however come across a grounded Holly Blue during one cloudy spell. I nabbed one shot on my phone before scampering of to grab my camera. He was still there when I returned, seeming somewhat dopey in the cool conditions but then I disturbed him and he fluttered off into a tree.

Fingers crossed the weather forecasters get it even more wrong than they did this weekend although a drop or three of rain would cruelly be a blessing
Have a goodun
Wurzel

I agree, you're having a really good spring Paul, fabulous array of photos so far. I predict this will be your best season to date. Hope to catch up with you at some point during this year.

Best wishes

James

Well, I've never seen a Holly Blue on a dandelion before!

One could wait around several years before spotting that!! Well done.

25th April A Dingy Day at Hutchinson’s Bank

Hutchinson’s bank isn’t just about the introduced Glanville’s, you can go there any time in the season and usually see a good range of species. The south west facing slope would hopefully shield me and the butterflies from the worst of the chilly northerly wind. Today I was looking for the springtime Skippers and it didn’t disappoint in that respect. I hoped to get a few hours in before the forecast rain turned up but in the end I stayed most the day, the forecast rain never appearing!
My first butterfly of the day was a female Orange-tip, flitting around at the top of the path that leads to the Bank, and I thought it would be rude not to take her picture since she posed. Greeting me upon arrival was my first Dingy Skipper of the year, looking anything but dingy as he glowed in the morning sun Things moved along slowly as temperatures gradually increased, a few more fresh Dingies waking up and then my first Grizzlie of the day, also looking rather fresh. A Holly Blue taunted me, fluttering around at waist height but deciding at the last minute several times that certain leaves just weren’t good enough for his little feet. I tried whispering at him but that didn’t work either... oh well back to the Skippers. It was becoming apparent that there was precious little else around apart from the Skippers, Nymphalids and Whites were virtually non-existent but shortly after midday a gorgeous Green Hairstreak dropped by. By Green Hairstreak standards she was huge, getting on for Brown Hairstreak size. She was very active, presumably looking for somewhere to lay judging by her behaviour but when she did settle she positively glowed in the sun. After that welcome interlude it was back to more Skippers, they seemed to have been emerging all morning. I managed a few other species in the afternoon but only singletons, a Peacock, Speckled Wood and Brimstone weren’t interested in photography but I got a few Small Copper pictures. The best sighting of the day happened halfway through the afternoon. I followed a Grizzlie to a patch of Dandelions where it settled to feed. Already here was another one which I realised very quickly was an ab taras. No sooner had I seen it though, it took to the air and was whisked off by a gust of wind never to be seen again, not for want of trying though, I returned to the area several times to try and relocate it. Still I got me plenty of pictures to make the day very worthwhile and I do enjoy watching these little things living up to their name, skipping through the air

Some very nice images of Skippers there Buggy, esp. the last one and Grizzlie on Dandelion. 5 species beats my 3 - just shows, worth giving it a go despite the weather

Your Green Hairstreak positively glows in the grass, always a great thrill to find one.
It would seem that several Butterflyers braved the weather yesterday, and were justly rewarded.

Keep up the good work,
Trevor.

Things are really moving for you, Bugboy. I love this time of year when we get around a dozen 'newbies' in the space of a couple of weeks!

I've always thought Hutchinsons Bank worth a visit even without any Glanvilles, and you've proved it, Buggy. That Green Hairstreak is lovely - immaculate you might say, as it is completely spotless. Not Hairstreaked at all.

Dave

Thanks everyone, unless it's absolutely tipping it down it's always worth a wander Pauline

My pictures don't do that Hairstreak justice Trevor, she was stunning!

Stalled a bit this week David, I've still not seen a Large White. Next on the hit list are Dukes, Pearls and Small Blues I think and then a few lifers

Thanks Dave, yes she was hairstreakless and the way the green glowed on her looked as though she'd been plugged into the mains!

That's what I call a great day out I didn't expect any one would see much with the weather being so cold, well done! Goldie

Looks like you had a good visit to Hutchinsons Bank, i will have to look for your Grizzled ab. I was elsewhere on Tuesday looking at the Early Spider Orchids in Sutton. Did see my first Small Copper of the year there.

Early Spider Orchid Green Winged Orchid

Cracking shots there Bugboy - HB is looking good is your Greenstreak a 'caecus' ab.?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I did wonder where you were Mrsp0ck, it's not often I visit HB and don't bump into you!

Not sure Wurzel, I'll have to have a look.

29th April Thank God for Orange-tips!

I’m going to discreetly gloss over the target species for today’s trip to the Chilton’s. When I left the flat it was wall to wall blue sky and half an hour before hopping on the train back to London it was little fluffy clouds on a blue background. In-between, unfortunately it was grey, overcast and decidedly unfriendly for butterflies.

I had my little padawan butterflier with me again today so together we decided to look for snoozing butterflies and eggs. Garlic Mustard is still at a premium at Aldbury Nowers Nature Reserve, a few plants have sent up flower shoots but for the most part these are very sad looking stunted growths. One of these flower heads had a total of 11 eggs present. I predict a caterpillar themed re-enactment of the film Highlander happening soon . We also found two snoozing, a male and a female. We looked around for Dingy and Grizzled Skippers as well but drew a blank with them so we took the long walk to Ivinghoe Beacon, with me occasionally looking up at the sky and wistfully suggesting to my friend that I thought the clouds were thinning (she mostly humoured me by laughing).

We saw nothing much here for a few hours until extensive searching finally turned up a snoozing Grizzled Skipper who looked exceedingly fresh, most likely only a few hours old. He woke up after my friend accidentally knocked him of his perch and when we returned him, he proceeded to bask in the non-existent sun, soaking up the non-existent heat, bless . An hour later the clouds did actually thin enough for us to see our shadows and also enough to wake up an Orange-tip who we must have walked past several times already. Our Grizzled Skipper reappeared, fluttering weakly past and low down in the bramble edged path we found an Oak Egger moth caterpillar. It was gone 3 before the clouds began to break up significantly, but too little too late for the days target so we made our way back to Aldbury, stopping off to enjoy the company of a freshly emerged male Specklie on the way. With the increasing sun Orange-tips were waking up, 6 in total including the two we’d found that morning so we spent the final hour enjoying them.

Good to see someone else training up their Padawan, in years to come perhaps the boards will be filled by young Wurzlettes, Buggy's, Millerlites and OZoids Lovely sequence of OTs - how do you get the Orange to show so vividly

Have a goodun

Wurzel

HI Paul,

Love your male/female OT. encounter, that more than makes up for a lack of Dukes.
Would love a shot like that in my portfolio.

Trevor.

11 OT eggs on a single plant is beyond impressive, Bugboy. You also had the satisfaction of seeing a few adults to boot!

Another productive day by the look of things.