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millerd wrote:A trip to Bentley Wood today produced this little gem of a butterfly.

PBF ab2 120516.JPG

PBF ab5 120516.JPG

More from this trip a bit later.

Dave

Excellent shots, Dave. I suspect you bumped into a couple of others since they both sent me similar shots, although you definitely have the best underside shot. What an amazing ab.!

Cheers,

- Pete

What a find, Dave. That Pearl ab. makes all the other Butterflies in these diaries look mundane.
Is this a previously known ab ?. I'll watch what those with the knowledge have to say with great
interest. I wonder if the topsy turvy Winter/ Spring had anything to do with it.

Take a good sprinkling of mrgreens.

trevor wrote:I wonder if the topsy turvy Winter/ Spring had anything to do with it.

If its not genetical, it would be when the pupa wing pigment was forming up it got too warm in the sun. The abs in Sussex are genetical as there are lots the same and every year.

The weather the last 2 weeks has been warm, and the pigments only form 24-48 hours before hatching, so the cold spell in April was too far back, which can also cause pigment abs.

That's truly off the scale, Dave.

Brilliant find!

I have to say at the outset that I was not the person who first found this lovely butterfly, nor its rediscoverer a bit later on! That accolade belongs to another, who I believe has been in touch with Pete directly about it and has, I suspect, much better photos than mine. There were a small group of lucky folk who were able to share in this serendipitous find, something unlikely to be repeated.

I had reached the Eastern Clearing at Bentley Wood around 9, and had squelched my way around for about an hour before seeing either a butterfly or anyone else for that matter. It was mistily sunny, but became clearer from around 10 onwards, when the Pearls started to appear. I had seen three or four when the ab. was first spotted, and saw many more during the morning. The ab. appeared to be newly emerged and was very sluggish, not flying far when it took to the wing. Eventually, it started to seek out flowers to nectar from, and at one point took a passing interest in a female which passed by. However, it did not really interact with the other PBFs flying, and certainly none of them took any interest in it at all. As the day warmed up quite considerably, the ab. began to close its wings instead of basking: presumably its dark colouring absorbed more heat from the sun than was comfortable, and certainly more than a "normal" PBF would.

Here are quite a few shots of this beautiful creature, plus a few of the standard model seen today as well. The day was not yet over - a walk around my local patch later produced my first Small Heaths of the year. I shall leave that for a separate report!

Dave

Fabulous insect Dave. Puts my slightly melanistic ones to shame!

That's an amazing ab. Dave, really stunning.

Looks like I'll be heading over there on Saturday then Dave! That is a stunning ab!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wow

Now! that's what I call an ab, fantastic Dave Goldie

Thank you all. It was a splendid insect to have seen, and I do hope some of you get the chance to see it as well before it gets too worn.

Impossible really to follow that, but I did have a walk around my local patch in the afternoon once I'd returned home on Thursday. There weren't so many Holly Blues today, but their behaviour was just the same as a few days ago, and I managed another shot of a female opening up a little. I noticed that as well as frequenting the holly buds for egg-laying, they also had a preference for the open flowers for nectaring. There were plenty of Orange Tips today, and good numbers of white butterflies altogether, plus at long last there are more Speckled Woods. The high point was discovering that the Small Heaths have started emerging, with two or three seen. Finally, there was a newly arrived Red Admiral, somewhat the worse for its journey, but flying strongly nevertheless. Dave

Friday 13th May:
It seemed a shame to waste the whole of another sunny day, so after a slightly early finish at work, I set off down to Botany Bay to look for Wood Whites. The journey took twice as long as usual, with lots of Friday traffic in all directions. This meant it was after half past four when I got down there. Not many areas were still sunlit, but one of the favoured banks was, and there were several male Brimstones still nectaring on the bugle and bluebell flowers. After wandering slowly up and down for a few minutes, one of the Brimstones disturbed another butterfly. The rather limp flight and small size gave it away immediately - a Wood White. I saw one other while I was there, but the second one flew away through a gap in the trees. However, the first one provided a variety of good opportunities for photos. Such a delicate little thing - especially compared to the Brimstone that had initally disturbed it.

Dave

Beautiful Wood Whites Dave Everything is coming all at once now! Glannies, Wood Whites, Pearls there were even three Marshies at my Marshie Site! What to go for first

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Dave,

Great photos of the Pearl Bordered Frits and I especially love the ab.
I'm a fortnight away from a holiday nearby, so hopefully they will still be on the wing then.

Regards Kev

Thanks, Wurzel - yes, it's difficult to know which way to turn - though that well-known hill in Wiltshire looks favourite next along with Hutchinson's Bank.

Thanks, Kev - in a fortnight's time you will quite likely get to see the Small Pearls down there as well.

I am leading a walk at Bedfont Lakes Country Park tomorrow for the BC Herts and Middx branch, so I thought I should do a dry run to see what might be about (hopefully with as much sunshine as today). There were a variety of whites flying in the chilly breeze, and I spotted a tiny Orange Tip caterpillar on the only Cuckoo Flower I found all day. It was clearly still too early for Common Blues and Brown Argus, and I have a feeling the Small Coppers have disappeared from this site now. However, passing close to the railway line that separates the two sections of the park, I spotted a Green Hairstreak. I don't think these have been seen before to the north of the railway. Unfortunately, my attempt at a photo was too dismal to post even with an apology.

Things then got even better. While trying to snap a settled Orange Tip, I became aware of a large orangey-pink butterfly flying around me. This was a really intensely-coloured Painted Lady. It was intent on feeding wherever it could when the sun shone, and by the look of its shrunken abdomen had been travelling for some while and used up most of its reserves. I imagine it has come north during the recent spell of winds from the continent, along with all the Red Admirals. Finally, I spotted a female Holly Blue sunning herself in between contemplating laying eggs on dogwood plants. I then drove round to the southern part of the park. I headed straight for the other side of the railway line to where I had been earlier, and sure enough found another Green Hairstreak. This time the photo was acceptable. The other species here were similar to those found to the north. One female Orange Tip was particularly cooperative with photos. I also had time for a late walk round my local patch, but I think I'll make that a separate diary entry.

Dave

A nice day from the looks of things. That Painted Lady really does look shattered!

A pretty good day, yes, Buggy. And not quite finished...

There was still time for a gentle stroll around my local patch too. Red Admirals have been arriving, and I saw four different ones in a variety of spots. One of these looked very new indeed, and was also rather small - possibly locally grown, rather than an immigrant. I also found a threadbare Small Tortoiseshell, the first for several weeks. There were some lovely new Green-veined Whites (there seem to be quite a few emerging at the moment). I also found a Small Heath at the top of a grass stem, clearly fresh from the chrysalis. And (though it was after five now)... no Holly Blues at all.

Dave

Please Dave can you send some of your lovely Butterflies North In spite of the lovely weather we've had lately we're not yet seeing a great amount of Butterflies. Goldie

Hi Dave, just catching up on your recent adventures. Superb photos of the PBF ab. I have seen a few photos of this lovely butterfly appearing in various place around the internet over the past few days but not all have been able to see it when still fresh. It does tend to overshadow your other reports and photos a bit but the other PBFs, Wood Whites, Red Admirals, Painted Lady and all the rest are all making me a bit Great stuff

cheers,

Neil

Thanks, Goldie - I'd love to send you a few spares!

Thanks, Neil - it was great to see that PBF on the day it emerged, one of those never-to-be-forgotten days. There has been a lot of other stuff, too and it's a struggle to keep up. There are at least two more trips that need doing soon, in completely opposite directions...

No one turned up for the butterfly walk at Bedfont today - probably for the best as there was a lot less around today for some reason. The weather was slightly better if anything. I did see my first Burnet Companion of the year, doing its usual Dingy Skipper impersonation, and the inevitable female Holly Blue enjoying the sun. I decided to spend the unexpected spare time by seeing what was out firstly at Aston Rowant, and then later on at Denbies.

Up on the northern hillside, I found quite a few Green Hairstreaks and Dingy Skippers in the shelter at the foot of the slope, plus a single Common Blue. Nothing else yet - this is an exposed site and the Chilterns are definitely behind the North Downs.

At Denbies, it was quite a bit warmer, and here there was much more to see. In particular the Adonis Blues were out: I saw over a dozen, including both sexes. The females were generally quite blue and I don't think I saw a classic plain chocolate individual. I also saw several Common Blues, and a single Brown Argus which was far too active to photograph. There were both Dingies and Grizzlies in reasonable numbers, and a few Green Hairstreaks here and there in the grass. Three new species for the year!

Dave