www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi Paul, it's really enjoyable following you on your mission to see every UK species. What will you do when it's mission accomplished? Can we look forward to a new mission?

Maximus wrote:Nice one, bugboy but what does that leave you for next year

Well that just leaves the Mountain Ringlet which I narrowly missed at Irton Fell on the way back from seeing the Chequered Skipper. It also means I might have a quieter, more restful season next year but NBA and Large Heath do need repeat visits at some point. I Also want to see proper IoW Glanvilles and perhaps I'll start looking for some local races, Great Orme and the Scilly Isles spring to mind. There's still an awful lot to experience out there

Butterflysaurus rex wrote:Hi Paul, it's really enjoyable following you on your mission to see every UK species. What will you do when it's mission accomplished? Can we look forward to a new mission?

Hi James, glad you've enjoyed my frantic mission . New mission... well it's a toss up between every UK Lichen or every UK Slime mould........

As A little addendum to my last post I thought I'd add a few shots of the NBA habitat at Burnmouth:

I'm actually back to work tomorrow, if I can remember the way although because the way my rota works it's just a half day and then I'm off on Tuesday . but then it's 6 days straight, so that should give me time to catch up on things here. It's definately going to be a shock to the system after these past six weeks, it's been like summer holidays from School. Anyway a week ago...

1st July, Daneway Blues (part 1)

I hadn’t planned to go and see Large Blues this year but my ‘illness’ and the early emergence of most species meant that the first week of July was technically free having already bagged the usual July purple targets. So, the day after returning from Scotland I left early for the long trip across southern England, train fares and buses dictating that Saturday is the only realistic day I can get there under my own steam. I’d checked Neil Hulme’s PD the night before for the date he’d seen the first males and extrapolated that they should still be on the wing. The weather forecast seemed perfect, a warm, cloudy morning breaking to sunny spells by the time of my arrival at around 1pm.

I arrived to find several people walking around with cameras and an official outing (presumably a BC organised or similar event) was just coming to a close and heard that small numbers were indeed still present. It only took a few minutes to hear the call of someone nearby and I watched one flutter over one of the fences towards me, a rather fresh looking female. She never opened her wings but did go through the motions of egg laying (I never saw found egg upon looking after she had left). In fact virtually all I saw were females, probably six or seven and nearly all were going through the same motions and only the one looked anything more than a day or two old. They were spread quite widely across the site but the same ones kept popping up in the same places It wasn’t until later in the afternoon that they started to open their wings for me, displaying that unique ultramarine blue they have but egg laying (or attempts at any rate) continued right up until my home time.

1st July, Daneway (part 2) The support cast

So the Blues are obviously the main attraction at this time of year but the site is a veritable lepidopteran hive of activity with Satyrids, Hesperids and Nymphalids all jostling for attention.

Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites ruled the roost as far as the Browns were concerned with a few Small Heath and (mostly) faded ringlets also putting in the occasional appearance plus the odd Specklie in the shadier corners. With so many around fights were inevitable... I only saw Large and Small skippers but apparently Essex were also about as well Gorging on the Hawk-bits were several gorgeously fresh Small Tortoiseshells and later I found an eye catching hutchinsoni Comma. As well as the butterflies, there were dozens of species of Moth, most of which I didn’t bother with but I spent some time with this magnificent lady! With so much to see the afternoon simply flew by and I didn't even have time for a refreshing tipple in the pub before leaving, oh well there's always next year

Cracking NBAs Bugboy - those are easier to tell apart than salmacis Lovely set of Large Blues as well with some nice open wing shots, something I struggled to find on my visit due to insane heat

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I'm trying to catch up with your posts Bugboy but your leaving me breathless I envy you your determination and youth
Goldie

Haha, yea sorry Goldie, best sit down with a cup of tea and a few biscuits before attempting my PD at the moment . Now I'm back to work I'm only a week behind so this time next week my entries may slow down a bit although I do have a week booked off mid July and Mid August...

Also thank you for using the word 'youth', I thought I'd long grown out of that adjective

No Bugboy, it's me that's lost the youth. ( Just got some hearing aids )

I hope I shall see some Large Blues in France this summer I enjoy coming across them in the wild there. Nice colours on a lovely fresh insect.

Good luck in France Peter

2nd July, White-letter Hairstreak.

I’d had a few enquiries about the colony I visit and given this year’s topsy turvy season it was difficult to say whether it was worth a visit, so I thought I’d drop by again and see how close to the end of their season it was. Two weeks ago they were nearly all fresh, just a few tatty males chasing all the beautiful females, so I figured there should still be some activity.

I left it quite late in the day, knowing they stay active well into the early evening and arrived just before 4 to find a few oldish females flitting around, about half a dozen or so as opposed to the 30+ on my previous visit. They still posed well for me though on what remained of the Bramble flowers and I spent about half an hour with them before moving on to see what else was about. Even though it was late, it was still insanely hot and most that was about was doing it’s best to shelter from it. All three Whites were present and Essex made up the vast majority of Skippers that were buzzing around. There were still some Marbled Whites, Ringlets (mostly looking rather worn and tatty now) along with Meadow Browns and my first Gatekeepers of the year. Another first were summer gen Peacocks, which interestingly seemed to be acting like spring animals and holding territories, and were mostly very jittery towards a strange man with a camera. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a strong second generation this year in places.

Also flying were a couple of Brown Argus looking for a suitable roosting spot. When I finally returned to the Hairstreaks the females had all vanished and had been replaced by five or six males. As ever here Comma’s were ever present throughout the afternoon.

Sorry bugboy, I accidentally posted my day's hunting on your diary! I think it's deleted now.

Those WLH look familiar, Buggy! And the Large Blue shots earlier are excellent. I shall have to try Daneway as well as Collard next year...

Dave

You have really seen some great butterflies this year Buggy, your achievements made all the more impressive by the amount of getting about you have done by public transport.

Cheers,

Neil.

millerd wrote:Those WLH look familiar, Buggy! And the Large Blue shots earlier are excellent. I shall have to try Daneway as well as Collard next year...
Dave

Thanks Dave . Coincidentally, I thought the same of your WLH

Neil Freeman wrote:You have really seen some great butterflies this year Buggy, your achievements made all the more impressive by the amount of getting about you have done by public transport.

Cheers,

Neil.

Thanks Neil, I dread to think how much I've spent on fares....

4th July, North Stoke

I went down for one final look this year for Large Tortoiseshells but like last time I found none. This by no means they haven’t bred here though. All eye’s peeled next April for post hibernation animals!

Despite the lack of them there was still an awful lot around to keep me occupied. The remaining few Ringlets and marbled Whites were looking somewhat past their best but there were plenty of fresh Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns around. Second generations Whites were still emerging on droves And I found ‘father & son’ Brimstones Comma’s and Red Admirals were still numerous and were now joined by summer Peacocks although all the Small Torts from a couple of weeks ago had vanished. All expected Skippers were in attendance And where last time only a few very tatty Common Blues were seen, their offspring were now brightening up the grassland Another solitary Small Copper posed for me Taking a break from butterflies, a large patch of Hogweed was covered in Hoverflies of various species and I found a very fat Crab Spider having lunch. As I was leaving I found where all the Small Torts had gone with several squabbling over a nettle bed near the gate at the entrance to the site. One final surprise, sitting on the floor in the middle of the waiting room at the station was another Poplar Hawk. I moved him onto some overhanging trees.

5th July, Bookham and Box Hill

The summer heatwave was still in full swing so by the time I got to Bookham at 9.30 everything was already actively feeding and super charged.

The usual suspects were jostling over Bramble flowers but I made great effort to grab some shots of a Large White that stopped by, I’ve hardly seen any this year never mind photograph them. Despite the summer heat this year there are still some damp areas and muddy patches in the open scrub which this year has seen various species mud puddling. Previously I have watched Comma’s and Small Whites, today there were a trio of Small Skippers partaking. Before leaving I spent a bit of time reacquainting myself with Speckled Woods, a species I’ve not seen a great deal since the spring. An hour later I was on Box Hill with various Satyrids and Dark Green Fritillaries. Marbled Whites were still out in good numbers and still emerging judging by the condition of some. It’s no surprise to find Gatekeepers have started emerging here as well. I wandered over to Zigzag Road and the Silver-spotted Skipper bank but found no early SSS. A few Small Heath flitted here and there and a male Common Blue sat briefly. It was the Fritillaries I was mainly concentrating on though. The males were obviously impossible, rarely more than a ginger blur flashing across the hillside but the majority of females could be followed as they searched for egg laying spots. I watched one female go through the whole process, amazed how her abdomen extended to double its normal length as it probed around the lower reaches of the grass stems to find what she was after. When she flew off I had a careful search and located the egg, never seen one of these before so I was quite chuffed with myself

The DGF egg is an amazing find, Buggy. I don't think I've got good enough eyes to spot one!

Dave

millerd wrote:The DGF egg is an amazing find, Buggy. I don't think I've got good enough eyes to spot one!

Dave

Thanks Dave, It's tucked down deep in the turf so had I not witnessed it being laid I wouldn't have found it in a month of Sundays!

6th July, Walthamstow Marshes

I managed to squeeze in an hours butterfly late afternoon on my local patch. It was cooling down and getting a bit cloudy but there was still enough activity to make things worthwhile. Gatekeepers here too are emerging, still only males at this stage. Skippers were around, large easily identified, but the Small’s and Essex were particularly tricky this evening. First one I’m going for Small here, the second Essex. The next generation of Small Tortoiseshells are well on there way Not every flower was being visited, I think this Crab Spider needs to go back to camouflage school! The Hutchinsoni Comma’s are just starting to look a little worn now, but still worthy of attention. I left when I noticed a very large and very dark cloud drifting in my direction, Thunderstorms had been predicted, so I never got as far as where the Common and Holly Blues have been hanging out this year.

Great find with the DGF ovum Buggy Egglaying is one of the few behaviours I've not seen in DGFs

Have a goodun

Wurzel

7th July, Graylings

I normally wait for a few more weeks before going after Graylings, not visiting Chobham Common for them until the second half of July as it seems to be a late site for these as well as Silver-studded Blues. However, I saw them twice in Scotland and given the trend for 2017 I thought I should go earlier if I was to catch some fresh animals.

On the way to my usual hotspot skippers and Comma’s distracted me but I didn’t see any wandering Grayling like I normally do in their season.

Arriving at the hotspot, a slight hill… well, more of a large mound really, there didn’t seem to be much activity until I disturbed one perched on an ageing, diseased Birch, who proceeded to disturb a second and then a third. They all quickly settled, long enough to see I had three very fresh males before darting off in a flurry of wings again. These three were the only ones I saw for the day but I made the most of them. They were centred around the Birch which seemed to have some kind of fungal disease and was secreting something that was attractive to a lot of insect life (mainly flies, wasps and three Grayling). They are always fun to watch, they do give the impression of play fighting rather than proper territorial disputes. I camped out by the Birch for a couple of hours watching them, thankful for the shade on yet another overly warm day. There’s normally a few Silver Studded Blue still hanging around during Grayling season and today was no different, the vast majority were long past their sell by date but there were a couple of fresher males and a particularly fine looking (and rather plump) female.

8th July, Dorset Lulies

Since I got Chequered Skipper this year I got it into my head that I was going to see all the Skippers in the one season, which obviously required a visit to the wonderfully scenic Dorset Coast. Like my other long distant day trips, extortionately high week day train fares meant that the weekend was the only realistic option. (I seriously cannot fathom how a return flight to Scotland from London is cheaper than a return train fare to Dorset???)

Anyway, it does mean to make it a worthwhile day trip I do need to catch the 6.30am train so it was with sleepy eyes that I set off for a day at the Seaside.

A few hours later I arrived at Durlston and it was yet another scorcher. Having visited last year I was familiar with the place and it took very little time to locate my first Lulworth, the first of many I was to see. I explored further this year, spending a good 5 hours chasing various species (but mostly the Lulworths obviously). All ages were seen, from ancient dark males to fresh out the box individuals. Unlike last year, when it was well into August, there were other Skippers around today. A few faded Large and several fresher looking Smalls, although unlike Millerd the following day I never saw an Essex. It was interesting to find that the Lulworths were quite easy to pick out even in flight, ironically being noticeable smaller the Smalls and also somewhat darker.

Lulworths were probably the commonest butterfly, closely challenged by Marbled Whites although the commonest Lepidopteran could well have been the hundreds of six-spot Burnet Moths. I bumped into a few other butterflyers (not Wurzel though even though I’ve heard since he was here on the same day? not sure where he was lurking, maybe he has some local insider knowledge of a secret Lulworth lair). One of the butterflyers was a familiar face though, last time I saw him he had a Purple Emperor licking his Shoe! He’d found a male Clouded Yellow and pointed me in the direction of some second brood Small Blues.

I managed a few Small Blues, just males but they did have a very generous amount of blue scales. Flying with them was a Common Blue and apparently there was also a Small Copper but I never tracked that down. With time getting on (and a two and half hour train ride to look forward to) I only managed a few record shots of my first Cloudie of the year, better than nothing though. Other species seen were Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Small Heaths, Dark Green Fritillaries and a couple of surprises, two very fresh (and stupidly scatty, hence no shots) male Walls and a single Grayling feeding on a Buddleja. And there endeth my enforced summer holiday

I do like this part of the world, this may become an annual pilgrimage. Perhaps next year I’ll book a hostel and make a weekend of it.