Kev Ling

[Pete Eeles]

As near back as the 1980s, it was not unusual to see numbers in their thousands, however with loss of habitat, that number was reduced to just 4 in 2010.

That is truly shocking

Let's hope the comeback continues!

Cheers,

- Pete

[kevling]

17th July 2015
I lead my first ever Butterfly walk for Butterfly Conservation today. A party of 36 accompanied me to Bonny Wood in Suffolk on the lookout for woodland species, including Purple Emperor.
After a cloudy start, which the Ringlets didn't mind, the sun finally broke through in short bursts and we were soon treated to Silver Washed Fritillary (Male & Female)and White Admiral on bramble, whilst Purple Hairstreak darted around the oak canopies above.
A fellow BC colleague had laid some bait in an adjacent ride to tempt a Purple Emperor to the ground and it proved successful with a rather battered male tucking into it.

Some further sightings of Purple Emperor including female were enjoyed throughout the wood, mainly at height.
Other species seen included Red Admiral, Large White, Green Veined White, Essex Skipper & Small Skipper.

Regards Kev

[kevling]

18/7/16

No butterflies this time, but a couple of notable visitors of the moth variety to my garden.

Elephant Hawk Moth

Common Emerald

Regards Kev

[kevling]

All work and no play has left my diary bereft of activity lately.
A holiday in Snowdonia did little to enhance things with Butterfly numbers hampered by cloudy conditions. However things did take a turn for the better on the cliffs of Beaumaris (Anglesey), where I came across my first ever Painted Lady Larva.

A walk to the beach through Newborough Forest saw an improvement in numbers, with plenty of Red Admiral, including this fine specimen.

Speckled Wood - Newborough

Whether it is a sign of a damp summer that Wales experienced, but on a hot sunny day we found ourselves exploring Llyn Padarn in Llanberis. Along the banks of the lakes were large numbers of flowering Buddleia (but not a single butterfly to be seen).

Shocking lack of Butterflies on this Buddleia

Regards Kev

[Wurzel]

Cracking Red Admiral Kev There does seem to be a paucity of butterflies - even when the weather is good - hopefully they've all bred and the next generation is developing ready for next year

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[kevling]

Thanks Wurzel. Let's keep our fingers crossed

Some late Summer sun around my local patch and a chance to catch up with Small Coppers that have been evading me this year.
Good numbers seen on the heaths around Woodbridge and Ipswich, along with Graylings (including this mating pair)

Regards Kev

[trevor]

Nice partially open wing Grayling Kev. You are now a member of an exclusive club.
( I'm not in it , as I missed a shot like that by being too slow . )

Best wishes,
Trevor.

[kevling]

With another year at an end, I got my final fix today during a walk in the country near home in Ipswich.
After a couple of hours searching, I found my first ever Hairstreak egg. This one belonging to the Brown Hairstreak.

I'm still a bit of a novice when it comes to early stage sightings, but happy to have rounded off 2016 with this

Regards and Happy New Year for 2017
Kev

[Padfield]

With another year at an end, I got my final fix today during a walk in the country near home in Ipswich.
After a couple of hours searching, I found my first ever Hairstreak egg. This one belonging to the Brown Hairstreak.

BH ovum - Bobbits Lane 28.12 (3).JPG

I'm still a bit of a novice when it comes to early stage sightings, but happy to have rounded off 2016 with this

Regards and Happy New Year for 2017
Kev

That's amazing! I know of historical locations for brown hairstreak near Ipswich but in recent years I've never heard of a sighting. Was this a known (new) site or did you come across it by chance? There's so much blackthorn in the region I'd always hoped brown hairstreaks would move in.

Guy

[David M]

Indeed. In fact, the UK distribution map for betulae is notable for the absence of this butterfly in East Anglia:

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/distribu ... es=betulae

[kevling]

Hi Guy,

The site I visited was a locally known one.
Over the past 18 months, there has been a good number of Brown Hairstreak sightings along the stretch of A14 between Copdock and Nacton, the provenance of which is still being established. They may have been introduced, but strong colonies now seem to be establishing themselves in several locations and the egg counts performed this winter lay testament to that. One thing is sure, the habitat is ideal and abundant, so there is optimism that the future could be good.

Regards Kev

[Padfield]

That's good news. Last winter I spent some time checking blackthorn near Woodbridge - just in case - never really expecting to find anything (and I didn't find anything). If they're thriving Nacton way it shouldn't be too long before they reach the heaths north of Ipswich too. Female brown hairstreaks wander considerable distances to lay their eggs.

Guy

[kevling]

Guy,

Interesting that females travel distances to lay eggs. Do they habitually always move distances in respect that current colonies may relocate en-masse to new locations or is it a matter of them potentially increasing their overall range.

Regards Kev

[MrSp0ck]

We have been monitoring the Surrey/Kent Boundary, where the Brown Hairstreak is spreading back into Kent, and eggs were found in 2015, in Kent at Nash. The first Kent record since the 1970s. The Colony based at [Hutchinsons Bank] at Farleigh Dean Crescent, where the BH has been for about 10 years, seems to be where the master tree is, and egg counts on suitable sites around 1/2 mile away had good numbers of eggs, further away the number of eggs dropped into single figures. 5 eggs were found on semi-suitable blackthorn on the Kent Border.

I would expect the distant eggs will find a new Master Tree when they produce adults, and a new colony will form around that area and the spread will continue on from there.

The Brown Hairstreak does seem to be more widespread than thought, so may have been in areas without being seen for years, and egg counts are only just getting more widespread.

Details and maps of the Surrey Egg Hunts here. The Map is out of date, as the BH has been found in many new squares this winter.

http://butterfly-conservation.org/10506 ... hunts.html

http://butterfly-conservation.org/files ... 160224.pdf

[bugboy]

Guy,

Interesting that females travel distances to lay eggs. Do they habitually always move distances in respect that current colonies may relocate en-masse to new locations or is it a matter of them potentially increasing their overall range.

Regards Kev

I think it may be just that the females are so fussy as to where to lay they need to search far and wide to find just the right piece of Blackthorn. What is perfect one season may well have aged to much the next.

[kevling]

2/4/17

Finally found the time for my first butterfly walk of the year today at my local patch in Ipswich (Belstead Meadow).
I was rewarded with good numbers and eight species.

1 x Orange Tip (M) - earliest recorded personal sighting
1 x Holly Blue - earliest recorded personal sighting
10 x Peacock
8 x Comma
1 x Small Tortoiseshell
1 x Brimstone
2 x White (unidentified as some distance away)
1 x Speckled Wood

Hopefully a good omen for the year ahead.

Regards Kev

[David M]

That's one hell of a return for a first butterfly walk of the year, Kev.

As you say, hopefully it's a portent for what's to come.

[Wurzel]

As David said a hell of a return I've been seeing butterflies since February and I'm only just at that number of species
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[kevling]

13/4/17

A break from the office and a lunchtime walk under cloudy skies, produced a couple of unexpected bonuses today.
Both taken with my phone, but happy with the results.

Regards Kev

[Wurzel]

Mighty fine phone shots Kev Cloudy days can be quite productive so long as there is a little brightness

Have a goodun

Wurzel