Pauline

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Pauline,

Blimey! I wish I had some half decent shots like those first 6 PBF photos, absolutely wonderful images of a beautifully marked individual

All the best,

Neil.

[David M]

Some Neil Hulme-esque standard images there, Pauline, and yes, I'm sure your heavily marked PBF qualifies as an ab.

I've certainly never seen one like that before.

[Pauline]

I'm glad you like them Trevor and thank you for pointing out the ab.

Lovely to hear from you Nomad. Thank you for the compliment and your confirmation of the ab.

He's an old boy now Goldie, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I'm so pleased you got to see the Duke and got some good shots too I see. They are such a lovely butterfly, aren't they? I couldn't resist another quick look today at my local site.

I really appreciate your comments Neil. I am sure you will remember my lack of confidence from previous years - well, it is still there, I just hide it better

That's certainly some compliment David - I have even received positive comments from the man himself about a couple of these ones! I'm delighted at the ab confirmation - thank you.

I cannot let the weather dictate when I go out otherwise I would never get anywhere. I have to make the most of the time available so with the animals fed and cleaned and the foxes asleep I set off for Noar Hill. As I drove down the A3 the wind was still strong and the skies overcast - and then the heavens opened! I seriously considered coming off at the next junction and returning home but then I reminded myself of all the other times I had been in this situation and it had turned out reasonably successful.

I didn't see many butterflies - just a few Dukes - and in fact I got more ticks on me bringing my tick count into double figures this year so far!! I got a few more underside shots:

... and in portrait (not sure which is best)

No sign of the BH larva but the Brimstone eggs are still intact:

Back home I checked my WA larva after last night's inclement weather and I am pleased to report they did not drown or get blown away . A word of caution about those 'pop-up' cages - they are very unstable, even with bricks in the base.

[Pauline]

Not much to report today but early this morning as I was about to let the poultry out a GVW fluttered weakly across the garden and landed at my feet - my first of the season. I grabbed a few shots as the sun was rising and off he went:

[Goldie M]

Nice Green Hair Streaks Pauline the weather here has been awful, today it was okay after lunch but wouldn't you know I was out shopping Goldie

[Wurzel]

Great shots Pauline. With the Duke shots I'd go for portrait, landscape looks kinda squashed

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Love the GV Whites images, Pauline.

I think we should all pay more attention to this understated yet highly beautiful butterfly.

[Pauline]

Thanks Goldie - it's always the way isn't it? Hope you got something nice anyway

Thank you Wurzel. After all this time I'm still having dilemmas over composition I agree tho, having taken a second look. The landscape one is more cluttered with the leaves too.

I totally agree David. If something is fairly common (and not just butterflies) we tend to value it less, but these are a very photogenic butterfly I think. Thank you.

Today I have a favour to ask. I would really like to know what the following are and I have had only a little response from the identification section. They were all taken yesterday on Bramshott Common:

Some sort of Shield bug?

[bailey1409]

Hi Pauline

Your bug is a Corizus hyoscyami

Cheers

Maurice

[Pauline]

Hi Maurice - been meaning to email you, will do that later. Thank you for ID. Why do the names have to be so complicated? I think Vince has got one of the cats nailed too. In the words of the song '2 out of 3 ain't bad'

Today, another trip to Noar Hill which was very enjoyable - but more of that later. What I'd like to know is - are these Duke eggs as I thought they were generally laid singly? More questions

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Pauline,
Yes, they are Duke eggs. They are often laid singly, sometimes in small batches of 2 - 4, and occasionally up to 10 at a time (usually following a period of prolonged 'no-fly' weather).
BWs, Neil

[Pauline]

Thank you for that confirmation Neil. I am very excited that I found some

Like everyone else I cannot just down tools and dash off into the countryside when the sun starts to shine. There are priorities that must be attended to first. Frequently, by the time the chores have been done, the sun has disappeared, the temperature has dropped and the sky has clouded over ...... such was the case again yesterday, but I decided to proceed with my plan for another trip to Noar Hill. After all, the weather is very changeable, and even if it didn’t brighten up I had other things I wanted to do that didn’t depend on the sun shining. For a start I had 2 sets of eggs to monitor (the Brimstone and the BH) and I really wanted to try to find some Duke eggs. I have tried and failed on a couple of previous occasions which had taught me that often tiny ticks sit on the underneath of the Cowslip leaves just waiting to pounce, so it is wise to keep checking ones hands.

However, my first stop was at the Brimstone eggs. As I made my way there a cuckoo flew right past me – the closest view I have ever had – but didn’t stop until he reached a tree a great distance away. I tried to take a photo – just a record shot – but I am not sure if it is even recognisable as a Cuckoo.

It made me even more impressed by the great shot of one that Mark captured recently. The Cuckoo continued to call to a female at the other end of the site and she repeatedly called back to him as I made my way to the Brimstone eggs. Most of them looked OK but one of them seemed to have collapsed – I was not sure whether this was because it had hatched or whether it had been eaten or parasitized:

I next checked the small Blackthorn bush where I know 2 eggs have hatched and there are signs of feeding damage – but there were still no signs of the larva! It was at this point that I was stopped by a very distressed lady who had lost her old (14.5 years) deaf spaniel. Unfortunately, he also had a retractable lead attached to his harness which was likely to get caught on something. Fortunately the dog was microchipped but for once Noar Hill was devoid of visitors who might have kept an eye open. The owner was from Petersfield and I think she intended to leave her details at Selbourne Post Office. I mention this just in case any locals are planning a visit there this weekend.

It was still overcast and had started to drizzle so I set about looking for some Duke eggs. One of the leaves I turned over had a pretty cat on the ground underneath it (‘Oh no, not another one’ I can hear Vince saying!). I would be interested to know what it is if anyone has ever come across one.

A few minutes later I turned over a leaf which looked as if it HAD carried an egg but the egg looked clear as if it had either been eaten or hatched.

I worked my way systematically round likely looking leaves in the same area and then BINGO!!!! I had found some eggs. The trouble was, I wasn’t sure they were actually Duke eggs as I thought the clutch was too big. Nevertheless, I carefully took a few shots of them, all the while keeping my fingers crossed.

By now the sky had brightened and the temperature was noticeably warmer and with that Dukes started emerging left, right and centre, several spiralling up into the sky together and instigating battle with a couple of Dingies. Pete was certainly right about the numbers building. At one point I had 3 in the frame at once but just as I took the shot one of them disappeared.

I had been able to spend more time here than usual - over 2 hours – but it was now time to return. I was just about to leave the area when a gorgeous Duchess (yes, I counted the legs) caught my eye. Gleaming gold in the weak sunshine, she outshone all the other Dukes. I had to stop for a few shots but I had only managed 2 photos with outstretched wings when the rain started again and I was left with only closed wing shots of her. However, I was very satisfied with all I had seen on what had started as a dull and dreary day. A great couple of hours.

[Pauline]

I have been grateful for recent assistance on ID's but thought I'd better try to do some research for myself. I've been looking at the details provided by this site and I think the cat I found (photo above) is a Ringlet cat. However, I would appreciate confirmation that I have got that right as I have read they are nocturnal and this one seemed quite active - although perhaps that was due to my disturbance of its environment.

[Pete Eeles]

I agree, Pauline - and a nice photo too! Please add it to the Ringlet Species-specific Album

Cheers,

- Pete

[Maximus]

Great stuff, Pauline the PB Frit. ab. was a superb find great shots Lovely Dukes/Duchesses and cat shots also

Cathy and I have not managed to get out for our butterfly fix recently due to other commitments, and the weather of course But we did manage to squeeze in a quick outing yesterday, yet to be posted on my personal diary...

[Pauline]

Thank you Pete. I am very pleased to have found/seen it so am enclosing another couple of shots below:

Good to see the two of you back Mike and great shots from your recent outing. Yes, the Pearl ab. was a lucky find and when I checked out the same site today I found the ab had got lucky too

I saw a female which looked very fresh and I initially thought she was egg-laying as she was ferreting about in dead bracken and scraping her abdomen over it repeatedly, taking frequent rests in between:

I was trying to keep an eye on her and at the same time take note of any others around (I saw 5 from where I was standing but on checking later I believe they were all males apart from this individual). Without warning, the ab which I saw last week pounced on her during one of these rest periods and despite her feeble attempt to escape he succeeded in his mating attempt.

I watched (and tried to take photos) over about an hour during changing weather conditions after which I had to leave them to it. It would have been interesting to know how long they would remain like that and how long after that the eggs would be laid. A few of the photos taking great care not to disturb them:

[Goldie M]

Great photos Pauline of the mating pair , i'm off tomorrow weather permitting looking for the PB, I'll be happy to find just one

I did treat myself whilst shopping, new slacks and top to match Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you Goldie. I've never seem a mating pair of PBF before so I was very pleased to witness it. I shall keep my fingers crossed for you and hope you are just as lucky

Folk might remember that last Summer I attempted to rear a few different species of moth. One of these was a Pebble Prominent which in the larval stage looked like this:

Earlier today I discovered it has at last emerged from its pupal case and the finished article looks like this:

[William]

Great stuff Pauline - the Prominents are a real favourite of mine!

BWs,

William

[David M]

You are entering a realm reserved for a tiny few with the images you've been posting lately, Pauline.

Superb reportage supplemented by top quality photos.