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Greenham Common

I've spent the entire Easter weekend doing "family stuff" with no butterfly in sight - so decided to get my "fix" for an hour late this afternoon (around 4pm) before I return to work in the morning. I really wasn't expecting to see much, but managed to find all 3 targets in good numbers - Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreak.

I think I found a Grizzled Skipper hotspot near the control tower with masses of Wild Strawberry in flower. I then spent a chunk of time trying to get a shot of the butterfly on its larval foodplant and failed! The closest is shown below.
The Green Hairstreaks were also flitting about when not catching the rays. I managed to find a female ovipositing (photo below) on Bird's-foot Trefoil - she pushed her abdomen quite deep into a developing floret. I also managed to get a half-decent shot of the resulting egg. Finally, a video of the wing-rubbing typical of this species. All in all, not bad for an hour at a local site!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts4bibAUXr0[/video]

are the wings deformed pete? as it turns face on it looks like the back is flattened.

Hi Chris - not quite sure what you mean. The critter looked OK to me!

Cheers,

- Pete

sorry Pete.maybe not. just goes to show how many GH's i have seen, looks like it's a normal feature on them that i have never noticed.

Botany Bay
Monitoring the weather closely, I spent yesterday in the south east (where the good weather would start given the north easterly winds) and finished up in the south west! Inspired by Susie's images of Wood White at Botany Bay (part of the Oaken Wood complex in Surrey), I decided to head along there myself, arriving at 10am and it was absolutely freezing! However, within 30 minutes, the first Wood Whites showed themselves as the temperature increased significantly. I thought that being there early, and based on previous trips, I'd have a good 30 minutes of well-behaved Wood White (i.e. those that would sit still long enough to be photographed!). However, the good behaviour lasted no more than 10 minutes as the temperature increased. Anyway, undeterred, I stayed around for an hour or so to observe various behaviours and I'm glad I did! I only saw one courting couple, but did manage to capture it on video (not the best quality, but better than nowt) and also saw 3 ovipositing females. One laid 3 eggs in rapid succession on the same leaf! All in all, a very worthwhile trip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjqTKIZhLmQ[/video]

Bentley Wood
The afternoon was spent working, but I then managed to get to the eastern clearing at Bentley Wood at around 4:30pm and there was still a lot of activity with Pearl-bordered Fritillaries everywhere (and several Fox moths flying about!). Although the light wasn't brilliant, at least the butterflies were settling in preparation, no doubt, for their overnight roost. The few females I saw were also laying profusely, and not a single egg on the foodplant; all eggs were laid on nearby bracken. Given the recent heatwave, I wonder if this strategy minimises the risk of an egg being laid on a plant that is unsuitable once the larva eventually emerges. Photos below.
Cheers,

- Pete

Great stuff, Pete, I love that video in particular. I so wanted to get that on film!

Susie wrote:Great stuff, Pete, I love that video in particular. I so wanted to get that on film!

Thanks Susie - I think your photos are better than mine though! A team win And I forgot to add a photo of an egg - now there!

Cheers,

- Pete

Greenham Common

I managed to escape for an hour at Greenham Common (a local patch) late morning. It was nice to bump into the Greenham and Crookham Common ranger, Adrian Wallington, who showed me a Woodlark's nest (the young have fledged, before being ringed) - right next to a path! Amazing! We then had a good old natter (like you do) about the management of the common and future plans (a Silver-studded Blue reintroduction has been on the cards for several years). I have to say, I've never seen the common looking better and the amount of wildlife is just phenomenal at the moment, especially ground nesting birds. The only downside is that we need some rain! Walking over the common I could hear my feet crunching some of the undergrowth which is starting to get seriously dessicated in places - and this includes important Lepidoptera food sources such as Bird's-foot Trefoil.

The 3 most abundant species are Green Hairstreak, Dingy Skipper and Grizzled Skipper and the "hotspot" I've found was ridiculously busy. At one point I could see 5 ovipositing Green Hairstreaks, all laying on Bird's-foot Trefoil. I did see one female "oviposturing" (thanks Guy!) on Gorse, but no eggs were laid. I also found an individual (shown below) that was the size of a Small Blue - absolutely tiny! I also found a mating pair of Dingy Skipper and spent some time observing them, especially the abdominal movements that I captured on (X-rated) video! Seeing my first Brown Argus of the year capped things off nicely.

Cheers,

- Pete
If you're over 18, feel free to watch the video below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcwcle9-owE[/video]

UKB Photography Workshop - 30th April

A superb day all round from my perspective. Thanks to all the presenters, to everyone for bringing good weather with them, and the butterflies of Magdalen Hill Down for really putting on a show. It really was quite spectacular! Some photos below. A special thanks to Gary for helping with much of the organising. We've received some good feedback and will be incorporating this into next year's event - not least the fact that we had to drag people away from MHD!

Cheers,

- Pete

Wiltshire Wood

A couple of hours spent in a Wiltshire wood allowed me to see my first Marsh Fritillary of the year - along with numerous Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moths (no photos since they never seem to sit still!), several Argent and Sable, and plenty of Pearl-bordered Fritillary (which are having an absolutely spectacular year) together with a number of Dingy and Grizzled Skipper. But the Marsh Fritillary were what I went for, and they put on a really good show! I got there early enough to take some artistic shots on bluebell before they all warmed up! The colour variation between individuals is just incredible - one of my favourite butterflies for sure!

Cheers,

- Pete

Some ace shots Pete, the first one has a great contrast of colour. I managed to hook up with Marsh Fritillary over the weekend at Hod Hill so thanks for the advice about trying some of the "hotter spots". I did come away quite sad though as I think Hod Hill as replaced Martin Down as my favourite chalk grassland habitat...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Pete Eeles wrote:A couple of hours spent in a Wiltshire wood allowed me to see my first Marsh Fritillary of the year

Correction - I saw my first at the UKB Photography Workshop, as spotted by Lee Hurrell! Doh!

Cheers,

- Pete

Back in Wiltshire!

A quick dash this morning to get my weekly "fix" First stop to see some Adonis Blue. This hilltop site was breezy and cold, but I did manage to see 7 males and 3 females, along with several Grizzled Skipper. A couple of photos below, although getting a true representation of an Adonis Blue on a computer is really difficult (unless you're Guy!).
I then visited a Wiltshire Wood to see if I could get some snaps of my two nemeses (if that's the plural of nemesis!). Although I failed on the Argent and Sable front (Kipper will have to let me know his secret!), I did manage to get a record shot of a Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth, which was behaving itself for a change!
And finally - the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary have finally emerged! Lovely little critters which are not only much brighter orange than their larger cousins, but have a much more delicate flight. A delight to behold! Also a few Dukes, Grizzled and Dingy Skipper, lots of Marsh Frits and (still) Brimstone!
Cheers,

- Pete

By god that's an exceptionally good photo of an exceptionally hairy adonis blue! It looks like a yeti.

Denbies Hillside

Given the recent reports by Susie, Vince and others, of the seemingly large number of aberrant Adonis Blue adults emerging, I decided to venture to pastures new - Denbies Hillside. I have to say, this is an incredible site, with literally carpets of Horseshoe Vetch, the Adonis Blue (and Chalkhill Blue) larval foodplant. It was great to bump into fellow UKB member Philzoid! The number of aberrants initially filled me with joy - but I left with a feeling of deep concern. I'll explain why. First some photos:
I'd say that 95% of all aberrants were deformed, to the point that you could easily pinpoint a deformed adult and - lo and behold - it was an aberration! Only 5% of aberrants seemed to have no deformity (some of the photos above are deliberately taken at a "favourable" angle, giving a potentially-misleading impression of the stats!). And while 100% of deformed adults were aberrations, NONE of the "normal" individuals were deformed at all. And this is why I'm concerned. While the environment (i.e. a stupidly-hot April) could account for either aberrations, or deformities, why the combination? Could it be that the gene pool is actually very weak, resulting in deformed and aberrant individuals? Will their progeny be able to survive? I've contacted a few luminaries to get their thoughts, and will report back.

The characteristics of the individual below may also be the result of a deformity, but it did have primarily female colouring, with a "hint of male"! If it weren't also deformed to a small extent, I'd be more comfortable with labelling this individual as a gynandromorph.
On a more positive note, I saw my first Large Skippers of the year (3 in total), lots of Small Heath, several Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreak, and this rather nice female Common Blue (showing an extensive amount of blue) as I got back to the car:
Cheers,

- Pete

Here's a theory to shoot down:

The aberrations are individuals that for some reason have been incited to emerge too early - before the colours have been laid down properly. The same early emergence has led to one or more of the wings being not fully ready for pumping up and flying.

Adonis blues pupate at or under the surface of the ground (are some buried by ants?). If they detect the ground hardening around them, through desiccation, might this provide stimulus for escaping before they are sealed in a clay tomb? I had initially wondered about physical disturbance causing it, but it sounds as though climatic effects are more significant here.

It is possible there were many more casualties, who didn't make it as far as being able to fly at all, and so were not seen.

Shoot away!

Guy

PS - if the effect were genetic, due to a weak gene pool, wouldn't you expect it to have been evident in previous generations too? The gene pool won't change overnight without some catastrophe occurring to select against a large number of individuals.

Pete,
I've only just caught up with your recent pages - sorry it's late, but - I think the photographs of the Marsh Fritillaries are absolutely beautiful! I love the first one from May 04th on the Bluebell - such excellent colours and composition. The fact that the Marsh Frits are in perfect condition means that nothing is less than exemplary. Also I love the Grizzled Skippers mating from April 18th. There's no point me saying 'keep up the good work' because all the images are great. But...erm...keep up the good work!
Michael

padfield wrote:Here's a theory to shoot down:

The aberrations are individuals that for some reason have been incited to emerge too early - before the colours have been laid down properly. The same early emergence has led to one or more of the wings being not fully ready for pumping up and flying.

Adonis blues pupate at or under the surface of the ground (are some buried by ants?). If they detect the ground hardening around them, through desiccation, might this provide stimulus for escaping before they are sealed in a clay tomb? I had initially wondered about physical disturbance causing it, but it sounds as though climatic effects are more significant here.

It is possible there were many more casualties, who didn't make it as far as being able to fly at all, and so were not seen.

Shoot away!

Guy

Thanks Guy! So, in the variation article at http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/reports_variation.php, it says that "It has also been shown that a significant variation can occur as a result of "extreme shocks of either heat or cold during the last 24 hours of the larval stage and the first 48 hours of the pupal stage" [Vigus]" (where Vigus == Felix). And so the colours are laid down when the individual pupates. So why the deformities too? This is why I suggested a genetic link, rather than environmental link.

Cheers,

- Pete

Michaeljf wrote:Pete,
I've only just caught up with your recent pages - sorry it's late, but - I think the photographs of the Marsh Fritillaries are absolutely beautiful! I love the first one from May 04th on the Bluebell - such excellent colours and composition. The fact that the Marsh Frits are in perfect condition means that nothing is less than exemplary. Also I love the Grizzled Skippers mating from April 18th. There's no point me saying 'keep up the good work' because all the images are great. But...erm...keep up the good work!
Michael

Thanks Michael - we all do our best! Many of the images I see posted on UKB leave me in awe, I have to say. And if it weren't for those posts, and the advice I've received as a result, my photos wouldn't be anywhere near the (average) standard they are!

Cheers,

- Pete

padfield wrote:PS - if the effect were genetic, due to a weak gene pool, wouldn't you expect it to have been evident in previous generations too? The gene pool won't change overnight without some catastrophe occurring to select against a large number of individuals.

Good point. I need to re-research just when the colours are laid down. Deep dive in tyrosine and melanin in progress

Cheers,

- Pete