Neil Hulme

[Neil Hulme]

Small Coppers

On Tuesday (31st August) I re-visited the private woodland, mentioned in my 4th August posting, to assess the size of the Brown Hairstreak population here. This was the first opportunity to return in suitable weather since 2nd August, when I'd seen a single, early season female here. It wasn't long before I'd counted seven females - very encouraging for a 'new' site!

Once the hairstreak activity had subsided I went looking for Small Coppers. This is a species I always 'save' for autumn, and the late brood on sites such as Cissbury Ring and Kingley Vale always provides one of the highlights of the season. There were only a few on this particular site, but I quickly located a very fresh-looking female, which was immediately courted by an amorous male. As with many species, this involved no more than a high speed chase, and once the female had landed they joined almost instantly.

It was then off to meet Hannah at Cissbury Ring, where the Small Coppers were only just beginning to emerge. There were no particularly good photo opportunities, but a bag of parasol mushrooms for dinner more than made up for it.

[Jack Harrison]

Kipper wrote:

....a bag of parasol mushrooms for dinner....

My old mate Peter M tells a wonderful story about the particular type of mushrooms he and a friend enjoyed for dinner some years ago. Suffice it to say that the psilocybe semilanceata experience resulted in over-enthusiastic use of the wood-burning stove. To their great embarrassment, the local fire brigade had to be called. The events were published in the in-house magazine, the author’s identity being somewhat thinly disguised.

Jack

[Neil Hulme]

Clouded Yellows Make 52

Today started slowly, with poor weather dictating an early departure from Steyning Rifle Range. I met Paul Crook here, in the hope of locating Brown Hairstreaks, but nothing was flying and the 100% cloud cover looked set-in for the day. Of course an hour later it was warm and sunny!

By this time I was sitting on Mill Hill, a couple of miles away. Several people had reported a Clouded Yellow here over the previous few days, so I was keen to see my first of the season - making 52 species for the year. Almost immediately I saw a male CY patrolling the lower slopes at speed, then later encountered an only slightly less energetic female. She did 'put down' to nectar on a couple of thistles, but I got nowhere near photographic range.

The Adonis Blues are still providing a stunning, late season splash of colour here, with well over a hundred on the wing. Females are still emerging and I saw half a dozen mating pairs, including this nice ab. krodeli.

It was then onwards East to Hope Gap near Seaford. Here I got the breifest glimpse of the Small Copper ab. schmidtii reported to the BC Sussex website yesterday by Mike Kerry. It whizzed past me in the stiff breeze and I never managed to locate him again. I did manage to find one or two 'regular' coppers, but it was very much a day of 'ups and downs'.

[Neil Hulme]

Speckled Woods

Last week I spent quite some time, at several locations, just watching Speckled Woods. With the rush to see all of my local species now out of the way, it was nice to spend a bit of time looking more closely at some of the butterflies which are too easy to overlook in the hectic pursuit of fritillaries, admirals and emperors.

I was particularly intrigued by some of the techniques that female Speckled Woods use to deter amorous males. As with many species, this includes crawling underneath a leaf and just hanging there, in the hope that he'll eventually give up. One method that I hadn't previously observed, is for the female to keel over sideways, with wings closed and pressed flat against the leaf. This results in a strange spectacle, particularly when the male shuffles round in front of her and continues his rapid wing-flicking. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a shot of this, as I was just too enthralled by the goings-on!

[alex mclennan]

Hi Neil
see my post and picture on this forum on 30th April, 2007. I watched and photographed a female sp. wood basking in the sun on the ground when she was approached by an ardent male. She simply fell over onto her side, 'dead' , and lay there totally immobile. He persisted for a short time then flew off whereupon she immediately 'came back to life'!
Alex.

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Alex,
Not sure which thread that would have been in (I tried 'sightings'). Sounds like she was up to the same trick, so I'd be interested in seeing your posting/photo. Please can you provide a link to the page.
Ta, Neil

[Piers]

Hi Alex and Neil,

I have seen this behaviour in the Speckled Wood in captivity as well.

Felix.

[Jack Harrison]

I have photos somewhere (big search coming up!) of this behaviour which I have observed several times. However, to the best of my recollections, it was only seen with the late summer/early autumn Speckled Woods and never earlier in the year.

Jack

[Jack Harrison]

Here we are from 15 September 2008.

Jack

[alex mclennan]

Hi Neil
To find the post/pic, click on Members at the top of this page. On the next page click on the letter 'A', then on my name. When that page comes up, click on 'posts 168'. Find page 6 and halfway down the heading 'speckled wood behaviour'. Click on 'jump to post' and there it is! (Pete will probably tell us there is a simple way to do all this with two clicks!)
Alex

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Alex, Felix, Jack,
Thanks for your input. Found your post Alex! Jack's image, in particular, captures this behaviour perfectly (great shot). 'Playing dead' to deter predators is well-documented in a number of species (Camberwell Beauty being a classic case), but it's the first time that I've experienced a female butterfly doing it to avoid the amorous advances of a male! All we need now to complete the thread, is for someone to admit to a woman feigning sudden death to avoid their 'chat-up' lines at a party. Jack?
Neil

[Jack Harrison]

Neil:

...to avoid their 'chat-up' lines at a party...

Not at a party Neil, but it does remind me a little of my ex

Jack

[Susie]

Hi Alex, Felix, Jack,
Thanks for your input. Found your post Alex! Jack's image, in particular, captures this behaviour perfectly (great shot). 'Playing dead' to deter predators is well-documented in a number of species (Camberwell Beauty being a classic case), but it's the first time that I've experienced a female butterfly doing it to avoid the amorous advances of a male! All we need now to complete the thread, is for someone to admit to a woman feigning sudden death to avoid their 'chat-up' lines at a party. Jack?
Neil

Been there, done that! lmao

[Neil Hulme]

Speed Butterflying

Today (9th September) I broke my personal best time for speed butterflying. After a brief chat with Perseus at the top of Mill Hill: arrived bottom of slope 4.10pm, photographed Clouded Yellow 4.13pm, got wetter than I've been all season 4.15pm, back in car 4.20pm, trousers start steaming 4.25pm.

For those wanting to see Clouded Yellow this year, Mill Hill remains a good bet, despite there being only two in residence at the moment.

[Neil Hulme]

Hunt For Migrants

Today (12th September) I decided to search the Sussex coast for migrants, rather than make the long journey to Portland for the Long-tailed Blue (which I suspect has gone looking for peas!).

First stop was the Ouse Estuary Project at Newhaven, where a single male Clouded Yellow was relentlessly searching the perimeter ditch. Butterfly numbers were quite low here, but I did find a couple of Small Coppers and a few freshly emerged Common Blues.

Common Blue, Ouse Estuary Project

There were many more butterflies at Hope Gap, including at least a dozen Small Coppers. Amongst the three Clouded Yellows here was my first helice (pale form female) of the year, which appeared to be in excellent condition. Meadow Browns and Small Heaths are still emerging and I saw several mating pairs of each.

Female Small Copper, Hope Gap

'Seven Sisters' viewed from Hope Gap

A brief stop at Mill Hill on the way home gave me my fifth Clouded Yellow of the day. I was pleased to hear that Paul had managed to film this butterfly earlier - it's a long way from Nottingham!

[Paul Wetton]

Hi Neil

Nice to hear you got to see my number 58 butterfly before it went off to roost. I'll probably try Hope Gap next Saturday if the weather is any good. Would be nice to get some film of the helice form or any female for that matter. I've checked through all my footage of Clouded Yellow from last year and all appear to be males.

May bump into you next weekend all being well.

Cheers

Paul

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Paul,

He made two more sorties then went to bed soon after 6pm. I suspect the female has departed after being constantly hassled by the male over the last week.

I'll be in Devon as of tomorrow (Tuesday) and out of email range until either Friday or Saturday, so if you go to Hope Gap on Saturday - the two males were periodically around TV509974 and I saw the helice at TV507978. As with all CYs they are constantly on the move, so a good walk both East and West should get you there!

Good luck, Neil

[Paul Wetton]

Nice one Neil

Many thanks for this information.

Cheers

Paul

[Neil Hulme]

Devon Delights

Last week Hannah and I spent a few days in North Devon, staying with her parents on a smallholding near Torrington. Each day we took turns in deciding where to go, after feeding the resident sow.

On the Wednesday (15th September) we visited Black-a-Tor Copse, an oak woodland set high in a sheltered Dartmoor valley. It was quite a hike to get there, but well worthwhile. Stunted, gnarled oaks cling to the hostile landscape, poking their way up between huge granite boulders. Beneath the woodland canopy the boulders are thickly carpeted with lichens and mosses, giving the place a unique atmosphere. Hannah was convinced that goblins and trolls live here.

By the time we descended, and the temperature had risen sufficiently, the tracks were littered with fully-grown caterpillars of the Fox Moth, which had emerged from the vegetation to enjoy the sunshine. Even more abundant were the Dor Beetles that attended almost every pile of sheep's poo.

On the Thursday (16th September) we visited the beautiful, coastal village of Clovelly. Despite this being a 'tourist trap', and somewhat artificial in its existence as a 'living museum', it's an enchanting place to spend some time - particularly as the crowds diminish later in the day.

We took a long walk along the wooded cliff-tops to the West of Clovelly, seeing Speckled Woods in every suitable spot. The views towards Lundy were spectacular, but getting too close to the edge is inadvisable if you suffer from vertigo.

As we walked back through the gardens of the Visitor's Centre, Hannah spotted this fabulous Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillar.

Our last full day was spent walking around the RHS gardens at Rosemoor. Having seen relatively few nymphalids in Sussex lately, it was nice to see so many Small Tortoiseshells, Red Admirals and Commas on the Verbenas and Sedums.

We decided to break the long journey home on Saturday (18th September) by stopping off for a walk along Southbourne seafront. There were pleny of Whites all along the undercliff, and a few Small Coppers, but we finally located a couple of Clouded Yellows at the far eastern end of the promenade. For those still trying to see this species in 2010, they were at SZ15079104.

[jenks]

Clouded Yellow at Southbourne seafront.

Can you confirm the OS grid ref; SZ15079104 ? There seem to be 2 numbers too many. ! I have relatives in Bournemouth and a visit might be due.

Many thanks.