www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Ahh the wonderful world of micros! I'm not going to claim to be an expert but that looks a lot like a male Adela reaumurella, females have shorter antennae. Quoting from my book "single brooded, mid April-June. Often seen dancing in sunshine in small swarms around Oaks and Hazel. Hab. Woodlands, heathland, fens, marshes, scrub. Fp Foodplant and early larval stage unknown, later on dead leaves on the ground"

Great Pearl shots Trevor It always surprsies me how robust and hardy the Pearls are and how little sun they need before they start flying
Have a goodun

Wurzel

HI Wurzel,
Thanks for the complement . The text books have you believe that PBF's only fly at 16c or above,
it was certainly less than that the last two days, and a cold wind too.

Best wishes,
TREVOR.

Great Pearls, Trevor along with all the other early season butterfly shots

Mike

Today turned out to be a ' White ' day.

All of the images taken today were shot beside the old railway that runs through the middle of
Hailsham, and until 1965 , served it.
The weather seemed to suit the Butterflies , sheltered from the wind by the railway cutting and
with intermittent sunshine with some hazy cloud. These conditions were certainly to the Orange Tips
liking , one Female posed perfectly, open winged . then when the sun went in promptly closed them
for underside shots, i was pleased when a Large White landed on a Dandelion nearby, allowing a rare
close-up image. Later a Male Orange Tip settled on Cow Parsley as the sun went in.
Speckled Woods were in abundance , too many to count, and a flyby Holly Blue was seen.
All this just yards from a Tesco Superstore !.

TREVOR.

PS. TO THE ABOVE POSTING.
The Female OT. in the image below the text appears to be oviposting, i only noticed this after i looked
more closely.

Regards,
TREVOR.

Lovely photos Trevor the females aren't out here yet, some thing to look forward to. I must try the old railway lines in Rossendale maybe I'll find some there. Goldie

It's good to see the Orange Tips are on the increase Trevor, there we're not very many around when we last met.

All the best

James

That is a cracking shot of the ovi-ositing Orange-tip Trevor

Have a goodun

Wurzel

HI All,

Further to my report on Friday , I took two images of the oviposting Orange Tip. Although the second image
is very similar to the one posted on Friday I thought it was worth showing for it's interest value.

All the best
TREVOR.

I've seen loads of OT eggs Trevor but never actually seen them being laid - well spotted

Trevor,

Nice Orange Tip photos. I saw my first eggs last year on garlic Mustard, but haven't seen one being laid yet (In fact I'm struggling to see Orange Tips at all so far this spring

Regards Kev

This morning I left home early hoping to catch the Pearl Bordered Fritillaries before they warmed up.
For a change there was a mild breeze to complement the sunshine , so the Pearls were fairly active
when I arrived . Several Males were showing signs of wear, one was very tatty,but a very
fresh Female posed patiently for her portrait. All told I observed about ten possible mates for her
during my visit.

Hope you all had a successful Bank Holiday,
TREVOR.

Lovely photos of the Pearls, Trevor. Well worth the early morning.

All the best, Nick.

When I got up this morning the lashing rain had almost stopped, but an almost storm force wind was blowing.
These conditions put any thoughts of a day with the Butterflies out of my mind. But later in the morning
the sun came out and it turned quite warm. So I risked a trip to the same location as Friday, the old
railway. What a surprise!!!, Orange Tips, and a Holly Blue on the wing ( wind! ).
All told I obtained images of three Male Orange Tips and a Male Holly Blue with open wings.

Glad i didn't write the Day off .
TREVOR

Lovely Orange tip and Pearl photos Trevor, I was up at Gait Barrow yesterday no sign of the PBF yet but plenty of OT's Goldie

Cracking Pearls and OTs Trevor - no Dukes for me yet but should be by next weekend if the weather plays fair.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Another trip to see the Pearl Bordered Fritillaries revealed almost certain extinction from one of the
initial release sites in Abbots Wood. The particular ride concerned is one i've frequented many times
in past years. The last good year was 2012, 2011 being exceptional. Today this site is in good condition
ie. open, sunny with plenty of Bugle and Dog Violets but no Pearls. So it is fortunate that the main site
still holds a population , which so far this year are in about the same numbers as 2014.
I feel that the cold Spring of 2013,when most Spring Butterflies were about a month late, did not help
matters.
Today there were more Females on the wing since my last visit.

TREVOR.

Hi Trevor,

Just catching up on your diary, some great reports and photos recently

I have seen a couple of examples of PBFs like the one in your last photo with the pale patch in previous years at the Wyre forest. Not sure what causes it but the ones I saw were not worn or faded so they emerged like it, possibly as a result of sudden temperature change in the pupa or something like that.

Cheers,

Neil.

More great Pearls Trevor Aren't the paler patches caused by pathogenic action

Have a goodun

Wurzel