July Sightings

[Bill S]

Lots of activity on the neighbours Buddleia (the best sort to have) this morning , a handful of Red Admirals, Peacocks and a single tentative Hummingbird Hawk Moth.

Then a quick trip (<10 miles) to Broughton Down, flying were: Meadow Brown, Dark Green Fritillary, Marbled White, Brown Argus, Gatekeeper, Common Blue, Chalkhill Blue, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper (possible see below), Small White, Large White, Green Veined White, Silver Spotted Skipper, Small Copper, Small Heath, Ringlet,

Super spot.

Cheers

Bill

[David M]

Jonathan Evans has started a sideshow rolling! I bumped into two other UKButterflies' members this afternoon (Michaeljf and Jenks) - in fact, the only SWales one missing was Jon himself (not to worry, I've now named the spot where the White Letter Hairstreaks abound 'Evans' trench' in honour of the founder).

In spite of very overcast conditions and even a little light rain, I managed to see 6 WLHs and Michael and his wife saw at least 3 others that I hadn't seen myself. These butterflies were right down at chest height feeding happily on both brambles and ragwort seemingly oblivious to observers (apart from when Jenks tried to get one on his finger whereupon said WLH beat a retreat towards the nearest Elm tree).

Nice to see a handful of Holly Blues too. Like Brimstones, they can crop up anywhere but can never be expected on any given day out. As Jon mentioned in an earlier post, the species range and general numbers of butterflies are pretty good here at the moment. I managed to see at least one of each of the following species:

Small White
Large White
Green Veined White
Small Skipper
Small Copper
Common Blue
Holly Blue
White Letter Hairstreak
Comma
Red Admiral
Peacock
Meadow Brown
Speckled Wood
Hedge Brown
Ringlet

Very docile as they feed on bramble

Not quite tame enough to climb on Jenks' finger

'Evans Trench', where the colony was discovered

Always nice to see a Holly Blue

[Jonathan Evans]

Excellent David, glad you got to see them.

[Jonathan Evans]

Yesterday I visited Draycott Sleights, Somerset, in the hope of seeing some Chalkhill Blues. I probably saw 50+, which were either nectaring on bramble or basking in the grass. Draycott Sleights is a lovely reserve and I would heartily recommend it.

Later on I walked around Priddy Mineries, also Somerset, and saw many Marbled Whites,1 Brown Argus, numerous Scarlet Tiger Moths, and the largest Four-spot Orb-weaver Spider that I've ever seen.

Jon

Scarlet Tiger Moth (Callimorpha dominula).JPG[/attachment [attachment=0]Four-spot Orb-weaver Spider (Araneus quadratus) f1.JPG

]

[Perseus]

Hello,

24 July 2010
At least two Holly Blues and a few Small Whites, not seen the previous day, were seen around the Buddleia on the River Adur Riverbank by the houseboats where the most frequent butterfly were Red Admirals with a few Gatekeepers and Large Whites fluttered around in the humid sunshine. This is a first flower stop for immigrant Red Admirals.

23 July 2010

On a cloudy day, the meadow north of the upper car park on Mill Hill (north of Old Shoreham) exploded in blue butterflies with ten male Common Blues in a square metre on about fifteen occasions and more blues and other butterflies over the rest of the meadows on Mill Hill giving total numbers seen in excess of 400. All were males and no females were spotted. Many more were hidden on a cool day.
The Chalkhill Blues on the lower slopes were not flying unless disturbed so only fifteen were seen on the 1.2 acre transect. Fifteen butterfly species were seen on a cool day.




Rush Veneer

20 July 2010
My first Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Macroglossum stellatarum, of the year put on an attractive display as it hovered/flitted around a clump of Greater Knapweed in the north-west corner of Frampton's Field, Old Shoreham. On the lower slopes of Mill Hill, the count of male Chalkhill Blues were still a mere seventeen. Although it is over a week to the peak period, it still looks like it will be another poor year for this downland butterfly.

19 July 2010
It was on a small grass verge next to the A27 dual carriageway in north Lancing (opposite of Lancing Manor) that I spotted my first Small Copper Butterfly of the year.

9 July 2010
An unprecedented number of over forty Ringlet Butterflies were seen on the Slonk Hill Cutting meadows in north Shoreham.

8 July 2010
On the Lancing Clump meadows, well over a hundred butterflies fluttered about; I recorded sixteen species on the day including very frequent Marble Whites, Meadow Browns and Small Skippers.

Adur Butterfly & Large Moth List
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Butterfly-list2010.html

Cheers

Andy Horton
glaucus@hotmail.com
Adur Valley Nature Notes
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2010.html
Adur Valley Nature Notes: July 2010
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/July2010.html
Sussex Downs Facebook Group
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111843132181316

[jenks]

Is this what Andy Warhol meant by "15 minutes of fame " ? My finger on UK butterflies !. Have to confess, it`s not as pretty as the WLH. And what a site, on the outskirts of Cardiff. My first WLH (2) seen in Wales, along with Small White (10), Green veined White (6), Large White (5), Meadow Brown & Gatekeeper (each c. 50 plus), Ringlet (3), Common Blue (4), Holly Blue (2, possibly 3), Speckled Wood (6), Comma (3), Small Copper (1), Peacock (1).

Good to meet David, and thanks for your original posting which drew my attention to this site. Will have to return on a day less overcast & drizzly to check the Oaks for Purple Hairstreak--they must be there.

[ChrisC]

Andy, i think your Synaphe is actually a faded Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella a regular migrant.

Regards
Chris

[NickB]

Devil's Dyke & Burwell Railway Cutting this morning....
Chalkhills everywhere - a few Commons, plus the odd Small Heath and Small Copper, Brimstones and Large and Small Whites, Small/Essex Skippers, Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns, with a small colony of Brown Argus buzzing around by Reach bridge.

..but all the horse-shoe vetch is pretty dessicated...we need more rain...
N

[Michaeljf]

Hi all,
as per David M’s earlier post, I spent Saturday at Forest Farm after the tip-off from Jon Evans. I got to the main canal at 7:30 am and spent an hour there before moving to the fields by Asda (it was either an early start or wait at home for the washing machine to be delivered!!!!). The weather was overcast but warm, so I spent the first two hours wandering up and down the first meadow, in the hope of seeing White-Letter Hairstreaks. Well, there were none initially - but there were hundreds of Gatekeepers and Meadow-browns and Commas - so I watched them, along with the various flies and wasps enjoying the Rosebay Willow-herb and brambles.

My first sighting of a White-Letter Hairstreak was about 10:40 am, near the Asda entrance of the field, crawling over the bramble flowers briefly. It was a half-decent specimen so I thought at that point “at least I’ve seen one!” A small shower followed, and I waited and watched the Nyphalids again, though never getting a shot of a beautiful pristine Peacock. The next WLH turned up at 11:40, briefly surveying the area before flying off. The cloudy weather came in again, but I noticed another on the higher brambles just above my head, which sat for about 15 minutes in the dull weather quite happy to ignore my attempts to get nearer for a photo op! By the time David M turned up, past mid-day, I must have seen about 5 or 6 different adults. David unfortunately at that point only saw about 2 slightly ‘taggy’ ones, and we then spent half an hour chatting before my wife turned up after 1pm – the washing machine finally delivered..

I spent the next couple of hours at the Forest Farm meadows, moving into the other 2 fields. We saw another adult WLH on Ragwort under the Oak where we were hoping to see Purple Hairstreaks, plus several Small Coppers in beautiful condition. In the third field we saw a lot more blues including the holly blues as well as the common blues. On return to the first meadow (far end near the 2nd field) we saw another WLH adult which was very obliging, but unfortunately the sun had gone again so the weather wasn’t so good for the photos. We never did see any on the Willow-herb!!

All in all, a great day – as per David’s post, we saw about 10 White-letter hairstreaks and 16 different buttefly species (species number 'upped' because we also saw one large skipper) which is a good count, especially at a venue which only takes a 20 minute drive from our home. I must say a ‘big thanks’ to Jonathan for spotting the White-Letter Hairstreaks at this site in the first place. Forest Farm has always been a favourite place to visit this year, but the discovery of this species at the meadow side has made it even better...it was also great to meet up with David even though we missed Jenks (I think he may have passed us on the other side of the field as we left just before 3pm).

Michael

p.s.It looks like I should have gone today, as the weather forecast for Sunday is quite nice

Gatekeeper amongst the willow-herb

Wasps waiting for the first bell...'ding'

Even the meadow browns look nice against willow-herb

First sighting of WLH at 10:40ish...

a brief patrol from WLH before flying off..

Watching the Comma in-between showers

WLH above my head, and staying there...

WHL doing a ramble amongst the bramble

WLH in 2nd field on ragwort flowers

Pristine Small Copper in 3rd field...

Last sight of a WLH in duller light

[JohnR]

The first Small Copper in my field resting on a bramble. Is it a female?

Small Copper.jpg (27.13 KiB) Viewed 762 times

I said
Hey, you, get off of my cloud
Hey, you, get off of my cloud
Hey, you, get off of my cloud
Don't hang around 'cause two's a crowd on my cloud, baby

Thistle.jpg (38.28 KiB) Viewed 762 times

[Jack Harrison]

JohnR:

Hey, you, get off of my cloud

Youngsters won't get that but it gives your age away!

Jack

[felix123]

Great day today on the Buddlea lots of activity that include Commas, Peacocks(very fresh), Whites, Red admiral, Gatekeepers.

Saw a courtship and mating of a Comma and they choose to mate in a tree with their wings tightly shut I think for camouflage. Do they normaly mate in trees?

Also at the graveyard a I saw lots of Common blues, first time I saw Small coppers at the graveyard too.

Great day!!,

Felix

[NickB]

Saw a courtship and mating of a Comma and they choose to mate in a tree with their wings tightly shut I think for camouflage. Do they normaly mate in trees?
Felix

Nice spot - never seen them myself - so they may indeed mate in the trees rather than nearer the ground
N

[Zonda]

Three different Hairstreaks at Alners Gorse today. Purple, White letter, and early on the scene 2 Browns.
I was gobsmacked, but only got one pic. Methinks i'll go earlier next time.

[millerd]

I was at Runnymede yesterday with three boys, walking from the playground to the tearoom and back along the side of the Thames. There were lots of Common Blues, Small Coppers, Brown Argus and newly emerged Brimstones about. One Small Copper displayed a beautiful deep bronze colour near the body - very nearly purple. Today we visited Chobham Common for a walk and a picnic - taking the path straight from the main car park towards the hill, we saw five or six Graylings and a couple of very tired Silver-studded Blues (one male and one female). There were also plenty of Gatekeepers and assorted Skippers. I'd not seen Graylings here before.

Dave

[Jonathan Evans]

Went to the fields at Glamorgan Canal Local Nature Reserve in order to search for some Purple Hairstreaks. The morning was very quite, with just the odd snatched glimpse of one high in an oak. However it was all systems go at 2 o'clock when, during a sunny spell, they began to make themselves apparent. There was quite a bit of activity in the oak that they seem to favour, with at least 6 individual Purps flying around the canopy. I managed to get excellent views of 3 separately perched in different parts of the tree at the same time. I also noticed 2 individuals appear to fly up to the oak from ground level, but unfortunately didn't see any come down from the oak to land on the ground. Hopefully the oak may be the 'master tree'.

Also today - 5+ White-letter Hairstreak and 6 Holly Blue.

Jon

[Michaeljf]

Also today - 5+ White-letter Hairstreak and 6 Holly Blue. Jon

Jon - just to add to the White-Letter Hairstreak running total, went to the meadows on Sunday just after lunch - thinking the better weather would be good to bring them out - I didn't see any in the first or second field as I had on Saturday, but saw 3 in the third field (the largest field where you can see the tower). Interestingly, I seemed to see more of them in the dull weather rather than the directly sunny weather. I'm amazed at the size of the Holly blues in the meadows, they seem much bigger than the spring ones. Maybe you should drop a line to Butterfly Conservation to make sure they know that the WLH are at the reserve. You could make the local news!

I'm off tomorrow for a holiday in Southern Spain, so I hope to catch up with everything on my return.

Michael

[Jonathan Evans]

Yes the numbers of White-letter Hairstreak must be pretty reasonable if we're seeing them right across the site. Have a good hol.

Jon

[Alex]

A little trip today with the kids to Golden Valley at Wick (nr Bristol) produced many commoner species plus a couple of white-letter hairstreaks and a lovely silver washed fritillary on purple buddlhea - would have got a nice pic if it hadn't meant walking across someone's lettuces whilst trespassing in their garden!

[David M]

Went to the fields at Glamorgan Canal Local Nature Reserve in order to search for some Purple Hairstreaks. The morning was very quite, with just the odd snatched glimpse of one high in an oak. However it was all systems go at 2 o'clock when, during a sunny spell, they began to make themselves apparent. There was quite a bit of activity in the oak that they seem to favour, with at least 6 individual Purps flying around the canopy. I managed to get excellent views of 3 separately perched in different parts of the tree at the same time. I also noticed 2 individuals appear to fly up to the oak from ground level, but unfortunately didn't see any come down from the oak to land on the ground. Hopefully the oak may be the 'master tree'.

Also today - 5+ White-letter Hairstreak and 6 Holly Blue.

Jon

Excellent work again, Jon. You are 'The Daddy' at the moment, that's for sure (and you probably HAVE located the PH main tree).

As for Hairstreak behaviour, well Jenks and I agreed on Saturday that much more research needs to be done, because these White Letters were perfectly happy to bask low down on bramble/ragwort in the early afternoon and in decidedly dull and damp conditions. In researching this species, the information gleaned was that they generally need quite high temperatures to warm up sufficiently to be active at lower levels. I would never have guessed 19C, cloudy and damp would encourage them to descend.

Purples may well be different. Again, I have read that morning and early evening are good times to catch them low down yet I saw (and photographed) one at head level in Lower Woods (Glos) a few weeks ago in the early afternoon. I'm beginning to think it's better to just look for them in virtually any conditions. I will put this theory to the test when I commence my Brown Hairstreak hunt next week. Hopefully I'll find some and start paying back the debt I owe you.