www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi Bill, good to see you are seeing something at least. Weather looks like it may be bucking up a bit this week so you may get your Whites yet.

I have only seen a couple of Whites so far including one passing through my garden today, no Orange Tips yet.

Cheers,

Neil F.

Hi all,
A shortage of butterflies in South east Scotland as most other places UK wide. I have been very frustrated indeed. However I did manage a single male Orange Tip on the right side of the the River Tweed on Saturday. It seems strange that we should have Orange Tip so far north while folks are struggling further south...its not like we have had a spell of decent weather since last May. This year is going to be very hair pulling I think.

Iain.

Nice one; still waiting here ...
N

Four butterfly photos from Spain last week to whet your appetites. Speckled wood, wall brown and baton blue?

Certainly Baton Blue

First non hibernator of the year - grizzled skipper at Butser hill yesterday. Spent two hours searching and managed two poor shots before it was off and then the cloud came in
Strange to have seen grizzled before speckled wood and orange tip. Guess that is the way the season is going

NickB wrote:Certainly Baton Blue

... Or Panoptes, which predominates in most of Spain.

Guy

Things remain bleak in the fens. Although there are bright spells this morning, the wind is still piercing, and temperatures even in sunny spots barely make 12C (or 54F/somewhat below average for the time of year/way too cold for nearly May etc). After some 30 individuals of 4 species over the 20th and 21st, now few butterflies to be seen. However, a Large White has just struggled into the wind across the garden - second of the year.

Last week, during three days in Amsterdam, I saw just 4 butterflies in the parks and gardens despite reasonable sunshine - 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 2 Small Whites and a probable but distant Speckled Wood. There were, however, innumerable Ring-necked Parakeets...

Rob

The blue butterfly was seen west of Zaragoza in Northern Spain so may have been baton blue or panoptes blue. Is that correct?

Ian Pratt wrote:The blue butterfly was seen west of Zaragoza in Northern Spain so may have been baton blue or panoptes blue. Is that correct?

Yes - and I don't have the experience to call it on the basis of the upperside alone. In some parts of northern Spain intermediate individuals are found, making it even harder. An underside shot would be very useful, but I suspect you haven't got one. If you have, may I suggest you post it to the ID or overseas forum?

Guy

On Saturday I visited Marsland Wood on the North Devon, North Cornwall border.
Previously Pearl bordered Fritillaries would have been out for a fortnight, but a chat with the warden a couple of days before hand confirmed my fears that they were not flying yet. However, the forecast was reasonable (sunshine, but cold and windy - 2 out of 3 ain't bad) so I decided to go anyway.
In the end we did see about 4/5 male PBs wizzing around, and, despite the cold, refusing to stop. The favoured nectar flower of bugle was notable by its absence however.
Most years we see dozens of Orange Tips, ths year just 2 or 3. the regular dozen or so Holly Blues were also failing to come out to play.
A single Brimstone (m), 2 Peacock and a trio of Speckled Woods all made for a curates egg of a day.
The camera never left it's bag
To cap it all I had to spend an entertaining few minutes removing a couple of ticks from my wife, and I also have suffered sunburn on the top of my head - I keep forgetting that I am no longer well thatched!

nfreem wrote:Hi Bill, good to see you are seeing something at least. Weather looks like it may be bucking up a bit this week so you may get your Whites yet.

I have only seen a couple of Whites so far including one passing through my garden today, no Orange Tips yet.

Cheers,

Neil F.

Thanks Neil, tomorrow is promised as sunny and that dreadful cold wind dropping a bit...I'm heading up to mid-Wales and hoping to see at least Orange-tip, lots of Cuckooflower out now so a bit of the yellow stuff and who knows...

Hope you get great pleasure from your new Pentax Papillo bins

Bill

First holly blue and red admiral of the year for me yesterday in Ryde. The holly blue is a month later than normal.
Ian

April review from Bugalert

Hi, Gang.
A very slow start to the year but, after the heatwave of last April, I guess it's bound to seem so. Let's hope that the rest of the season doesn't follow in the soggy footsteps of 2012.

Grizzled Skipper: A few reports towards the end of the month from Hants, Herts and Sussex.
Green Hairstreak: Several reports from southern England and Northern Ireland.
Large Tortoiseshell: Reported several times on the Isle of Wight.
Painted Lady: A few reports from the Isle of Wight and one from Dorset.
Pearl-bordered Fritillary: Reported from Devon and the Isle of Wight.

Happy hunting,
Adrian Riley. http://www.bugalert.net

30th April Tobermory Isle of Mull

First white of year seen briefly while driving. I was doing the driving, not the white. Doh!

Almost certainly Green-Veined as that is a very common species on the island.

Jack

A long walk around my stomping ground of Frog Firle/High and Over and at last my first Speckled Wood, followed shortly after by my first Orange-tip of the year. I've just scraped in with 11 species by the end of April. Last year all these had been seen by the end of March!!
Also seen was a grass snake and when I got home I found an Early Thorn sitting on the side of the house.

Today last day of April sightings. Comma 3, Holly Blue 2, Peacock 1. Best day so far. Sezar

Two Commas on my transect today, so that is four species so far this year. I also saw three Small Tortoiseshells and a Peacock, but those were on my to and from my transect! No Orange Tips here yet, though.

My first two male Orange-tips today, the only two butterflies I saw on a walk along the river from the centre of Cambridge. Worryingly few butterflies around, even with the slightly cooler conditions; I have had only a few days when Large and Small White were seen and then no more....