www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

zigzag_wanderer wrote: ↑Sun Jan 22, 2023 11:31 am Hopefully that's a sign of things to come, David.

(ouch)

'Ouch' indeed, ZZW....but hopefully true!

Some musings from 21st January...

More very cold nights and bright sunny (but chilly) days where I am. It is always interesting to see parts of my local walk and imagine the frost gone and the butterflies returning....

This stretch of path had the adjacent River Colne overflow onto it during the recent wet weather - and now it has frozen. It is a favourite spot for patrolling Orange Tips in the spring - and for jousting Red Admirals on summer evenings.This patch has simply just flooded from abundance of rainfall and has also frozen (remaining shaded all day at the moment and not melting). This merits the "Comma Corner" name and hopefully in about three months, numerous examples of this species and Peacocks will be squabbling over the area. The trees are a favourite roosting site for Large Whites too.The next bit of path is where the Large Skippers patrol (and at the far end is where my 2022 Large Tortoiseshell appeared). Again, very shaded now in parts with the frost not melting at all.However, even with this very wintry feel to things, my sheltered nettle patch still produced a Red Admiral caterpillar snug in its "tent". There may have been others, but it was really too chilly to hang around searching for long! Cheers,

Dave

Was out checking my spring bulbs yesterday afternoon when I noticed this large wasp resting on the large pot.

I regularly see flies and even bumble bees in January but I don't think I've ever seen a wasp so early in the year before.

Nice display of snowdrops in Park Wood today:

Another Red Admiral caterpillar update...

Here are a couple of shots of the same larval shelter as before, one taken on 26th January where the caterpillar can be seen......and another taken today (30th) where it has apparently carefully closed all openings with silk.The leaf itself is getting smaller (presumably it is being slowly nibbled away) and before long the occupant will need to move on. It just amazes me that this little creature has now survived the coldest January night here since 1987: on the night of 23rd/24th, Heathrow recorded minus 8.4 C - who knew Red Admirals were so resilient?

Dave

Monday 30th, 1140 to 1150am - Two Red Admirals seen at Park Wood, close to my home on the Gower:

millerd wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:34 pm Another Red Admiral caterpillar update...

Here are a couple of shots of the same larval shelter as before, one taken on 26th January where the caterpillar can be seen.....and another taken today (30th) where it has apparently carefully closed all openings with silk. The leaf itself is getting smaller (presumably it is being slowly nibbled away) and before long the occupant will need to move on. It just amazes me that this little creature has now survived the coldest January night here since 1987: on the night of 23rd/24th, Heathrow recorded minus 8.4 C - who knew Red Admirals were so resilient?

Well done, Dave

I checked my survey site at Ifield meadows yesterday and only found 11 remaining eggs in various states. Additionally there were two mysterious empty eggshells with no apparent exit hole and two small larval leaf shelters.

Despite another very cold night in the early hours of 23rd January, when it got down to minus 6C, two of the eggs had coloured-up and looked ready to hatch. One of these was taken home, so that I could monitor it and because the leaf it was on was about to be shed.
Two eggs had developed a yellow head, which is a clear sign that they are dying.
Of the two leaf shelters, one was definitely occupied (as seen through a small gap in the leaves).
As you can see by some of the images, quite a lot of the leaves that the eggs were laid on in November are now dying and being shed and this is one of the main reasons why I have lost track of many of the eggs. However, fresh growth is coming up from the base of the plants, so any larvae will still have a good food source.

Vince

Another butterfly seen today, probably a Red Admiral but I only caught it briefly after I spotted its shadow on my window. It flew round my neighbour's cottage and I couldn't relocate it.

millerd wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:34 pm....on the night of 23rd/24th, Heathrow recorded minus 8.4 C - who knew Red Admirals were so resilient?

Certainly not me, Dave. We've had -4c round here which is abnormally cold...and for several successive nights too.

Amazing how it hasn't finished off any of the stages of this, ostensibly, Mediterranean species.

I fancied I wouldn't see an adult in the UK till late April at least, but they are still on the wing here and there. Quite astonishing.