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If it wasn't for the Painted Lady, I'm sure this year would be known as the year of the aberration. For at Bentley Wood today, where a few of us from the forum, had a unofficial get together, we saw one Ringlet with a white four-wing, a Sliver-washed, without the silver wash, and this magnificent beast below. I'm hope someone has a better pic.

Gruditch

That is a stunning ab. ocellata..!

Why didn't I stay with you guys? why why why!!?

(Very good to meet you by the way!).

Piers.

Gruditch wrote:If it wasn't for the Painted Lady, I'm sure this year would be known as the year of the aberration. For at Bentley Wood today, where a few of us from the forum, had a unofficial get together, we saw one Ringlet with a white four-wing, a Sliver-washed, without the silver wash, and this magnificent beast below. I'm hope someone has a better pic.

Gruditch

Silver-washed ab.jpg

Gary, lovley shot. I have never seen such a ringlet as you mentioned, mist have been an odd sight. Think you might be right for the "year of aberrations" by what people have posted on here this year, but I have yet to see an ab at all.

Good to meet you to Felix.

Dave, I wouldn't usually dare put such a bad image on this forum, but I'm afraid it's all I have.

So just for you, here it is.

Maybe not in the same class as the sightings of aberrations above but after a horrible day I came home for a look around the garden and found a brimstone chrysalis on the alder buckthorn. It made my day.

@Gary: Youd didn't have to post a pic, but thanks anyway. I have seen a meadow brown like that ringlet once

My self, Gary, Roger, Pete, Denise, Eccles and Xmilehigh, met up at Bentley Wood, looking for Purple Emperors. We also bumped into Felix (Good to meet you Felix) and Dave Lowe.
I'm sure everyone appreciated Gary taking us on a six mile hike around Bentley Wood!!

Species we saw thoughout the day.

Meadow Brown
Ringlet
Gate Keeper
Small Heath
Speckled Wood
Marbled White
Large White
Small White
Green-veined White
Brimstone
Small Tortoiseshell
Red Admiral
Comma
Painted Lady
Common Blue
Purple Haistreak
White-letter Hairstreak
White Admiral
Purple Emperor
Silver-washed Fritillary
Large Skipper
Small Skipper
Small Copper

Lots of Painted Lady Larvae
Scarlet-tiger Moth
Silver Y
Cinnabar Larvae
Lots of Dragonfiles
Stoat

Nice to see everyone again.

Felix wrote:That is a stunning ab. ocellata..!

Why didn't I stay with you guys? why why why!!?

(Very good to meet you by the way!).

Piers.

Good to meet you too, at last, Piers

Nothing to add to Gary's comments. Although seeing a Purple Emperor stay in situ on its meal while a truck drove over it was quite something! We also found loads of Painted Lady larvae; a sequence is below - last instar larva in tent, last instar larva looking for a pupation site, J-shape larva in pupal tent - waiting to pupate!

Cheers,

- Pete

I don't think I can better Jerry's or Gary's SWF aberration pics which is understandable since we were all shooting from the same spot!
I got a bit luckier earlier with the ringlet aberration though (see SWF aberration thread - Pete, please feel free to use it for the main ID pages if you wish)
A slightly different viewpoint and colour balance...

Another angle. Not a particularly good shot but it does show the bizarre underwing colouration with no silver wash.

Hi,

Great to see folks again yesterday, many thanks to Gary & Lisa for showing us around Bentley Wood.

White Admiral:



Cheers

Hi
As Pete said, a few seconds after I took this shot, it had a truck drive over it.
A great day, and good to meet so many old friends, and a few new ones!

Fermyn Saturday 4th July.
PE watching.
Bachelor males at the “pub”. Max was 14

Jack

Hi all,

Interesting reading other peoples thoughts re the SSBs and their subspecies. Although its' true to say that caernesis is the smallest of the subspecies, I've seen specimens larger than masseyi forms in the past, and also have found very small forms of masseyi... but then as discussions of recent have confirmed, size, colour, etc ie the morphology reflects the environmental factors at work regards the growing caterpillars, etc. I've been to Collard Hill twice this year, and some very small forms of the 'Large' blue are flying happily with larger, more conventional versions of the species.

Interesting to question the degree of blue in females, again something often stated as being the characteristic of certain subspecies. Currently flying masseyi forms have a whole host of different forms, from virtually solid brown forms, some with or without orange demilunes, to very blue forms, again with or without demilunes or white scaling. Some photos below show some of the variety of forms. Plus nice to see a fresh female 'arise' from the heather on an old grass stalk, and steadily inflating her wrinkled wings!

Cheers, Aron

After chasing DG fritillary in windy conditions yesterday afternoon at Blackmoor, Somerset, a stop off at Chew Valley Lake on the way home found around four purple hairstreak.

Mildly aberrant Small Tortoiseshell South Cambridgeshire 5th July. The arrowed areas have yellow which is not normally present.

Jack

I call this the "Mole Moth". I DO know what it is but do you?

Jack

5 hours in Bernwood Forest yesterday:
Purple Emperor x 5 White Admiral x 11
Silver Washed Fritillary x 24, including this female laying on a tree - is this unusual? Red Admiral x 3
Painted Lady x 3, including one nice and fresh
Comma x 25+ including 4 on poo, never seen Comma on poo before... Marbled White x 100+ Meadow Brown x 250+
Ringlet x 1000+
Large White x 50+
Purple Hairstreak x 2
Speckled Wood x 40+
Green Veined White x 20
Small White x 10
Small Tortoiseshell x 1
Indentified Large Skipper, Small Skipper and Essex Skipper but in all, must have been in the hundreds.
Plenty of butterfly watchers about and nice to share some magical PE moments!
Cheers
Lee

jackharr wrote:I call this the "Mole Moth". I DO know what it is but do you?

Jack

Interesting shot indeed...is it a drinker moth?

Two pairs Small Tortoiseshell's,. I'm sure all four are different.
Shirley Is this one, one of the above?