www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi David,

Nice shots of the Large Blues, Marjoram is in fact one of their foodplants and the larvae will survive on it if eggs are laid there (though I think this occurs on the continent more so than in the UK). Females will also lay on Selfheal in the absence of thyme, but larvae will not survive.

BWs

William

William wrote:Hi David,

Nice shots of the Large Blues, Marjoram is in fact one of their foodplants and the larvae will survive on it if eggs are laid there (though I think this occurs on the continent more so than in the UK). Females will also lay on Selfheal in the absence of thyme, but larvae will not survive.

Interesting stuff, William. The two females we saw in this area were interested in nothing else, so I suppose what you say is highly credible.

The wild thyme further up the slopes harboured no females at all, so maybe there is a distinct preference between individual Large Blue sites?

Tuesday 1st July 2014 - Cloud cover proves irritating....

I decided to get up real early to drive to Alner's Gorse this morning, and throughout my journey skies were clear and my sun visor was permanently employed!!

Annoyingly however, once I'd arrived at the site, there was a heavy overcast layer in close proximity, which ultimately stymied my efforts to observe Hairstreak activity here.

Prior to the sun disappearing, I chanced upon the first of 4 White Admirals I saw at this site:
In the nearby vicinity, I also spotted my first Hedge Brown of 2014:
A newly emerged male Purple Hairstreak was encountered on the ground, but after taking a few images he disappeared into the thick undergrowth and did not re-emerge. I rummaged around gently in the ground layer but beat a retreat eventually as any attempts to clear the ground litter could have damaged him:
The wind allied to the overcast conditions meant that I was unable to locate any White Letter Hairstreaks in the many elms here, but I did observe a second Purple Hairstreak taking in fluids from the berries of this shrub:
I saw a couple of Commas too, which was reassuring given their scarcity earlier in the year:
In just over two hours, the following species were seen:

Meadow Brown
Marbled White
Ringlet
Small Skipper
Large Skipper
Small Tortoiseshell
Green Veined White
Silver Washed Fritillary
White Admiral
Comma
Purple Hairstreak
Speckled Wood
Hedge Brown

That's a very rewarding tally David, you should be well pleased

Have a great French butterflying holiday and I hope you manage to see the species wished for, in the meantime we have all our British species to enjoy...so no envy ...enjoy...Bon Voyage

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Thanks for the comments, guys. Yes, Bill, I'll be absent from the UK for a week but I managed to squeeze in all the 'essentials' before my departure on Saturday. When I return, I look forward to tracking down the late season species (though I daresay I'll stumble across some of them in France).

Tuesday 1st July 2014 - Jurassic jaunt....

Leaving Alner's Gorse just prior to midday, the clouds still hadn't shifted when I arrived at Lulworth Cove an hour later. The walkway from the beach to Bindon Hill is closed too due to rockfalls, so I had to detour back up the road to find an alternative means of entry.

Eventually, I got up onto the hillside and managed to track down 6 Lulworth Skippers (4 females & 2 males), which wasn't bad going given the overcast conditions:
I had a momentary shock when I saw a Small Heath resting with wings open....before I realised it had been a victim of predation:
Thankfully, this pair were very much alive:
Other species seen were Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, faded Common Blue & Brown Argus, Large & Small Skipper, Dark Green Fritillary and a surprise appearance by 2 Dingy Skippers:

Wednesday July 2nd 2014 - Emperor hunt....

After my visits to Alner's Gorse and Lulworth Cove, I stayed in Salisbury overnight so as I could visit Bentley Wood early the following morning.

I arrived at 9am to encounter several other PE devotees assembled in the car park, and by early afternoon only two of them had seen a grounded Emperor.

I should be grateful that I too managed to witness this spectacle, albeit for less than a minute, as at 9.30am I saw a guy with binoculars eagerly focusing on an area by the first 'crossroads' up the main ride. Sure enough, a male was down imbibing on salts contained within the moist path surface. This was the only shot I got before He rose into a nearby oak:
I only saw one other definite in the 6 hours I was there - a male which did a circuit of me and two others before vanishing into the canopy.

Thanks to another sharp eyed enthusiast who I spent some time with, one female valezina Silver Washed Fritillary was observed:
The elms harbouring the White Letter Hairstreak colonies were replete with activity, but all of it was happening right at the tops of the trees, so it was impossible to get any image of these insects. Those who know sites where WLHs can reliably be seen nectaring at lower levels are lucky indeed - my Alun Valley location is one of these, but unfortunately this species tends to descend later in the season when the insects are faded.

One amusing incident was the enthusiasm this male Silver Washed Fritillary showed for the main sign at the entrance to the site. He kept coming back to take fluids from the verdigris-stained perspex:
Species/numbers seen:

Ringlet 200+
Meadow Brown 100+
Large Skipper 40-60
Small Skipper 30-50
Silver Washed Fritillary 30-50
White Letter Hairstreak 10-15
White Admiral 10-15
Marbled White 10-15
Small Tortoiseshell 5-10
Hedge Brown 5
Comma 4
Red Admiral 3
Green Veined White 2
Purple Emperor 2
Speckled Wood 1

Your really zipping about on your pre-holiday excursions David, keep some of that energy for the Alps mate good reports and nice pics to go with them

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Hi David, just catching up on your diary, some great reports and photos in the past few posts

It looks like we were at Lulworth the same time as you on July 1st during our family holiday at Weymouth. We had just stopped off there for an hour in the afternoon that day, I returned by myself the following afternoon which was when I saw the SSBs up on Bindon Hill.

Funnily enough I looked up towards the hill and saw a figure wandering about, I wonder if that was you

Cheers,

Neil.

nfreem wrote: Funnily enough I looked up towards the hill and saw a figure wandering about, I wonder if that was you

If it was early afternoon and the individual was wearing brown trousers, then it was probably me! (I only saw two other people up there).

Tuesday 15th July 2014 - Vanessids reappear.....

I did a transect on the Alun Valley High Brown site this afternoon, but prior to that I decided to check out the public access area on Old Castle Down as well as the elms and oaks which support White Letter and Purple Hairstreaks here.

Well, not a single Hairstreak was to be seen, and even High Brown Fritillaries were thinnish on the ground, with only 6 definite sightings along with 4 or 5 more 'probables'. This species certainly is not having as good a year as it did here in 2013. That said, some of them are still in good condition and I expect to still be seeing them come August:
Even though it was fairly cloudy, most of the Frits were very active. Only this female was relatively torpid:
19 different species were seen, including a female Silver Washed Fritillary on the afternoon transect (this species only occurs in low numbers here). The real joy was seeing vanessids in numbers again after their relative paucity in France. Only Painted Lady was absent and numbers of Peacocks were particularly good, with at least 15 seen, all as fresh as a daisy:

Another visit to the Alun Valley site today saw 4 more certain High Browns plus another half dozen probables. I also saw a Purple Hairstreak and two White Letter Hairstreaks, one of which was just about in camera range:
It was steamy in the lower valley today and the bracken has surged to beyond head height. Dark Green Frits now look almost spent as only very raggedy individuals remain.

Saturday 26th July 2014 - Aston Rowant.....

I spent four and a half hours at this excellent site on Saturday and saw 20 different species. Numbers of Silver Spotted Skippers weren't huge - perhaps it's still a bit early in their flight period. I observed 24 definites plus 10+ probables (Large Skippers were few and far between so I suspect most if not all I saw in the air were SSS).

Didn't see any females at rest, and the warm weather meant photographing individuals was tough:
Although Meadow Browns were the commonest species, with probably 1,000+ encountered, Chalkhill Blues weren't too far behind with 500+ seen:
At least one hour of my time was spent trying to identify Essex Skippers. This proved troublesome as most of the males were quite faded meaning the sex brands weren't terribly prominent. Here's the best example I could find:
The females were in rather better condition, but kneeling down for a face on shot was necessary to be sure of the correct ID:
Other notable observations were the tremendous numbers of Brimstones fattening up for winter on the numerous betony plants by the lower shrub line:
There must have been more than three dozen fluttering about:
There were plenty of them about elsewhere on the site. Thistles proved attractive too:
This Meadow Brown was very strangely marked:
Species seen (in descending order of abundance):

Meadow Brown
Chalkhill Blue
Hedge Brown
Small Skipper
Essex Skipper
Brimstone
Peacock
Silver Spotted Skipper
Marbled White
Ringlet
Green Veined White
Common Blue
Brown Argus
Small Heath
Small Tortoiseshell
Large Skipper
Comma
Large White
Speckled Wood
Small White

Lazy day today spent walking down the cycle path in Clyne Valley approx 3 miles from my home.

Not much to report except that I saw my first Small Copper for several weeks fluttering amongst the grass at the car park at the lower end of the site.

On my way back up I also encountered a male Holly Blue which again is a first for quite a while.

5 Silver Washed Fritillaries were the other notable sightings. They only occur in low numbers round here so this was a particularly satisfactory experience.

Wurzel wrote:That Meadow Brown does look unusual with a scalloping of teh wing margins and that lighter band - was it differently marked on the upper side?

It was, Wurzel. Very extensive orange markings (including on the hindwing).

Saturday 2nd August 2014 - Surprises close to home....

A very interesting hour and a half spent at Kittle Quarry this afternoon. I went there looking to see if there were any Graylings. There weren't, sadly, but it looks like there's a small colony of Wall Browns as I saw 4 in total, including this female feasting on buddleia, which isn't something you see every day:
Perhaps an even bigger surprise was the appearance of a male Silver Washed Fritillary:
Common Blues certainly like this spot. I must have seen 40+:
I also saw, for the first time this year I think, double figure numbers of Red Admirals:
There were a handful of Commas knocking about:
Other species seen:

Meadow Brown (starting to get ragged now)
Hedge Brown
Ringlet
Speckled Wood
Brown Argus
Peacock
Small Tortoiseshell
Small Skipper (very faded)
Large White
Small White
Green Veined White
Painted Lady (pristine specimen)

Again, there were no Small Coppers. What's happening to them this year? The habitat here is perfect for them - lots of bare, stony ground with plenty of their LHP.

Monday 4th August 2014 - Arnside NOT.......

A chance encounter with a fellow wildlife enthusiast on Old Castle Down (the Welsh High Brown site) last month persuaded me to neglect Arnside Knott this year and instead turn my attention to the other English stronghold for Scotch Argus - Smardale Gill.

This site is centred upon a railway line which used to transport limestone products to Barrow in the west and county Durham in the east. It is long since disused, but the track has been converted into a relatively easy to navigate linear path which takes in a spectacular viaduct and also plays host to huge numbers of this species.

The location is just west of Kirkby Stephen, on the road to Brough (junction 38 of the M6) and is absolutely delightful. Here's the information board at the entrance:
The individual who informed me about this site told me I'd have to walk the best part of a mile before I hit the area where Scotch Argus became commonplace, and he was absolutely right. It wasn't until I was within 200m of the viaduct before I saw my first aethiops. The grassy slope to the left of this image was where the bulk of them were seen:
Here's the reverse view from the main area where the butterflies were concentrated:
You can walk over this impressive construction and there's an interesting quarry area on the other side:
In four and a half hours, I reckon I saw about 500 Scotch Argus, and the part cloudy conditions meant that there were times when they practically disappeared, only to reappear en masse when the sun came out again. Most individuals were slightly past their best, but there were a few that were in excellent condition:
Such were their numbers that you needed to be careful where you stepped, as during cloudy spells they had a propensity to settle on the pathway with little thought for their own safety! Even on the gravel path which has replaced the old railway, many individuals could be encountered searching for mineral rich fluids:
The limestone banks were replete with knapweed and scabious flowers, the latter proving to be particularly magnetic:
This individual caught my eye as he has an additional submarginal spot on one wing which is absent from the other:
There were plenty of other butterflies about, but Hedge Browns were notable absentees (I presume they don't occur inland this far north). I got briefly excited when I saw what I first thought was a late (and scruffy) Northern Brown Argus:
The underside seemed, at first, to confirm my earliest suspicions, until I played it back and noticed the blue suffusion around the thorax which screamed Common Blue female:
The steep banks of the former railway cutting were full of knapweed and scabious, and the numbers of butterflies were quite notable for this latitude:
Species/numbers seen:

Scotch Argus 400-600
Green Veined White 40-60
Common Blue 10-20
Meadow Brown 10-20
Small Skipper 10-20
Small Heath 10-20
Red Admiral 10-15
Peacock 5-10
Dark Green Fritillary (all females) 4
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Speckled Wood 2
Large Skipper 1
Small Copper 1
Large White 1
Small White 1

Hi David,

Great reports and photos in your recent posts

Seeing your female Common Blue at Smardale Gill reminds me of similar looking ones that I have seen in previous years at Arnside Knott in early August and have looked like NBA at first glance, right down to being smaller than normal. I often see NBA being reported late in the season from Arnside and wonder...

Cheers,

Neil.

nfreem wrote: Seeing your female Common Blue at Smardale Gill reminds me of similar looking ones that I have seen in previous years at Arnside Knott in early August and have looked like NBA at first glance, right down to being smaller than normal. I often see NBA being reported late in the season from Arnside and wonder..

Having now been in that situation, Neil, I agree.

I was fairly confident I'd seen a NBA until I reviewed my images, whereupon it became evident that I hadn't. I reckon that practically anyone who doesn't take a photograph could easily be fooled.

Friday 8th August 2014 - Window of opportunity......

I missed out on first brood Adonis Blues earlier this year because a) I was a little too early, and b) because I didn't have the time or patience to search for them properly.

Given that I needed to travel from Liverpool to Abergavenny last Friday, I took the opportunity to take time out from the carnage on the motorways (why do people behave so stupidly on the roads on a Friday irrespective of the time of year?) and pay a first ever late summer visit to Swellshill Bank, near Rodborough Common, Gloucestershire.

Well, the terrain in this spot was far removed from what I'm used to. The grass was long and the species range not at all what I'm familiar with in this part of the world. Chalkhill Blues were everywhere, and Common Blues initially proved most distracting.

However, I knew that any Blue in pristine condition would merit further attention and so it proved, as on three occasions my instincts were pricked, and on all these occasions it was a fresh Adonis Blue that was responsible.

Here's a view from the upper section of Swellshill Bank prior to my descent:
This was the first Adonis I saw, and mainly overcast conditions meant that for once they were very accommodating as regards their propensity to sit still and pose:
This individual was also happy to pose with wings closed:
The next specimen seen was just as fresh:
Chalkhill Blues could be disturbed with practically every step. Most were a little past their best:
The third Adonis I saw was notable because he had a 'two tone' look to his forewings - is this natural or is it simply because he is freshly emerged?
I could only spend three quarters of an hour here before time beckoned and I had to be on my way, but numbers/species seen were as follows:

Chalkhill Blue 100-200
Meadow Brown 30-50
Hedge Brown 5-10
Green Veined White 5-10
Common Blue 4
Small Skipper 4
Adonis Blue 3
Brown Argus 2
Marbled White 2 (surprising, and surely the last I'll see in 2014)
Dark Green Fritillary 1
Large White 1

David M wrote:The third Adonis I saw was notable because he had a 'two tone' look to his forewings - is this natural or is it simply because he is freshly emerged?

Hi David. It's completely natural but only evident in really fresh specimens. It is the androconial patch that gives the 'furry' blues their name and is more usually associated with the subgenus Agrodiaetus but is equally prominent in many Lysandra (now a subgenus too, of course). That's a fantastic picture of it!

Guy

Some really excellent recent reports David, your Smardale Gill images portray a location worthy of serious consideration for a visit next year - Scotch Argus are among those northern species I'm yet to enjoy

Kindest Regards,

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

A great report and photos of Scotch Argus from Smardale Gill, David. We had planned to visit Smardale this year, but it just did not pan out for us! I agree with Bill and Neil, perhaps this will be on our next years agenda.

Mike

Thanks for the comments, folks.

Pauline - Graylings love buddleia, but it's not often you see Wall Browns on it. Hopefully I'll get another chance to see them indulging this weekend.

Smardale Gill - This site is nailed on for Scotch Argus. I'd recommend it to anyone because it is so spectacular from a scenery perspective alone. Yes, there are disadvantages in that you won't see High Brown Fritillaries here (nor Hedge Browns), but unlike Arnside, it has a gentle gradient and a very easily accessible hotspot for Scotch Argus.

One of the loveliest sites I've ever visited.

Saturday 23rd August 2014 - Finally........

I travelled down to West Williamston in Pembrokeshire with my neighbour this morning in glorious conditions. Once at our destination, however, the skies were starting to cloud over and I thought to myself 'here we go again'.

I think my neighbour must be my lucky charm though, as we were no more than 10 metres into the horses' field adjacent to the car park when we disturbed a butterfly. Being 9.35am I assumed it was a Hedge Brown, but it was, amazingly, a female Brown Hairstreak in impeccable condition resting amongst the grasses:
It was still quite cool (approx 14c) and when the sun went in it was definitely not T-shirt weather so it was a major surprise to see this butterfly so early and in such a location. She flew onto the lower branches of a nearby Ash tree and seemed to go into roosting mode so we left her and searched (unsuccessfully) for males in the canopies of the trees that surround this field. After 15 minutes we headed back and she was still in the same spot but by now the cloud cover was quite comprehensive so I felt it was prudent to show my companion the extent of this beautiful site hoping that the sun would re-emerge later.

We popped up to the limestone ridge and found autumn gentian:
We were back in the 'glade' by 11.35am but conditions didn't really improve for at least an hour. We were kept company by a Comma though, who was busy imbibing on the blackberry fruits:
A Green Veined White posed next to a Speckled Wood:
By 12.45pm the skies had brightened and I felt confident we'd see a few females descend to lay eggs. I kept checking the line of young blackthorn suckers on the outside of the glade but there was nothing doing. Suddenly though, at 1.20pm, whilst we were chatting away, I spotted another female who gave us a decent show for 20 minutes or so. Sadly, she had a big chunk of her hindwings missing but it didn't impair her ability to get about:
We saw her lay just one egg in between bouts of basking, but as she took flight I lost her and when I saw a Brown Hairstreak a minute later I thought it was the same one. It was a different individual however, although again there was wing damage:
Eventually this one disappeared, but the original one returned and it was only when she retreated to a nearby hawthorn that we decided to make our way back to the car. A quick look in the adjacent clearing gave us a bonus - a female Holly Blue (albeit elderly):
Other species seen were 20 or so Small Tortoiseshells, 3 Hedge Browns, 3 Small Coppers, 2 Silver Washed Fritillaries, 2 Common Blues and a solitary Peacock.