www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Many thanks Katrina, Wurzel and David.

Owing to the heat, which I am not particularly a fan of, I have not ventured far
since my visit to Windover hill on Monday.
I did however pop along to the old railway this morning, as it is quite shady there.
Apart from a Comma and a Holly Blue, only Whites and Speckled Woods were around in any numbers.
One Specklie did, to me, sum up the heatwave by perching on a withered seed head.

I have also included a couple more images of the views from Windover hill, and some more
shots of the many Chalkhill Blues that were present.

I recognise that last shot, Trev-I was there last Wednesday!

Lovely set of Chalkhills Trevor I saw a fresh Wall today so next time you're down this way you might want to check the graveyard

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Chalkhills are putting on quite a show, Trevor, but where are all the Holly Blues after such a strong spring emergence?

There have been hardly any this summer and I wonder whether their parasitic cycle is beginning to suppress their numbers?

Cheers Mark. Yes, fabulous views and lots of Butterflies.
Wurzel, I will be in Wilts from Aug.5th, for about a week, I'll PM you if I find any.
David, There are Holly Blues around here, I get almost daily fly-pasts over my garden.

Hope you are all keeping cool, fireworks this evening apparently.
Trevor.

I set out very early again this morning, this time for the gentler climb to Malling Down.
My target species was the Silver Spotted Skipper.
Whilst driving over to Lewes I realised that I had miscalculated the rising Sun on a west facing slope,
sure enough this hillside remained in shade for over an hour after arrival .
The first SSS did not appear until 07.45, and the few that followed chose to warm up on the ground.
I was after some shots of them on Scabious, and by the time they started to search for nectar,
it was getting too hot for yours truly. The Silver Spots were not found in large numbers,
but several eventually obliged for the camera.

Fortunately I parked the car in the shade,
Trevor.

Great set of Silver-spots Trevor Parking in the shade is a great idea Hoping for a PM

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I met Dave Cook in Burgess Hill this morning for a Brown Hairstreak hunt.
Two females were seen, I only caught sight of one, neither were keen to pose for the camera
Several Ash trees contained both Purple and Brown Hairstreaks but none came down low.
We were rewarded with several, fresh, Brown Argus which were willing to pose.

Trevor.

Sorry to hear of the Brostreaks acting all prima donna like Are those two shots of the same butterfly Trevor as the second, closed wing shot shows a Common Blue? Cracking shots both

Have a goodun

Wurzel

This evening I went over to Rowland wood and Park Corner Heath.
I met Gary Norman relaxing in the low evening Sun, who told me of several Small Pearls he'd seen earlier.
But for me they proved elusive, but I did find a surprisingly large number of roosting Common Blues.

Trevor.

Love the second shot Trevor , she looks a bit left out
Good luck with the next Small pearl foray

Have a goodun

Wurzel

A shame you missed out on the second round of Sussex Small Pearls, Trevor. I wondered if there would be a few after the good first showing. Will you try again?

Cheers,

Dave

Cheers Wurzel & Dave,

Yes I will try again, the site is very local.
Next time I will make sure there is a memory card in the camera .
Fortunately the camera's internal memory coped last evening.

Trevor.

PS. Gary Norman photographed a pristine Clouded Yellow there yesterday.

Lovely SS Blue pics, Trevor. I have only managed one shot of this species so far this year and that was only luck. They really do love that Scabious don't they?

Wow Trevor! lovely shots, I hope you find those Pearls, I didn't know they were able to have a second brood. Goldie

LUCKY WITH THE LADIES !.

This afternoon we had some thin high cloud, which didn't reduce the heat much,
but I thought might help to obtain some ' softer ' Butterfly images.
I drove over to Rowland wood, then walked over to the large patch of Fleabane.
This area has been excellent in past years as a feeding station for Clouded Yellows,
and any species passing through, as well as the local residents.

Today a magnificent, lone, Painted Lady was taking advantage of the plentiful nectar.
She was absolutely fresh and scale perfect, and reasonably accomodating , by that I mean
it took half an hour to get twenty shots !, better that than one shot and gone !.

Hope you enjoy.
Trevor.

Fantastic shots Trevor Their numbers have been picking up over recent days, fingers crossed that some of their distantly related yellow cousins will come with them

Have a goodun

Wurzel

This morning I walked up to St. Peters Church, in Great Cheverell, Wilts to look for Wall Browns.
My first two Butterflies were a Red Admiral, and a brand new Speckled Wood, both warming up
in the early morning Sun.
My fears that Walls were now absent from this site were dispelled when a lone male was spotted
on the Church wall. More males appeared as if from nowhere as the Sun gained strength.

Trevor.

Fantastic stuff Trevor Unfortunately I can't make it over this week as plans have been made for me Hopefully they'll still be around in a week or two

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Glad to see those Walls are back again, Trevor! Will you see a female this time - I'm sure I remember you saying they were all males last year...

Dave