Trevor

[trevor]

I went along to St Peters Church grounds even earlier this morning.
Already a Painted Lady was found basking on a headstone, and later another
( or possibly the same one) Was seen on another grave.

The real prize of the morning was the discovery of two female Wall Browns,
the first I've ever found at this site. Both were fresh but one had already
suffered extensive wing loss, and this one was later found rejecting the
advances of a male, so was presumably already mated.

A rewarding morning.
Trevor.

[millerd]

Very nices Walls and a splendid Painted Lady, Trevor. That bird aimed pretty accrately at the eyespot on that Wall - I suppse that's what they're for!

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Great to know that the females are round and about for sure Trevor Brill Painted Lady as well I had to take the girls and my nieces out so wasn't able to make it to the Church today

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[ernie f]

Trevor - Pics of Walls and Painted Ladies on headstones - now that is different!

[Andrew555]

Lovely Painted Lady shots recently Trevor, and I always like a Wall.

[David M]

Must admit, Trevor, I find many of my Wall Browns in the cemetery at Port Tennant. I'm always intrigued by how they're strongly attracted to those gravestones that most closely match the colour of their underside hindwing.

[trevor]

The first Wall Brown on the scene yesterday was a female.
Incredibly I was able to track and follow her for a good 30 mins.
During this time I was able to observe no fewer than three males having their advances rejected.
One persistent male was in a dire state, with severe wing loss. Unfortunately the third rejection
ritual took place in long grass, thus no photo's.

The following images follow the adventures of just one female Wall Brown in a Wiltshire Cemetery.

[bugboy]

Great shots Trevor. By complete coincidence I'm just sorting through pictures for my next post and have a set of images along a similar vein

[Wurzel]

Great set of shots Trevor I hope she eventually mates with one of them so there are some Walls there next year Is the Wall feeding on the Thistle a female because if it is then there are two females in the Church (the one turning the males down has two pupils)?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

Many thanks everyone for the comments above, and previous post.
Wurzel, when I discovered those Walls last year, about the same time of year,
most males were fresh, but no females.
This year no really fresh males found, but females were seen on every visit.
This all points to a slightly earlier brood this Summer. The timing of the Church
colony sits between the second and ( any ) third Sussex brood it would seem.

Here are some more images from Wednesday, including a lovely, bright, fresh
Common Blue, which was found among a few worn ones, in the long grass at
the far end of the grave yard.

Trevor.

[Pauline]

Some nice shots there of the Wall Brown Trevor . The last time I saw one was May 2015

[millerd]

That last male Wall is a great shot - as we all know they are not easy to get close to!

Dave

[Goldie M]

Great shot of the Wall Trevor I was at Southport yesterday and scared two off before I could get a shot I second Dave, they really are hard to get shots of.Goldie

[Wurzel]

Great shots again Trevor especially that male Wall - he looks in great nick I don;t think I'll be able to get over there as the next couple of days are going to be really hectic

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Lovely stuff, Trevor. Hard to believe how common this butterfly was just 35 years ago compared to its relative rarity today (especially inland).

[trevor]

This morning the weather looked suitable for a trip to Steyning, for the Brown Hairstreak.
Not long after I arrived I saw Neil Hulme, who had found two female BH in a Blackthorn thicket.
Two in such a short space of time bode well for the day.
It was not long before several more Steyning regulars turned up, Gary, James, John W and Tom.
With all these experienced eyes searching the site it was not surprising that the day's final tally
was sixteen female Brown Hairstreaks. Of those, yours truely found three, one of which was in mint condition.

A personal milestone was alao achieved today.
I have photographed all five UK Hairstreak species this season, and all of them in Sussex.

Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Fantastic set of shots Trevor It seems that the return to near normal weather has returned the Brostreaks to normal behaviour Hopefully they'll keep going for a while yet - or at least another week until I can get out to see them again Congrats on the 5 Hairstreaks as well

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Very nice hairstreaks there Trevor - I wondered if Steyning would come up trumps as it has in the past. As Wurzel says, maybe they are back on track now. Well done on getting the full set in Sussex too.

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

Stunning, Trevor! It's taken a while but it finally looks as though female Brown Hairstreaks are ready to lay.

[ernie f]

Trev - Catching up. Love the Wall brown entitled "The Stand Off", plus all those great Brown Hairstreak pics. I am really pleased you got all of the Sussex hairstreaks now just like you said you wanted a few posts back. Great news.