www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

considering the light and not using the flash i thought it came out ok-ish. was just a pleasure getting this close to one. need to click on it to see any detail though.

a trip to Martin Down this morning, a walk with the dogs and sitting around the garden. my day in pictures only ones not taken were speckled wood and peacock

and a few moths seen too mother shipton. common heath, brown silver-lines and tawny barred angle

and some other bits i was happy to snap a very recently pupated hoverfly larvae, a wee zebra spider, hoverfly i think is Leucozona lucorum
Chris

Alright Chris? Looks like you had a great day the Hoverfly ID seems bang on. I was at Middleton Down just down the road but no Small Blue there so looks like another trip to make

Have a goodun

Wurzel

hi wurzel, it was a good morning over Martin down. only saw the one small blue and he looked a bit the worse for wear. but crawling with Dingies and Grizzled, also the first time i've seen more than one small copper over there. last week i tried sillens lane end for Green Hairstreaks but wasn't sure which way to go, needless to say i didn't see any

Chris

I saw Greenstreaks from the Sillen Lane end last year and the year before. When you park in the car park walk along the hedge on your right, eventually it'll work it's way through a load of scrub and will cut across the Dyke/Ditch towards the woodland. On the right is where I saw them two years ago. I've tried there a couple of times this year with no luck so far but maybe next time?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

thanks for the tip.

so with the hottest day of the year forecast i booked the day off, decided to try and find the elusive green hairstreak, so a litre of chilled water packed i headed off to Hod Hill. I left in glorious sunshine but at 8.am Hod and the surrounding hills were still carpeted in low cloud. glad i did the walk up the hill in the cool cloudy shade. so a sit down at the top to wait for the sun to break through, after half hour i decided to do the first circuit of the fort just to try and suss out likely spots. just after 9.30 the sun broke through and another circuit, no green hairstreak but dingys, grizzleds and small copper, peacock, speckled wood, GV white, orange tips kept me looking until i got close to the gate. then ( i only hoped i'd see one) a marsh fritillary accompanied me, a first for me and a very photogenic butterfly a few walks across the middle didn't produce much so i resorted to walking round the outside again. more of the same and a very obliging small copper (probably one of if not my favourite butterfly) and then at the corner in amounst all the longhorn moths something bigger was amoungst them. surely it has to be...... sorry wurzel.... there it was. sat and watched for 20 minutes for it to get to a photographic height even then only just and the breeze was troublesome but i'll take it. my original quarry for the day all done by 12.30. a great morning worth the tick in the shin. yep tick. oh and a solitary Silver-y.

I'll let you off the Greenstreak- unless I don't find any on Saturday when I visit Hod Hill

Have a goodun

Wurzel

first of all..... good luck tomorrow wurzel, i found mine if you take the outer path on the right and it was on the first tree on the right nearest the path at the first corner.

now for the entry. put the raynox on the close up lens again when i got home as the orange tips must have paid the garden another visit, this time though they have left me a couple of deposits. hand held and still a bit breezy i was pleased how they came out.

as a follow on from my last entry i have a new arrival and after watching a green veined white laying on garlic mustard in the garden at the weekend i thought it about time i checked my garden bucktorn
here is the "tree" in question, only about 5 foot tall i took a quick look and could see some signs of munching and when i looked closer i found 3 eggs and i stopped counting at 15 of these almost every new leaf had a caterpillar on it, so many that i think i'll be transferring a few once they have had a start as i don't want them running out of food.
in a garden that had only a few mature rhoddies when we moved in. it does make me proud and honoured.

i have been lax updating my diary as i've not had a chance to get out after the butterflies, but i've still been pottering around the garden, the barkflies are returning and of course various spiders but my find for the day is this stunning creature, it is the nymph of our largest leafhopper ledra aurita on anything i would have struggled to find it but this chap was on the red brick wall at work.

may i introduce The horned Leaf hopper ledra aurita

Just to say that I'm really enjoying your posts, Chris. And your Brimstone larvae remind me that I need to check my Cotoneaster for Holly Blue ova/larvae! (see http://upperthames-butterflies.org.uk/b ... tings.html); I always wondered where they'd gone given that there's very little Holly around here - and plenty of Ivy!

Cheers,

- Pete

thanks Pete, good luck with your search. on a quick look tonight i think the weather has taken it toll on the brimstones, either that or predated, i could only find 5 but i'll be taking a proper look tomorrow. the orange tips all seem present and correct though which is good. I even found 6 alot more adavanced on a self set honesty in the front garden. happy days

good news and better news
the good news is there are still plenty of Brimstone caterpillars (phew)
the even better news is the green veined whites have joined the garden feast beneath these clear blotches there lives a tiny caterpillar and judging by the number of thes visible there seem to be quite a few
not as obvious as these small eggar moths found over Martin down this morning it wasn't the best of butterfly conditions but small heath there was a good showing a single grizzled skipper and a few common blues

despite the terrible weather all my charges seem to be coping well. all merrily munching. even the GV whites have started appearing on the upperside of the garlic mustard leaves adult butterflies are thin on the ground in the garden with just a couple of Red admiral, but it's always nice to see a beautiful demoiselle put in an appearance in the garden this afternoon. and just having a mess around with some software tonight i found an antiquing filter, it actually makes my over exposed open winged shot of the white admiral yesterday look quite interesting

memorable moments
this morning i went to slop bog to try and find silver studded blues, it was windy and dull but i managed to find one. but the memorable part was on the way back along a raised board walk, the tamest lizard i've ever had the pleasure to see, i sat watching it from 2 foot away and even 3 people with 2 dogs walking past didn't phase it one bit. admittedly it didn't do much other than lay there but it's an experience i won't forget in a hurry memorable moment number 2.
After slop bog i went to the wood,
White ad, Red ad, Speckled wood, Meadow brown, Ringlet, Marbled white and large skipper seen
on the way back i spotted a dark shape struggling in the grass, a recently emerged ringlet, they seem such fragile creatures in the hand. needless to say it was rescued and put in a nice sunny spot to carry on it's brief existence

Some beautiful photos Chris, the Ringlet on the hand must have been a very enjoyable moment

Chris

I very much enjoyed the photos , especially the GVW larva and the early signs of its feeding. When the rain slackens off a bit (probably next month at this rate!) i will look out for this.

thanks for the comments Chris (what a fine name that is ) and hilary

Chris

well with this weather there hasn't been much to report butterfly wise so i thought i'd take the opportunity to bore you all with some of the other things i've been finding.

Athalia sp. sawfly larvae on the garlic mustard
and last year i discovered barkflies, order Psocoptera, only small wee beasties normally between 3-5mm. some of the shots aren't all that good but some are quite smart looking and quite scarce. nymph & adult

and in my search for them i've noticed more Orchesella cincta, a 4mm springtail, than i have in previous years