www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Cheers David It was great to see the erebia as they were my first members of this species that I'd encountered
Cheers Trevor I'm glad that you'll be able to keep your sprouts down now
Cheers Goldie I got there in the end
Cheers Bugboy That was probably my fourth Camberwell of the trip, and the only shot - distant but still identifiable as a Camberwell

Have a goodun

Wurzel

No Mistaking the Camberwell, well done

Love the Large Ringlets, very handsomely marked butterflies .

The 2 seater Chair lift brings back memories when I went to Bavaria (Konigsee) on a school trip when I was 11

Phil

Should be in any way disappointed with your Camberwell image, I can sympathise.
Only to get a quick glimpse, and even quicker image of such a desirable Butterfly must
have been excruciating:( . But I must say I wish I'd been there !.)

Hi Wurzel
I am enjoying reading of your Czech exploits. As others have said that Queen Of Spain is gorgeous . As you said at the beginning this was primarily a family holiday, but you don't seem to have done too badly on the butterfly front.
Looking forward to the next episode

Cheers Philzoid Got there in the end
Cheers Trevor After all my sightings - generally as it departed - to get any shot was really pleasing
Cheers Paul I learnt a few more tricks to add to the repertoire so managed to get more butterflying in than I expected

13-08-2015

So began our final day at Pastviny and once again I headed out to the field, this time for the final time. As usual there were the HBFs, four definite individuals plus an assortment of Small Heath , Madow Browns, two silver spots and a Smessex as well as the usual Dusky’s – they’re so last week dontcha know! So what to do with our final day? I would dearly have loved to revisit the wood from day one or the high point from the same day but I was outvoted. So instead we packed the swim things and set off down the hill to the Dam for the day. A Red-backed Shrike watched from the overhead cables as we set off. On the way down through the wood I missed out on yet another Camberwell Beauty. They seem to appear from nowhere and flap away deep in amongst the trees so that you can’t relocate them. A quick check of the field revealed a few Common Blues, a Brown Argus and quell surprise a few Dusky Large Blues. Whilst the girls took their first Pedlo ride I legged it up to the fields behind the dam. Unfortunately for me everything seemed to be frequenting the one field with restricted access and I could only watch a Pale/Bergers from the sidelines. To further torment me everything that was taking nectar from the verges disappeared across and in to restricted field filed so I came away with only a few fleeting shots and a Hummingbird Hawk Moth from the woodland at the end of the road. I mean the end of the road literally as there is tarmac road and then woodland no cul-de-sac, no kerbs the road just ceases to be...transmogrifying into forest . I retrace my footsteps and neck a beer to stave off the heat – it’s starting to get quite unbearable now, but a pint of Holba helps and all for the pricely sum of 19K (48p)! After lunch (lucky dip for me again – point at the menu and see what comes out - in this case dumplings with gravy, a minute steak and whipped cream?) the girls head out again on the Pedlos so I again make my way to the fields and luckily now the butterflies were playing ball and are in a different field, one that I have got access to so I manage a few shots this time. Again a quick beer (I’m starting to enjoy the heat again now) and a spot on the pedlo and then we start the hot, tiring walk/trek back home. We were able to stop frequently so the girls could; have a drink, eat an ice cream, have a paddle in the stream or just have a breather so my butterflying took place in a series of 5 minute bursts. The first of which was in the ‘Yellow field’. There were three Small Torts (still no Scarce) a few whites, the odd Dusky and a Queen of Spain. Just over the road was a Common Blue and a Chapman’s (no cell spot when wings forward) – finally all the eyestrain caused by trying to follow the blue bu$$ers visually and the calf strain from frenetic runs when they finally deemed to land for a few seconds paid off. The second stop was at the little break in the woods where I’d previously found the female Sooty. While the girls had a breather I fund a few Small Heaths and singles of Silver-washed and Queen of Spain Fritillary. Further up and stop number three was a female Pale/Berger’s that just wouldn’t settle, 2 Silver-washed and yet another fly-by Camberwell Beauty. I reckon that I’ve gotten so used to identifying them in flight that if one actually landed I wouldn’t have a clue what I was looking at! The final stop was so the girls could have a paddle and here there was a Map and a Green-veined White.
Once home we had to pack as we were off to Prague on the morrow so I managed only a quick mooch round the field with the usual suspects. No Niobe's in my Frits?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wurzel wrote:Once home we had to pack as we were off to Prague on the morrow so I managed only a quick mooch round the field with the usual suspects.

High Browns ain't bad as "usual suspects" go, Wurzel!

Not seeing anything Niobe-like, unfortunately.

Now that you have taunted us with High Browns, as well as Queen of Spain I have no
sympathy whatsoever for ' no Niobe's.'
Hope you are enjoying the summer temperatures, it's 16c here at the moment!.

Have a great Christmas,
Trevor.

You'll get your Niobes, Wurzel, and after that every time you pop across the channel you'll see them ... But that can't be said of those dusky large blues!

Guy

Really enjoyed your Butterflies Wurzel and your adventures I hope you and your family have a great Christmas and New Year Goldie

A rested Hummingbird Hawk-moth Also suffering from heat-stroke I suspect That’s at least two great shots you’ve got of this species in that uncommon settled pose (East Blean I seem to remember )

Nice photo of the cloudie . Any further views on whether it’s the alfacariensis / hyale

Phil

Cheers David , thanks for looking for some Niobes - maybe next time
Cheers Trevor It's one of the annoying habits I've picked up off of my pupils - always wanting more
Cheers Guy We're working out where we're heading abroad this week - so hopefully there will be some Niobes waiting for me
Cheers Goldie We did indeed have a good Chrimble, I hope you and yours did too!
Cheers Philzoid You're right about the Hummingbird Hawk - and it couldn't even have a refreshing pint of Holba to help it cool down

14/15-08-2015

The final day we said our goodbyes to Eva and Lucas and Thomas drove us to the railway station as Czecka Trebova and from there onto Prague (White Stock in a field on the way). Prague itself was fantastic and in a short space of time we’d seen the various parts of a Castle (Prague Castle - more like a small town ) , the famous clock (astronomical clock), a square (Wenceslas Square) and the (Charles) bridge. See I’m a butterflier and the cultural stuff passed over my head – I had to look it all up when I got home and have since correctly named it (in the brackets) . With very few butterflies the highlights of Prague for me were the Spitfires outside the castle and a pub that was an entire street long! The final butterflies of the trip were four Purple Hairstreaks, all males and all in our passports as well as four hidden Common Blues - also in our passports and courtesy of millerd .

I said before that I was treating this holiday as a training exercise so here is what I learnt:

1. To maximise the number of species seen the best thing seems to be to go on an organised tour. I did this when birding and visited Poland and I added over 50 new species to my ‘life list’. So in future I might consider trading in all my Brownie points for a week on an organised trip. That’s expensive however so...

2. If I do go on a family holiday abroad I will read up before we go! It was difficult this time as there wasn’t much info about the place I was visiting so...

3. Next time I will ask if anyone has any tips or information regarding the area that I’m going to visit or ask if they have any suggestions of places to go that could be combined with a family holiday.

4. If you know it’ll be warm where you’re going get up and go early while a. the family are still in bed and b. it’s cooler.

5. Check the habitat before you go – then you can work out which species to look out for.

6. Do a similar thing for any possible day trips.

7. Hire a car as this increases the range of places you can visit and therefore the range of species you could possibly see.

8. When out in the field scan ahead for all possible nectar sources as usual but also look for shade spots – three of the four Camberwell Beauties that I were all in shade and the fourth few into it. Tied in with this is trying to make a mental note of the types of flowers visited by certain species so when you encounter a new species which flower was it visiting and then look out for it subsequently. This was how I found all of my Dusky Large Blues – I simply looked on the tops of the purple/red grass heads.

9. Finally get a smaller, lighter camera!

All of this seems pretty obvious really still I found it useful to note down and now I’ll be more likely to put it into practice!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Glad you enjoyed your trip, Wurzel. Prague is definitely the most beautiful city I've ever visited but I doubt it's somewhere to go when looking for butterflies.

Your 'lessons learned' made me chuckle too. Points 1 and 7 are spot on (though they are mutually exclusive given that an organised trip will negate the need for a hire car).

Much as I like wandering around independently, you'll miss out on a great deal. A guided tour will take you to all the best localities and maximise the range of species. You'll also probably get the most coveted rarities that way too.

Hi! Wurzel, your advice sounds good I'll put it into practice next year, not sure about the arranged holiday though Not unless it's in Mexico to watch those lovely Butterflies come out of Hibernation (that would be fantastic) so would the price Happy New Year ! Goldie

Cheers David I hope to put my lessons into practice - unfortunately lesson number 1 is a bit out of my price bracket at the moment and I don't think it would go down too well with the rest of the Wurzel household
Cheers Goldie I hope the 'lessons' help out

The New Year 2016
Happy New Year!
Have a goodun, 2016 that is!

Wurzel

Happy New Year to you also and let's hope that 2016 is a good'un (as you might say)

I agree with your checklist, which certainly applied very well to my own trip to Borneo. That is, perhaps, a rather extreme case but, if you wanted to photograph butterflies, then before dawn was the only time to catch them at rest! My 'Naturetrek' trip was principally aimed at birds and the spotting skills of our leaders were simply amazing. Luck will always play its part and, when an extremely rare Borneo Ground Cuckoo strolled along a log, a short distance in front of us, our leaders were as gob-smacked as we were!

I am glad that I paid attention to Point 9, since a heavy camera kit would have been a severe burden in the tropical heat and humidity (and was, to some of my fellow travellers!) As I have written elsewhere, my lightweight Olympus kit was superb and the fast (wide aperture) lenses, coupled with excellent high-ISO performance, were great for night spotting expeditions and for 'stopping' very active butterflies in flight.

Mike

Not sure that your comment regarding 'price bracket' is entirely accurate, Wurzel, as my own independent holidays have generally cost almost as much as the guided ones (only the latter have seen far better rewards species-wise).

Agree that the rest of the Wurzel family may not be too happy though. To make the most of it you'd have to travel independently, which would obviously go down like a lead balloon!!

Cheers Mike The smaller camera might be a while in coming for me but it just means taking less clothing in my luggage so that I can fit in my trusty old Nikon
Cheers David I will just have to get even better at nipping off for some butterfly shots on days out during the next Wurzel family holiday - still no idea where we're going yet though

Collection?

This is possibly the most difficult post that I’ve ever written as it is about a collection of pinned specimens...

First of all I need to make my opinions on collecting clear. When I grew up the habit seemed to be dwindling and was starting to be frowned upon – so just like I missed getting into ‘egging’ before ‘birding’ I didn’t collect butterflies prior to getting into them either. And now apart for valid scientific purposes I can’t see the point as you can get almost as much information (if not more at times) from a digital image compared to from a pinned specimen. This is why I didn’t get embroiled in the recent furore on the forum as no matter how much reasonable argument was given the viewpoints would never be changed; I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire either.

So why am I posting about this collection? Well first of all the majority of the specimens were collected from schools and were due to be destroyed before the current owner saved the specimens and added them to his much smaller personal collection – which hadn’t been added to for some considerable time. Secondly having invested huge amounts of time and effort sorting, resetting and ordering the collection it is now being donated to the Natural History museum for their use.

Finally the diversity and variation present in any one of the many drawers was astounding. When Ronniethepoo who knew the entomologist arranged an invite I was interested. When I left I was amazed and astounded. I was lost for words and as drawer upon drawer was opened and yet more aberrants were placed before me I felt slightly annoyed with myself that I had never had such an appreciation variation possible in such a range of species. The only word I could utter was “Wow” and this just couldn’t sum up what I was seeing but I was all my brain was able to conjure up as huge amounts of my processing power were being utilised in trying to comprehend and remember what I was seeing. This could have been my one chance to view it so I was so grateful to Ronniethepoo for arranging it.

After poring over the Clouded Yellows for what felt like a minute but was actually 5 we realised that there were another 30 odd drawers in this cabinet still to see, and this was a single cabinet of which type there were another 3 plus another four or so double cabinets. So we frenetically opened drawers scanned over the contents and then swiftly moved on. Even with this technique it took almost two hours to look through the entire collection and we couldn’t recall seeing some groups of the Browns – Marbs, Meadow Browns and particularly worrying for me, Hedge Browns.

Sorting through my photos later I had so many that I need to break them up into two posts.

Part 1

There were a few shots that I particularly wanted to capture and these fell into two types – the impossible and the aberrant. The impossible also fell into two groups. The first were impossible as they as they are extinct and the second are almost impossible because they always land with their wings tightly shut. I also snuck in this one after having such poor returns for my hard work in Czech Republic. Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi! Wurzel, I would love to have seen those Butterflies, I don't agree with collecting Butterflies that way except for research but has you say to see them like that well preserved must have been very interesting.
I'm glad also they're being given to the NHM for others to see, I just hope they don't encourage the wrong people to go out and collect them that way, lovely shots by the way Goldie

Cheers Goldie Most of the collection were very,very old the Camberwell for instance was pinned in 1903 and whilst it was a slightly sad sight my curiosity and the spectacle of variation overcame this.

Collection Part 2

Having dealt with the impossible we then came to the aberrants and this was where my ‘cup runneth over’. In fact I seemed to lose track and there was so much to see that at times my camera hung by my side, unused as I couldn’t tear myself away from the spectacle before me. Here there were rows and rows of aberrant forms – gynandromorphy, slight variations, striking variations, lack of pigmentation, over pigmentation and some so different from the ‘type’ that seemed to be a different species entirely. I would simply forget that I actually had my camera and occasionally my arm would brush against its body and I would remember. Then I would take a few shots, a few more and then I would forget that I had it again. I came away very grateful to Ronniethepoo for making the introductions and transporting me to and from the Collection, a good thing really as when I was left I was still in a bit of a daze.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Some truly amazing specimens there, Wurzel. No wonder you were in your element.