www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

16th May (part 2)
For the afternoon I’d decided to visit Pitstone Quarry to find my first Small Blues of the season which I had on good authority I’d have no trouble at all finding here, in fact they’d probably find me!

The walk over from Ivinghoe Beacon was actually easier than expected and quite pleasant, mostly taking me through a tree shaded footpath, the occasional Speckled Wood glimpsed as it hid from the heat of the sun and the odd Orange-tip patrolling the brighter areas.

Once at the church I followed Millerds directions and quite quickly stumbled upon the scene I’d last seen a couple of days previously in his diary, in all probability made up of many of the same individuals! It had started to cloud over so I explored further afield, finding a few Dingies and several very generously sprinkled male Small Blues. After the cloudy spell the cloud began to thin and break up, warming the air and bringing everything back to life again. The Blues were still feasting on their bird poo with more flitting around and basking in the surrounding area so I sat down for a bit to enjoy the experience, only to find I out that I, apparently taste better than bid poo ! Within 5 minutes they had all transferred themselves to my legs, not even the forest of hairs discouraging them . Whilst watching them I caught sight some movement in the grass by my foot, a young Common Toad had been caught out by the return of the sun and was desperately seeking the shade provided by me. He was very lucky I noticed him before he snuck under my foot. At this stage I was beginning to feel like Snow White, would a bird now decide to use me as a perch . Another wander before leaving, the Toad safely placed in the undergrowth, turned up a few more species, Green Hairstreaks, Brimstone, Holly and Common Blue, all far too energetic for me to chase down, but the Small Blues were still everywhere. I finally dragged myself away, but I shall end the post with a couple of shots of a Grizzlie perched on the remains of a Dandelion clock I found on the road verge on the way back.

That is some ' huddle ' in your first image, and the one in your last pic.
actually has a sprinkling of blue on it. Like you I only found my first
Small Blue on Thursday, and another rather worn one this morning.

Great set of images,
Trevor.

PS. They have a liking for old shoes as well !.

So many Small Blues - an amazing sight Bugboy Much better to have those little beauties crawling over your legs

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wow! That image of the Small Blues on your legs reminds me of a similar incident in France when decent numbers were attracted to a pair of shoes that someone had taken off so they could dip their feet in a lake.

Thanks guys, Heaven knows what the second brood is going to be like if we have a half decent summer

18th May
The good spell of weather had come to a crashing end, just in time for my planned trip deep into Wurzel country and a fabled hillside. I'd sweet talked my chauffeur into believing a day trip to Wiltshire would be a wonderful idea and we'd been keeping a very close eye on the weekends weather, which seemed to change by the hour. In the end, Saturday was the chosen day to go and see a Marsh Fritillary for the first time in four years. We arrived at the legendary hill under cloudy but warmish conditions at around half 9. Things didn't seem overly promising but I bounced out the car and set off up the path hopefully

A bit of wandering threw up very little but I was encouraged by the sight of a few Brown Argus who had decided it was warm enough for action. Half an hour in and my target was acquired, a freshly emerged male fluttered weakly from under my feet and for the next 10 minutes enjoyed a rich and varied photo shoot . Over the next hour or two the cloud would occasionally thin, awakening various butterflies. Not many individuals but the species count gradually increased. Small Blue, Dingy and Grizzled Skippers, Green Hairstreak, Adonis Blue & Small Heath all putting in appearances. Obviously I was concentrating on the Marshies who appeared intermittently, perhaps half a dozen in the end but mostly looking in good condition. Every now and again though another species would demand my full attention, a Green Hairstreak playing peek-a-boo and what are you supposed to do when a fresh male Adonis plonks himself on the path in front of you and opens his wings wide . It would have taken something like a Camberwell Beauty for me to ignore him ! Hunger pangs told us it was lunch time so we took the short drive into Warminster to find a pub for lunch, ending up in the same corner of the same one as four years ago. Still good portions at a reasonable price .

Whilst eating the weather had decided to brighten up with actual blue sky on display. Rather than going back to The Hill I wanted to browse Battlesbury Hillfort which overlooks the town. I left my chauffeur contentedly reading a book in the middle of the lower meadow whilst I climbed the slopes, adding Common Blue to the day’s species list before more Marshies started appearing, making the most of the brighter spell. Courting and mating was going on all around, egg laden females making easy targets for the numerous and sun energized males. The bright spell ended rather abruptly but not before I stumbled across a small glut of Walls. One female in particular caught my eye, being rather larger than average and particularly well marked. I spent a good 10 mins stalking her but not once did she settle anywhere unobscured by grass. Although it had clouded over it was still early enough to try another site on the way home, Martin Down. Sadly I've still never seen a butterfly here. A rather stubbing rain cloud drenched us and stayed overhead whilst we sat in the car, drying off and hoping it would clear. It didn't, a rather damp end to an otherwise pleasant trip into Wiltshire

A nice series of Marsh Fritillary photos Bugboy, still in good condition.
They will be way past their best in the south of France now.
Chris

A great report Bugboy glad the Hill paid off. If you can make a return visit to Martin Down it is well worth it - although on this particular day you wouldn't have added anything different to your days tally. A late summer trip here would be best - Chalkhlls, Adonis and blues and browns as well as aged DGFs and the possibility of Silver-spots or Clouded Yellow

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I've just seen the Pitstone Small Blues, Buggy - what is it with those little beasties? I reckon if you dozed off in the sunshine, you'd wake up covered in them!

The Wiltshire Marshies are a treat as well - lovely and fresh individuals. That whole series of hills near Warminster is a terrific area.

Cheers,

Dave

Sounds like a super day out, BB. Thanks for the behavioural shots regarding the Marsh Frits. Some interesting stuff going on there.

Your first Adonis Blue is sublime. The light levels must have been just right.

A cracking series of Marsh Fritillary photos Bugboy and I am particularly taken by that female Wall Brown

Great stuff,

Neil.

Thanks Chris, I suspect most of those Marshies were way past their sell by date by the time I posted that though, I'm still behind by 2 weeks!
Thanks Wurzel, I may have to sweet talk my chauffeur again
Thanks Dave, yes those Small Blues are worse than Purple Emperors aren't they
Thanks David, yes the light levels for that Adonis were spot on, and he sat for ages for me, I just couldn't ignore him!
Thanks Neil, She was a stunner wasn't she

20th May
No big day out today, a lay in and couple of hours wandering Epping Forest kept me occupied. The weather wasn’t brilliant but there was enough sunny spells to start with to create some activity. A few Speckled Wood were active, still way down on the numbers I would be expecting to find though. On the other hand, moths seem to be having a good year, it seemed to be raining moth caterpillars. Here we have a Small Quaker and some Geometrids. The woodland rides remained rather barren on the butterfly front though, the June gap arriving early here it would seem. It wasn’t until I came to one of the many clearings that things livened up. I can normally come across one or two Small Copper here but today there was a mini glut of them with some of the females looking very nice. Others weren’t in such good shape... And one had come to a rather sticky end! Small Heath were also around, this one with a rather diminutive eye spot. Soon after it began to cloud over again, just a brief sunny spell as I was leaving causing me to pause and admire a freshly emerged Cinnabar.

Hi Bugboy. Been away for a couple of weeks and only now catching up with the diaries.
I love your set of Marshie photos, they are as vibrant as they get.
As for the Small Blues at Pitstone, I will forgive you for unleashing your hairy legs on us all. Those photos are fantastic

Regards
Kev

A bit of a 'festival of the ordinary' there, BB, but I experience quite a few of those myself.

Sometimes it's good to just get out and relax without any of the 'highly desirables' on the menu.

Common though it is, it just shows that you struggle to beat a good Small Copper!

Just catching up on posts Bugboy, you've made my day, I couldn't stop smiling at those Blues on your legs and those Marshie's in a circle looked like they were doing a dance fantastic shots Goldie

Catching up with your diary again, bugboy. Love those Marshies and had a laugh over the Blues on your hairy legs!
Janet

Thanks Kevling, I think I got perfect light to bring out their colours that day
That's very true David, get the sun on a Coppers wing at the right angle and they're close to unbeatable. Just imagine if they were as big as a Purple Emperor, you'd travel the length of the country to see one!
Thanks Janet and Goldie, I'm glad my legs are keeping you entertained.... I think

21st May
I had two days left of my nine-day break from work, so just time to fit in a few more season debuts. First off, a visit to Hutchinson’s Bank to find a Glanville or two. Arriving at the entrance to the lower path I was immediately accosted by the first butterfly of the day, a Small Blue who made a bee line (or should that be a Cupido line) to my leg.

Next up was quite a reasonably fresh Green Hairstreak who distracted me from my target for 10 minutes as he played hard to get. More Small blues were dotted along the path and Brimstones patrolled and flirted but not much else, so I wandered up to the cutting where almost immediately, I found the days target, gorging on Horseshoe Vetch on the bank making for a very easy target . Another one was enjoying buttercups A rather nice female Common Blue also caught my eye along with some fresh Small Blue whilst several Brimstone fluttered around and a Small Copper escaped my camera. Over at the edge main scrape I found a familiar sight whilst on the scrape they split their time feeding, basking or trying to get up to no good No Glanville’s were here but making my way back along the lower path I found the third, and freshest looking, of the day. He was flighty, fidgety chap who more often than not waiting until I was down on knees and elbows before darting off a few feet along the path leaving me with lots of beautifully composed closeups of the empty path and blades of grass Other species seen were singletons of Speckled Wood, Grizzled Skipper, Orange-tip and my first Large Skipper of the year, interestingly a female, some of whom sat still for me. I also watched a female Green Hairstreak going about her important task of making sure there’ll be more next year, adding that species to my ‘egg tick list’. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen a Glanville so it was good to catch up with them again

Splendid Small Blues again, Buggy. HB really is the place to go for them. Your freshest Glanville may well be the one I saw in the same spot a day or two later - a very nice butterfly.

Cheers,

Dave

Great to see the HB Glanvilles Bugboy and the numbers of Small Blues I echo what you think about the Small Copper - an Emperor sized one of those; a Giant Copper - what a sight to see that would be

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Nice work with the Glanvilles, BB. You have a bit of spring and summer together in that post. Some soon to be lost and others about to explode....if only the weather would improve.

Thanks Dave, I think you're probably right, once they find a spot to patrol they don't seem to move very far
Thanks Wurzel, yes they can reach pestilence levels at HB in good years
Thanks David, Those spring species do seem to be hanging on with more tenacity than most years though.

22nd May (part 1)
My last day of my mini break from work and just time for another trip into Sussex to catch up with another species. The first Sussex Small Pearls had been recorded the week before in one of the release sites so I hoped they were out in Abbots Wood too by now.

I was halted in my search shortly after entering the wood, coming across a couple of Green Hairstreaks flitting around some late flowering Bluebells, one of whom was particularly fresh, surprisingly so considering it was nearly June. It also gave me the chance of getting some shots of one on Bluebells, something that I’ve been unable to get up until now. Happy with what I'd got I finally managed to drag myself away (I’d spent over half an hour with them) and marched on towards the Fritillary hotspots. At the first two the Pearls were still active and present in reasonable numbers but like last year no Small Pearls were around. A replacement Small Copper was occupying the same spot as the one both Trevor and I had seen at the beginning of the month On the way to the third regularly occupied clearing I found what I think is a Pale Eggar moth Caterpillar, a handsome fellow! The third clearing itself is so far the only place I’ve ever come across a Small Pearl at Abbots Wood and so it was once again, a fresh male sticking out like a sore thumb. It’s no wonder he’d already suffered a bird attack, flaunting himself like that! It had gone a little cloudy and cool so he made a good subject. When the sun reappeared things livened up a bit, not the plagues that were being seen at the other Sussex sites but I spent a good hour watching both species of Boloria going about their business. Male Pearls would follow female Small Pearls only for them to discover their mistake when the female landed, whilst the female Pearls skulked around avoiding the males so they could feed and lay eggs unaccosted. The Small Pearls seemed to ignore each other though, perhaps the males were just too fresh? Like my other visits here this year, other species which I would expect to come across were very thin on the ground with no Whites at all and just one or two Speckled Wood and Brimstone. Anyway, that was the morning, the afternoons findings will appear in the next post