www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thanks Wurzel. Yup, SSB really do like their own company don't they
Well David, wonder no more !
Thanks Goldie

26th June (part 1)
Time for my first effort of the year to find the Purple One at Bookham. The past two years have been rather good here compared to previous years, not the dozens that come down at other Emperor meccas but then you only need one to make your day really. I’d heard word that the first had been seen the previous week so now seemed like a good time to try my luck

It was quite a gloomy start to the day but not cold and there was the promise the gloom would lift for a sunny mid-morning. In the meantime I passed the time with a few critters who aren’t bothered by a bit of gloom. Upon reaching the most well-known Emperor master trees (should be called arenas really in my book) a largish butterfly shot past me, did a few circuits and landed on the bracken just long enough for a couple of distant record shots before shooting off again to the other side of the clearing. Just a Painted Lady but still worth following in the absence of anything else, until that is I caught sight of something out the corner of my eye which instantly made me forget all about the Lady. He sat there like a true star, doing his best to warm up. Occasionally a bit of breeze caught him, causing him to close his wings giving me the chance to get both sides. I’d just messaged Millerd who said he was on his way and to not let him get away when…. when he got away. I slight brightening in the light levels sent him up to join his buddys, sorry Dave .

By the time Dave arrived it had brightened up enough for a bit more activity. Silver-washed Frits and White Admirals were now awake, along with good numbers of Large Skippers. A few tatty, exhausted Painted Ladies were around but our attention was drawn to a much fresher individual, if it wasn’t home grown then it emerged not far over the Channel for sure! At the next sunny glade we found both White and Red Admirals worthy of our attention. Later in the day we would be cursing this particular Red Admiral! Also here was a White Admiral that seemed to be lacking somewhat in the white dept. It never landed unfortunately so we were left wondering what it would have looked like. We hadn’t yet had a sniff of an Emperor, and since it was now well into the afternoon we decided to head back to the master trees, getting another even briefer glimpse of a Black Admiral. It looked to have even less white markings and it was a fair distance from the other one so we surmised it was a second insect, no photo evidence though .

Tbc

Lovely shot of the Purple Hair Streak Bugboy unusual to find one with it's wings so bright and opened Goldie

Those shots of your male Purple Hairstreak are enough to make one feel quite unwell.

Hello BB.

Just catching up on diaries and yours is a cracker. Where to begin....Swallowtails, BHS, Frits and loads more all beautifully photographed. Many thanks for sharing

First time I have seen a green hairstreaks uppers that isn't a drawing

Lovely shots of the PH Paul Reckon Trevor would have paid good money to be there Still waiting to see these SWF abs.

Cracking shot of the PH, that's a mighty bit special Still to see one this year all y hopes rest on this coming weekend
"but then you only need one to make your day really" I totally concur

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Excellent work with the male Purple Hairstreak, BB. That second image is worthy of the species-specific gallery on here.

Thanks Goldie, the trick is to find one early in the morning that's freshly emerged
I'll take that as a compliment Trevor
Thanks Wolf, it's a pleasure to share what I find on my rambles in the countryside
Thanks Pauline, there's still a bit of a backlog so you'll just have to be patient I'm afraid
Thanks David , just a case of being in the right place at the right time

26th June (part 2)
On the way to the Emperor master trees we bumped into a chap who had just seen a Yellow-legged Clearwing Moth. It had given him the slip and he’d failed to get a picture but the thing with these guys is that they only lay their eggs on freshly cut wood, usually Oak, anything older than a year just won’t do. Just one more reason why a properly managed woodland increases biodiversity.

Anyway, the chap also mentioned the Emperors had been seen at the master trees so off we went and after a few minutes a couple of males revealed themselves. Obviously, they didn’t come down so we were left to gaze up at them and for me to break out my big lens. We moved on to do a final circuit when our necks had had enough. With the heat of the day now at it’s peak there was very little willing to sit still but we did manage a few bits and pieces as we wandered back to the spot where we had seen the first White Admiral ab. The WA ab was still about, just making fleeting flybys. The fact that it was still here confirmed we had seen two during our wanderings.
I can’t remember what I was focusing on at one point but I was suddenly told to stand still by Dave, that pristine Red Admiral from earlier had decided to annex me. I’m not entirely sure where he landed, we’ll have to wait for Dave’s post for that. Anyway, the two sweaty middle-aged men seemed to be irresistible to him, we were both annexed into atalanta territory. A couple of minutes passed as we enjoyed his company when I suddenly caught sight of the White Admiral ab on a nearby Bramble blossom take flight. The whole thing had been a ruse, Red distracting us so White can sneak in unnoticed to feed ! Well thankfully White relented, after doing a few circuits it settled somewhere within reach, not perfect but enough to show the much reduced white markings. Well that was a long day, over 9 hours spent wandering around Bookham, it’s a good job I like this place. Throughout the day I couldn’t help but notice that Dragonfly numbers are also building, these are females of Ruddy Darter and Black-tailed Skimmer.

bugboy wrote:...that was a long day, over 9 hours spent wandering around Bookham, it’s a good job I like this place.

Wow. That's a real marathon, BB. Mind you, it's no wonder you like the place with such a great array of species on offer. I wish I had somewhere similar locally.

29th June
The forecaster’s had predicted this to be the hottest day of the year so far and for once they were spot on . Sensible people would be looking for shade, taking things easy and perhaps supping on something cool. Not me though, I was up at the crack of dawn trying to beat the heat of the day… and failing. At 7.30am the slopes of Box Hill were already alive with hundreds of Marbled White Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Skippers were also all very active and so was my other target, Dark Green Fritillaries. Even this early in the morning the males were already far too active for any settled pictures and I was left to try and catch them as they fluttered through the grass in search of virgins. There was no shortage of targets though, perhaps as many as 30 were on the wing. It’s not surprising with so many Marbled Whites that I found a mating pair, what was surprising is that I only found the one pair! At least they provided a sitting target. By 10 it was becoming unbearably hot and I had arranged to meet up with Millerd at Bookham, so I left the Butterflies of Box Hill for the cooler woodland habitat. Being so hot it was inevitable that I had become a tad sweaty, hopefully enough to tempt something down from the treetops . As it turned out it was probably too hot for most of Bookhams butterflies, with not a great deal visible.

The most notable find was a Purple Hairstreak in the middle of the path as I was walking up to the car park to meet Dave. He didn’t attempt to fly off so I coaxed him onto my finger with the intention of popping him to one side so he didn’t get squished but there seemed to be something rather wrong with him. He couldn’t sit up straight and could only walk in tight circles. Anyway since Dave had missed quite a few Purple Hairstreaks so far this season I thought I’d meet him bearing gifts. We spent an hour or so wandering around but what we did see was all temperature regulating and there was little if anything keeping its wings open.

Great image of all those Dark Green Fritillaries, Paul.
Such a scene could once be seen near me at Birling Gap,
but that site is much quieter these days.
And my comment on your male Purple Hairstreak, was indeed a complement!.

Trevor.

Thanks Trevor. It's my understanding that the DGF population at Box Hill has been growing for some years now. This year does seem to have been particularly bountiful and I know they are found over a much wider range than that I explored, so I wouldn't have been too surprised to have found they numbered into 3 figures across the whole site!
I still have plenty more Purple Hairstreak action awaiting in the wings

30th June
The following day I planned a similar serious of events. A cooler day with a bit more cloud predicted might mean I’d have better luck with the DGF and there may be more on the wing at Bookham. It was cooler but it was still warm enough for the Fritillaries to be rather frisky. They did however settle more frequently and with a bit pf careful stalking and perseverance I managed a few closeups I also managed two mating pairs of Marbled White and as I was leaving, I found a Lime Hawkmoth. The day unfortunately ended rather abruptly then since trains on the Bookham line had come to a grinding halt. I could have gone back to Box Hill but I chose to go home for a relaxing afternoon sifting through the growing backlog of photos

Good work with the DGFs - they can be tricky little blighters They're adept at flying for an absolute age and then they either pull a sudden turn (so sudden that if they were a plane their wings would rip off) and they're gone from sight or they drop down and disappear completely from view
" but I chose to go home for a relaxing afternoon sifting through the growing backlog of photos " Know that feeling

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wonderful to see so many DGFs flying, BB. Sooner or later you stumble across a torpid one when numbers are so great.

Same with Marbled Whites, although this is a butterfly that DOES seem to get up earlier than the rest (Wall Browns excepted). They're always up and about before breakfast when I'm in France, and they seem to keep going all day too, unlike many other species (no wonder they're always gorging themselves on thistles, scabious, etc)!

Catching up on your posts Buggy, what fantastic shots you've posted lately and such a variety of species
especially the coupling ones of the Marbled White Goldie

Thanks David and Wurzel. I should know by now not to try getting DGF in hot weather
Thanks Goldie, you're not doing to bad yourself, I hope your stay down south continues to be good to you

1st July
I took a break from Bookham today and went east into Essex for the afternoon, hoping for a final audience of the year with the WLH at Hadleigh Country Park… and also to try and find some Essex Skippers which seem to be avoiding me at the moment!

I was too late for the Hairstreaks though, the few remaining bramble flowers were lacking the distinctive mini shark fins of the Hairstreaks, their season here was either over or there just wasn’t the incentive to bring them down anymore. A few Hutchinsoni Comma made up for it though, after a poor spring they seem to be having a healthy resurgence . Marbled White seem to be having a rather good season too, even turning up in places where I’ve not seen them before. SmEssex Skippers abounded, and in the afternoon sun were particularly difficult to pin down for any length of time, but enough sat still for positive I’d’s of both species, at last I could tick of Essex Skippers for the year. Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Large Skippers were also rather active, and all mostly well past their best, but fresh Commas continued to pop up with a comforting regularity. After an hour of wandering around I made my way to the Heath Fritillary wood, managing not to get completely lost for once. Where on my last visit there was upwards of 50 I now found just a couple of hangers on, looking particularly lonely. Exploring the wider area around the original overgrown clearing I was buoyed to find a few others flitting around some fresher, more recently cleared areas. It looks like they’ll be here for another year at least Other than a few Ringlets and Meadow Browns there was little else here and by the time I’d returned to Hadleigh Country Park it had clouded over. It was however still quite warm so the Skippers were significantly easier to pin down for a photo shoot. Before leaving there was just time to have a final look for some Hairstreaks, finally managing to see two or three, mostly out of reach or lurking in the shadows. Oh well, I’ll see their children next year I’m sure

Great set of shots Bugboy Love those Heaths - another one of the very variable butterflies Seeing your Essex images makes the identification seem so easy, they're so obviously Essex...in the field though it's still a different matter , I'm thinking in investing in some knee pads

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Shame about the WLHs, BB, but Heath Fritillaries are more than adequate compensation not to mention the hutchinsoni Commas and the Essex Skippers).

I am trying to catch up on a few diaries, some great reports and photos in your recent reports Bugboy. I am particularly impressed by that male Purple Hairstreak a few posts back, a superb image of a beautiful fresh example.

Cheers,

Neil.

I'm thinking of investing in a private osteopath Wurzel
Thanks David, there's always something new about to keep me occupied
Thanks Neil, you did pretty good recently with one of those too

3rd July (part 1)
Normal proceedings were resumed today with return to Bookham, still on the lookout for an Emperor on the ground… I had to make do with one of these though. I was however to be more than compensated by the local Silver-washed Fritillary population. This first one to settle was somewhat dusky, a marginal ab. Several normal also posed when this particular one caught my eye, a fresh confluens ab. Who, when it clouded over for a bit decided to show off his beautiful underside abiness too He fluttered off when the sun briefly popped out but when I looked up, I found yet another SWF ab flaunting himself as if to say, call that an ab, I’M an ab! They weren’t the only ab’s around today either, I saw no less than four black Admirals in various corners of the wood, all far enough from each other to safely presume they were separate insects. Not one of them presented itself for a photo though, only one settled but not in a place where I could train my camera on it even for a record shot, oh well, you can’t win them all.

Red Admirals were, as usual, doing reasonable impressions of Purple Emperors but none of that particular target were seen, even around the master trees. A couple who were doing some sort of wildlife survey stopped to chat briefly and mentioned that they were coming down in the afternoon here this year. I got the impression this came from word of mouth rather than first-hand sightings but just on the off chance the Emperors had decided to ignore their routine behaviour this year I decided to come back later. There was plenty of other activity here this morning, the usual suspects of Skippers, Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Purple Hairstreaks, Comma and the odd Painted Lady all keeping me company, although the only Hairstreak that sat for me today really didn’t have any choice in the matter. It might well have been the same one from my previous visit here that could only walk in tight circles. tbc