Ahhh but the point is
MrSp0ck, none of the Skippers were worn, it was just the angle they were in relation to the sun was putting the tips of the antennae in shadow giving the illusion of a dark underside. If an observer was just using the colour of the tip of the underside of the antennae as a diagnostic feature (which every book since around 1900 tells you you should do) then they could easily be fooled.
Thanks
Neil, I too am seeing this, sometimes even when the males sex brand is clearly visible!
Thanks
Goldie, I still can't always work work out what I'm looking at sometimes, I have a fair few SmEssex Skipper images in my back catalogue
Thanks
Wurzel and right in the middle of tick season too, the things we do for our hobby
8th July
Back to Bookham! I was still hopeful of an Emperor grounding, although since the first sightings of a couple flying around the master trees, I’d not seen hide nor hair of one. Still as the last visit showed, there’s always something here to keep me entertained. A gloomy, muggy start to the day meant it was mostly Browns and Skippers lazing around with the odd white disturbed here and there.
Further into the wood the first Silver-washed Fritillary were up and I rescued a struggling Hornet who wasn’t yet warm enough to get airborne and was struggling on some Yorkshire Fog. I moved her to a nearby tree trunk where she seemed a lot more comfortable
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
.
The morning continued to warm up, with occasional breaks in the cloud helping to wake more stuff up, mostly more Browns, Skippers and Fritillaries
But also the Purple Hairstreaks had awoken too. These were mostly to be found coming down in the clearings, flitting around and occasionally landing the bracken, but never long enough or in a place that made lining up a shot a possibility. That was until I caught sight of this one crawling around in the grass, mopping up any moisture it could find. It was so preoccupied it didn’t seem to mind me getting down in the grass with it for a few closeups
![IMG_0240.JPG (115.38 KiB) Viewed 2968 times IMG_0240.JPG](./files/thumb_13753_7ea872ddc41e18eeaf48d0879a059d3e)
![IMG_0251.JPG (110.26 KiB) Viewed 2968 times IMG_0251.JPG](./files/thumb_13753_57d59279471f2b6b9ff3617d64addb85)
![IMG_0261.JPG (112.01 KiB) Viewed 2968 times IMG_0261.JPG](./files/thumb_13753_35dc441e3e13ed1e1df3b9852d9bcd7b)
Late morning found me gazing up at the master trees once more, still no sign of HIM though so I changed tack and went to see if I could find any White Admiral cats, It’s been a few years since I’ve tried to follow some. One reason why I’ve not is the patch of Honeysuckle that was conveniently positioned around a dead Silver Birch had fallen.. well the Birch had taking the Honeysuckle with it. Anyway, things have recovered now, a nearby tree now hosts a nice growth of Honeysuckle and it was here I found a couple of eggs. It’s good to know this patch is still suitable.
![IMG_0330.JPG (142.31 KiB) Viewed 2968 times Spot the eggs](./files/thumb_13753_1afe54e3de1c40c16e1c589c82a98e9a)
- Spot the eggs
More butterflies popped up as I returned for one final look around the master tree, including a few Speckled Wood, signs are that they are finally starting to recover after a dire first half of the season.
Nearing the master trees noticed a familiar shape in the middle of the path.
After taking a few shots I went to coax it onto my finger so it didn’t get squished and discovered why it wasn’t flitting around in the tree tops
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
!
Bizarrely, other than the small detail of missing body parts, she was behaving perfectly normally.
On the way back to the station I couldn’t help but notice significantly more Marbled White than I’ve seen here before. In previous years I’ve seen the odd one here and there but today there were several and mostly in mint condition, strong signs that they are colonising Bookham Commons