www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

“Really good to be at Butterfly Conservation’s members day in Cheltenham, yesterday with Melissa who took this picture. We got some Alder Buckthorn which was still in leaf (a caterpillar food plant of the Brimstone).
Brimstone Butterflies were present in Sweden, on about the same latitude as the Shetland Islands in Scotland.
Brimstone Butterflies were absent on a Brimstone distribution map of Scotland.”
Hopefully, I will catch up with news of the re-introduction (natural or otherwise), of this butterfly in Scotland, later.

I love these 'slo-mo's' you post, Phil. I must experiment with the video recording element of my Panasonic next year to see if I can capture similar footage.

Thanks David.
'With my oldish iPhone, we record at 240 frames per second.
I personally have not managed to record a lightning bolt yet with my camera but my reflexes are improving '( ).

Lincolnshire Butterfly Conservation have started their winter coppicing work in Southrey Wood.
Steve Green has done a good job organising people.
This video Melissa and I took last year in March before we had met 'the guys' from Butterfly Conservation in Lincolnshire.
I hope it is a reasonably accurate and fair reflection of some of the work done there:

https://youtu.be/7bTyppxWn1s

"For some reason, I really could not find much information about which moth species feed on Wood Anemone leaves in the UK Spring. I hope someone else can help me there.
More research is needed. More research was needed.
If hoverflies are thought to pollinate Wood Anemone, but some have said that the plant usually remains sterile, I think that not enough is widely known about it's best management requirements. One person said that it takes 500 years for a carpet of wood anemone to become established in an ancient wood. With management work (particularly in the winter), to specifically encourage that species, that statement simply isn't true.
More research is important for those with Butterfly Conservation in mind, as the Wood Anemone is considered to be an ancient woodland indicator species.

For sure, I think our UK Butterflies have evolved with violets.
Orange Tip and Brimstone are attracted to their very small 'purple' or violet flowers in March and April when there is little else with a substantial, easy to get at, tasty nectar source in our ancient, semi natural woodands.
Numerous UK Butterfly caterpillars feed on violet leaves which indicates to me, that they once carpeted our very ancient woodland floors.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiti ... d-anemone/

'A Chalke Grassland' habitat video'.
We were at a National Trust Property near Guildford in Surrey. - April 2017.
https://youtu.be/boTkVEwWozQ

"It might be quite hard to get an Orange Tip Butterfly to naturally pose on a daffodil because they (and other United Kingdom native Spring butterflies), generally, do not feed on their nectar source": 'Gardeners 'Deadhead' daffodils to encourage the plants to put energy into bulb division'.

That's a lovely contrast between butterfly and flower, Phil. Must admit, I don't think I've ever seen any butterfly nectaring from daffodils. Crocuses, yes, and bluebells quite regularly, but never daffs!

Great shot Phil I've not seen them taking nectar from Daffs but I have seen a number using them it at a perch or roosting site, I reckon its because they have nice big petals and the tubular shape gives them strength

Have a goodun

Wurzel

"Thank you for your contributions 'Wurzel' and David.
As I write, there are now daffodil heads appearing in a garden in Lincoln. Not long now.
I have yet to see any flowering in Lincolnshire but I have not been to the right locations to see the 'early narcissi' or the 'greenhouse grown'. We have seen the 'cut flowers', flowering rather early in supermarkets.
In the south of the United Kingdom, where the season was slightly more advanced, there were very few 'daffs' flowering in 2017 by April 11th.
I think I have a picture from 2016 of a Small Tortoiseshell, very briefly entering a daffodil head (proboscis first), but it was thought, generally speaking, they only try it once at most. I will edit that picture back here later (if I can find it).

'Common Blue Proboscis Study -27th May 9:57 -9:58'
'When thinking about extracting a McDonalds milkshake through a 'broad channeled straw' and the suck power required for the thick milkshake to enter ones mouth, it became more obvious to me that 'sticky nectar could be retracted into a butterflies head in 'drip form', or stuck around the outside of the curled up end of the proboscis.
How much use a butterfly makes of that form of feeding is unclear to me.
Some Butterflies often leave their perch with the proboscis not curled up and can be retracted back into their mouths, while in flight, later (another study).
I think that a proboscis varies considerably between species.
A Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth, which uses much energy at the same time as feeding has quite a long straight, apparently more obviously tubular, long proboscis that it holds quite straight for longish periods. One might say that it needs to extract nectar fast, to make up for the energy loss, while not landing and not remaining still while feeding.
https://youtu.be/ctxMrpmcCc8

https://youtu.be/4awQgjExVos
'We had an opportunity to work on the above video, last night, this morning. I think that we captured
"one of those moments"
Saint Mary's Church, Walton on Thames, is located at the top of the hill in Walton.
It is a very old building (with a roof) and has a mature, traditional churchyard.

On 16th April 2017, there were also, plenty of Holly Blue Butterflies, seen in the sunny periods.

‘If using a camera with a ‘view finder’ and magnification, please don’t look at the sun (high risk of eye damage), unless one has a specialised filter.
Please view video, here are a couple of 'artistic screen shot frames' for a taste: Video shot at 240 frames per second -iPhone 6Splus (with software updates).”

That's a great video Phil, Aprils not too far a way now Goldie

Thank You. I was happy to work on this document again today, The edit here is to do with:
"cool Spring flight times" ('cooler Spring flight times)'

'In comparison with (for example) The Purple Emperor Butterfly, which emerges mid-summer through to July, average daily temperatures in England are much higher then'

Thanks for posting that delightful (almost hypnotic) Speckled Wood video, Phil. It gave me quite a lift on this most miserable of St David's Days!

Thanks David,
I had not yet seen the flight slow motion of some species, other than 'take off' and 'landing' but please keep me up to date if there is something i have missed.
Their flight is amazing in slow motion and I also think more can be learn't about mid air collisions (of butterflies) and deliberate 'near misses.

I love these 'off beat' sequences, Phil. I hope you can provide a few more during the year as they are quite fascinating (even though most of us see them for ourselves).

I must get round to experimenting with my own video setting on my camera!

"Thanks David, my iPhone does 240 frames a second. Swifts and Swallows seen recently on
BBC iplayer catch up, I think were recorded at 1500 frames a second, so I think.
a rainy Spring day in Lincolnshire, I made this for you guys"
https://youtu.be/Mrt9bzMpLKM
.

Cracking video Phil - really brightened up my day - so much so that I was almost out the door with my camera...only to realise it was getting dark and snowing

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks 'wurzel', I have just added that one to the Species Specific Videos. I am very happy for 'you guys' to critique the narrative here (as it might help me make future publishing improvements).
Here is another seasonal,fun Brimstone video, made last year with Melissa:
https://youtu.be/buhdHwmFWKU

PhilBWright wrote:“Really good to be at Butterfly Conservation’s members day in Cheltenham, yesterday with Melissa who took this picture.
IMG_8503.jpg
We got some Alder Buckthorn which was still in leaf (a caterpillar food plant of the Brimstone).
Brimstone Butterflies were present in Sweden, on about the same latitude as the Shetland Islands in Scotland.
Brimstone Butterflies were absent on a Brimstone distribution map of Scotland.”
Hopefully, I will catch up with news of the re-introduction (natural or otherwise), of this butterfly in Scotland, later.

I have just seen this Phil. I would be very interested to know more about Alder Buckthorn and Brimstones in Scotland. I have just planted ten Alder Buckthorn plants in a new hedge I am putting in near Selkirk. I have heard that most years there are one or two records of Brimstones in Selkirkshire, so thought I would give them a helping hand if Brimstones wanted to move up here!
I don't think we have much in the way of Alder Buckthorn in Scotland, so I guess that is limiting the spread of Brimstones.

Melissa and I were very fortunate to meet the BBC presenter, Matthew Oates, recently who has worked with the:
National Trust &
Friends of Bookham Commons.

He gave a talk about the Purple Emperor Butterfly (PE) species.
Until then, I had not seen or heard an argument presented for the PE's use of Honey Dew (aphid secretion), to be 'irrelevant', 'somewhat irrelevant' or 'nonsense'.

I think that removing 'non native' Turkey Oaks on a Bookham Common is a political ambition, anyway, as they tend to be some of the tallest trees near the top of the Common. Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris) has different shaped leaves to our native 'master trees' and are used by fewer native English Species, in comparison to our native Quercus rubur.

Impressive, Phil. Hope you enjoyed your encounter.