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bugboy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 03, 2020 8:35 pm....The real dirth of butterflies recently has been noted by others and the lack of any notable rain in my neck of the woods for a good two months has really started to show here, in places it looks like the end of August, not May..

that's quite a sobering image for the month of May, Paul. Clearly, the Met Office weren't lying when they said that this spring has been the driest and sunniest on record.

That's the kind of sight that greets me in eastern Spain in late July. The fact that it's in the UK in spring is actually rather worrying.

Some great recent reports Bugboy with an interesting variety of stuff.

I particularly like the Burnet Companion photo, I have never seen one on a bramble flower before

Cheers,

Neil.

Thanks Wurzel, Milli Vanilli with the backing track turned off
Is is indeed a bit of a worry David and as we know this year isn't an isolated event, things got very parched early on last year too. We had some serious thundery downpours yesterday afternoon but going out this morning you wouldn't know it, just a bit damp in places. I think we have some more rain on its way next week though which will be welcome, not just to water everything but to also keep the muppets inside who are busy trampling over what little grass is left
Thanks Neil, yes the Burnet companion on Bramble was a new one for me as well

May 2020
Thursday 28th. The night before my Red Admiral was getting ready to pupate. I hoped he would wait but I missed him. Not by much though, he was still a bit wet when I checked on him first thing in the morning, so couldn’t have missed him by much more than half an hour, always the way . The day was another wander round Epping Forest where once again I explored some new areas. Small Heath were relatively numerous again in the usual open areas with plenty of fresh females around now to keep the frisky males occupied . One of the new areas I explored turned out to be a bit of Speckled Wood Nirvana, dozens of hyperactive males flitted around here. Being a bit on the warm side meant that they were generally hiding from the sun when settled. A few Whites flitted around but the only other butterflies that I saw sitting still were some Blues In the woodland I also located another three Great-spotted Woodpecker nests. The noisy occupants are getting bigger and braver now. And on the lake I spent a bit of time watching the Common Tern that seems to have set up home here. Hopefully some summer species will be out soon to fill the void

bugboy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 07, 2020 12:35 pm..Hopefully some summer species will be out soon to fill the void.

Yes, a bit quiet here too, Paul, except for Meadow Browns which suddenly seem to have exploded. They'll soon be joined by Ringlets and it'll be like the 'June Gap' has never happened.

Nice to see your Red Admiral has successfully pupated. With any luck you'll be able to catch it emerging.

Cracking shots of the Small Heaths Bubgboy especially the tantalizing view of the topside - they're right teases those Small Heath

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

More like a May gap round here David, the Meadow Browns here have just started to appear over the past week, just in one's and twos though. I might be lucky to catch a Ringlet at work (normally see two or three) but I've never seen one on the marshes. They should in theory be in Epping Forest but again, I've never seen one as yet there .
Thanks Wurzel, full on little teasers they are, hiding behind blades of grass, waiting until you line up the shot and then buggering off, flashing the uppers ocasionally, they have the full set of moves !

May 2020
Friday 29th. This morning, my remaining fifteen Peacock larvae from the older batch were busy with their final moult. Today was also the day when my younger batch, who had recently moulted to 2nd instar, where returned to freedom on the marshes. Also on the marshes the Holly Blues had been busy with the egg laying on the Goat’s-rue but there was very little on the wing. Out of curiosity (and perhaps a little bit of desperation) I explored the nearby Leyton Jubilee park but despite a fair amount of wildflower seeding that has gone on here, the butterfly life was as barren as the rest of the day had been, a single Small White gaining my full attention. The afternoon became increasingly cloudy so I didn’t expect to see much else but a female Holly Blue provided a welcome distraction on the way home. She was obsessing over some Bedstraw but I think she was just a little confused with all the Goat’s-rue that was close by, the air must have been full of the scent of it! I also caught sight of my first Large Skipper of the year but he proved to be a little tricky to pin down .

I didn't have to wait too long though, on Saturday 30th my lunchtime walk at work enabled me to pin down a slightly less frisky Large Skipper, hopefully the first of many . There was also a freshly emerged Small Tortoiseshell who WAS very frisky.

Meanwhile, my Peacock Larvae at home were chomping through nettle like there was no tomorrow, looking very smart in their new skins. I’m glad I returned most of them back to the wild!

That's a really interesting shot of the Small White Bugboy I love the pose it's throwing

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Peacock caterpillars get through phenomenal amounts of nettles. Just rearing a couple of dozen can mean going out for fresh fodder twice a day, and you don't half get funny looks from people as you attack the nettle beds with a pair of scissors and stuff the stalks into a carrier bag! I'll be interested to see how they do, and how many end up being parasitised.

Cheers,

Dave

Those Peacock larvae DO look stunning, Paul, replete with their fresh instar clothing! They will get even greedier as they approach pupation so you're going to have your hands full.

Given the good numbers of Small Tortoiseshells that have emerged lately, I'm presuming Peacocks will also be quite plentiful very soon.....including a dozen or more of your own.

Thanks Wurzel, that Small White was busy fluttering up the flower spike and I caught it mid flutter
Haha, yes I've had more than a few odd looks picking nettles Dave, although I have seen a good few people doing similar things with Elder flowers recently and they always look a little sheepish when I walk past them . I'm fairly confident none of mine will be parasitised though since I've had them since eggs. I'm pretty sure those that get parasitised as eggs never hatch.
Thanks David, there's definitely gonna be a lot round near me, even without my helping hands, they've had an amazing spring! I'm hoping this rain we're now getting will provide nice lush fresh nettles for second brood Small Tortoiseshells too.

June 2020
Monday 1st. Off to Epping Forest again today, leaving my Peacock larvae filling their new skins at a rate of knots. I found another batch of Peacock larvae at Epping, they really are EVERYWHERE at the moment. I also got scolded by a Lesser Whitethroat as I presumably wandered a little too close to a hidden nest. A Goldfinch had found a prominent perch and was proudly singing away. The hedgerows were alive with fledgling Tits of all types, Blue Tits being the most obvious and, in the woodland, some Great-spotted Woodpecker chicks had finally left the nest and were busy chasing mum and dad noisily through the trees! Another unseasonally warm day meant that when I caught up with some butterflies, they were already being hyperactive little sods but as befitted the first day of summer, those first butterflies were a couple of Meadow Brown. Also buzzing around the same patch of sunlit Brambles was a single Large Skipper, possibly a female, the forewings are very rounded. Speckled Wood Nirvana once again lived up to its name and on the other side I found a small meadow covered in Sheeps Sorrel. No Small Coppers around (I think I missed the first brood judging by the condition of the few I have seen here) but there was an aged Comma hiding from the sun. As the day continued to heat up, what butterflies were around became less and less approachable so I contented myself with mostly watching Small Heath and Common Blue scrapping in the grassland and Speckled Wood battling over the prime sunny glades. Other life that I came across during the days wandering included a family of Mallard having a spruce up, A Black-tailed Skimmer Dragonfly, a family of Canada Geese and a Willow Warbler proudly singing the song of his people Stay safe

Lovely sequence of shots Bugboy, the weather here has been awful so it's great see so many different shots Goldie

Cracking sequence of shots Bugboy That Comma is doing really well to have lasted this long - it (if it's still around now) managed to cross over with the H.Commas

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

I do like all those Speckled Wood shots! The ones I see hide in hot weather, or sit edge-on to the sun making those underside shots impossible. You managed to get yours to pose beautifully.

Cheers,

Dave

Thanks Goldie, it's not been that great down here recently but it been very much needed with no rain to speak of through April and May!
Thanks Wurzel, yup a real old lady that Comma, possibly hanging around long enought of see her offspring !
Thanks Dave, I got lucky with those few shots. Most of them posed like you say but I managed these moments before they shifted positions to avoid overheating

June 2020
Tuesday 2nd. Another morning walk around the familiar territory of the marshes again today. My first encounter was a rather nice-looking Small Tortoiseshell. They seem to be doing relatively ok this year. As I was taken its picture, I could hear some avian scolding going on and when the Torty flew off I looked around to find a déjà vu moment. Just like yesterday I’d wandered close to a Lesser Whitethroat nest, the parents clearly having some hungry mouths to feed. Butterflies were as usual, few and far between, something I’m getting very used to this year. I spent a bit of time with a Holly Blue and found females of Common Blue and Small Heath, the latter doubling the total amount I’ve ever seen here now. After checking on the Peacock larvae I’d put back on my last visit (happily I found they’d successfully moulted to 3rd instar, and were busy demolishing the nettle bed) I came across another Small Tortoiseshell taking a very keen interest in a nearby nettle bed. We desperately need some rain to get these nettles nice and lush again for her children! A look on the Buckthorn found a few Brimstone larvae but I still can’t locate any pupae (there’s a good chance I’ve looked at a few and not realised it over the past few weeks). In contrast to Epping Forest, just a single Speckled Wood was seen today, a nice fresh male though. I’m still waiting to see if the local Dabchicks manage to hatch anything (still no sign) but a pair of Grey wagtail who stopped by to pose provided ample compensation. As usual Holly Blues were busy on the Goat’s-rue on the way back, they really can’t leave this stuff alone! Before heading home I took a detour around the wetlands where a small flock of Black-headed Gulls were feeding off something floating on the surface (on looking at the pictures on my computer I could see they were peanuts, presumably chucked in by the fishermen dotted along the banks of the reservoirs) and a pair of Shelduck were out with the kids I finished the outing watching a fresh female Brimstone flitting around a grassy bank who led me to a fresh Meadow Brown and then to a Brown Argus nearing the other end of its life.

I feel a bit sorry for H.Commas Bugboy - it can be a bit embarrassing when you're hanging out with your mates and your mum rocks up Good news about the Small Torts - hopefully the next brood can put in a good showing

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel, from various reports it looks like Small Torts are having a decent year across the board, fingers crossed it continues

June 2020
Saturday 6th. Just a couple of hours out on the marshes early today, avoiding the weekend rush. Unfortunately, it was mostly overcast and I saw just a single butterfly, it was a beaut though and made the trip out worthwhile. When I got home, I noticed my Red Admiral was close to emerging, at only 8 days old it had nearly caught me out . Over the past 48 hours my Peacocks had also been busy metamorphosing and I now had 15 Peacock pupae. Interesting to note the ones that chose to pupate amongst the nettles were all green whereas the ones which pupated on the mesh roof of their current home darkened off brown. At some point in the afternoon I took my eye off the ball and missed the red Admiral emerging You’ll have to wait until the next post to see its stunning uppers.

Those Peacock pupae are beautifully marked, especially the green variety. Great shots. That is very quick for the Red Admiral - only just over a week. I need to keep an eye on the one I have currently on the kitchen windowsill... That's a lovely Small Tortoiseshell, too - there definitely are quite a few around at the moment. Could be that a fair few more council mowers have been idle this spring and the nettles have been allowed to grow and nuture nests of caterpillars for a change.

Cheers,

Dave

Fantastic pupae - I'm looking forward to seeing the emergence sequences!

Guy

Really interesting to see the different colour forms of those pupae Bugboy - especially the shot showing the three in a row Is it just a coincidence that they show more dark marks/stripes as you look from left to right ( from stem towards the tip of the leaf)?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Thanks Dave, its been great rearing them, really brought back childhood memories of sunny summers with numb fingers from all the nettles I’d collect. Always worth the pain when you release handfuls of them into the back garden. The Red Admiral was actually 9 days not 8 (Lockdown fever means I no longer know where weeks start and end) but even so, still a fast turnaround, the Eeles bible says 2 to 3 weeks!
Thanks Guy, just have to hope they don’t all emerge when I’m sleeping or at work, hopefully I’ll catch at least one of them. Woke up this morning to find the first two emerged last night (went to bed just after midnight after watching them all evening )
Thanks Wurzel, I think the three in a row may just be a combination of the different angles they’re all at, different ages and natural variation.


June 2020
Sunday 7th. Time to release yesterdays emergence. It wasn’t the sunniest day, much cloudier than most of the spring so far but it was warm enough for the new Red Admiral to bask and what a stunner. The black rim around the white ‘bialbata’ spot in the red band makes this (according to the literature) Ab. ocellata, quite striking even though it is just a tiny spot. The weather made sure there was little else around, just a juvenile Goldfinch wondering what the strange creature staring at it was. Nearly an hour later I returned to find the Red Admiral hadn’t moved much and some brighter spells encouraged it to finally flutter off to explore its new home. The bright spells also encouraged a couple of Small whites, a nice Holly blue and just as I was about to leave a small orange blur darted past me, my first (and as I post this still my only) Small Skipper of the year. On my travels I also decided to try my hand at rearing some Holly Blues and had picked a few heads of Goat’s-rue which had eggs on. On arriving home and giving them a closer look I found I was already a dad (yet again, I’ve been a dad quite a bit recently). The shed skin of an aphid looking monstrous underneath it.