www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

It is so interesting that you have butterflies flying when it is so cold. Already we have had a Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell in East Lothian this year, but I fear they will have probably used up vital energy without finding anything to feed on. There are a few ornamental trees and shrubs in flower, so maybe there is a bit of hope for them!

Cracking shots Guy I don't know that much about QoS, I take it that the individual you've photographed would have emerged recently from a caterpillar that pupated and stayed dormant over the winter?
It won't be much longer round our way hopefully, normally the second or third week of February for Small Torts, fingers crossed I might even beat you to it

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Nick and Wurzel. In answer to Nick's point, these winter Queens do seem to be productive. There are fresh Viola tricolor plants in the vineyards, throughout the year and the butterflies themselves can live quite a long time after awaking/emerging. In the past I have photographed the same January/February individuals at intervals of over two weeks, with snowfall and cold weather in between, so they are obviously capable of lying low and waiting - it's not a case of fly and die. Providing male meets female at some stage there are likely to be babies. There are currently very few nectar sources around but I did see some good speedwell growth elsewhere in the vineyards today. The red admiral, sadly, is less likely to be productive. These fly in much smaller numbers in January and February and by now all are almost out of resources. In answer to Wurzel, yes, I think this individual is an emerger, not an adult hibernator. In principle, QoS can hibernate in any stage, but they're not brilliant hibernators and either need constant cold to keep them torpid (as in the north of their range) or must stay torpid for only short periods. In the Rhône Valley vineyards I think it is the latter. In recent years they've seldom been out of play more than about a month.

Guy

Going butterflying in temperatures of -3c!!!

It could only be you, Guy!

David M wrote:It could only be you, Guy!

Who else but Quagmire?

I wasn't imagining it - January was officially the coldest for 30 years. The Météo Suisse report is here: http://www.meteosuisse.admin.ch/home/ac ... acial.html (if you don't read French you can toggle to German or Italian but unfortunately there isn't an English version of the page). That makes it all the more remarkable that Queen of Spain, and more lately red admiral, have managed to put in an appearance.

If February is milder we can expect more to emerge. In recent years, only February 2012 was colder than this January (that was the year all my pipes burst ...). The really big question, though, is whether the 1st instar cardinal larvae will survive. My direct evidence for the colony dates from August 2013 but I suspect it had already been flourishing for a few years so there is reason to believe all will be well. Roll on May!

Guy

I knew eastern parts of Europe had suffered an abnormally cold January, but I didn't know it had extended westwards to encompass Switzerland as well.

Haven't seen any UK statistics yet, but I daresay from a line east of between Lincoln and the Isle of Wight, it has been colder than most years over the past 20 years.

Lots of snow during the week, as anyone following the ski forecasts will know, But today was sunny and for the first time this year Queens were flying in numbers (as opposed to isolated individuals) in the valley, interacting with each other. I photographed four individuals, seeing at least five and perhaps more. Here are the four I photographed:








(a rubbish shot, but the detail on the forewing shows it is a different individual)

Here's my first butterfly shot of the year with two individuals in the same picture:



And an underside:



These were all at my second hotspot. My first hotspot was windy and chilly. There, I saw one Queen on my way out and one on my way back - perhaps the same individual or perhaps not.

The Bulbocodium are in flower.



This plant usually attracts small tortoiseshells but there were none nectaring on it today. It is essentially mid-winter. The Rhône Valley Queens are just anomalous.

Guy

Sunny again today. In my local woods primroses were flowering but to my surprise no small tortoiseshells were flying in their usual hotspots.

The ants have woken up and are rebuilding their nests after a winter of raids by green woodpeckers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F5MRmwHWqU[/video]

(the video isn't showing in my browser, so here's the direct YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F5MRmwHWqU)

I have to leave for Spain tomorrow - on family business - so left Minnie at the kennels in the afternoon. There was a bigger, Minnie lookalike in her pen, that I think she took a shine to. She's the little white one on the left of this picture:



Before I dropped her off I popped into a winter red admiral spot. Although it was a little late in the day, a couple were zooming around and I got a record shot of one:



I also visited a quarry to check for brown hairstreak eggs as I haven't found any on my local bushes yet. I found just one in the quarry (though I didn't spend long looking):



A solitary climber was enjoying the sun:





Guy

A solitary climber was enjoying the sun:

Looking at the picture of that hill, surely he could have found an easier way to get to the top?

Jack

Some people have really weird hobbies

Have a goodun

Wurezl

Aah, poor Minnie! I bet she secretly quite enjoys it though and I guess she'll be delirious with excitement when you return?

Hi Jack and Wurzel. I confess I don't climb, but that's because I have a recurrent dislocating shoulder, after a nasty rugby accident at school. If I tried to reach for a daring hold I could be left dangling on the end of a rope with one arm out of its socket. But a great many of my friends climb and it is an exhiliarating and addictive sport, whatever it may look like to the untrained eye!

I agree with you entirely, David. Minnie will have a great time but will be over the moon to see me again.

On Tuesday I caught the bus from Geneva to Santander, arriving on Wednesday morning. I had a bit of a hunt around urban green spots on Wednesday, finding several speckled woods, a few red admirals, a couple of peacocks, a large white and lots of small whites. I'm keeping my diary proper on my website at http://www.guypadfield.com/butterflyyear.html. On Thursday, my birthday, I saw a few more of the same, before meeting my sister off the ferry from Portsmouth and accompanying her with her two dogs on the long (long!) drive to Córdoba, in the deep south. We didn't arrive until the small hours. Today, Friday, we remained in Córdoba, where I saw just a couple of small whites and a couple of red admirals. Tomorrow I catch an early bus to Málaga where, weather permitting, I expect to be able to find a little more. Currently, the weather is set to be mixed cloud and sun so we will see.

A few of the butterflies so far, all processed on my iPad:















Guy

It doesn't matter how often I see continental Speckled Woods they still look amazing. I'm so used to the ubiquitous cream spotted UK version they just look so exotic!

I've tried climbing myself Guy and it is all that your friends but now I spend my time wandering round fields with a massive lens lating photos of butterflies - much less weird - or is it?

I agree with Bugboy continental Specklies always look like Walls gone wrong to my eye, it strange the difference that a slight change of colour - from cream to orange - can make

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Sounds like a marathon trip you've undertaken, Guy. You certainly deserve a few hours in search of our winged beauties and I'll look forward to seeing what you've encountered.

Thanks Buggy, Wurzel and David. Yes - quite different in appearance these continental speckled woods, despite being essentially the same pattern.

Today I caught the first bus to Málaga, arriving at 11h15. This was much later than I would have liked, but it was Saturday and not even the trains could get me there earlier. As the bus went south we encountered more and more cloud, then mist, and I resigned myself to seeing nothing. Then suddenly, as we reached Málaga itself, it cleared and I arrived to warm sunshine. Between then and when I got back to the bus stop I walked 30km, climbed the equivalent of 211 floors (iPhone keeps careful track of everything you do!) and managed to find 18 species of butterfly. These were: swallowtail, Iberian scarce swallowtail, Spanish festoon, small white, large white, western Bath white, western dappled white, green-striped white, clouded yellow, Polyommatus celina, geranium bronze, long-tailed blue, Provence hairstreak, monarch, painted lady, red admiral, small tortoiseshell and wall. Least expected were the monarchs. I first spotted a couple high in the air, one of which dropped down for a record shot. During the whole day I saw 8 in total, including a mating pair in the air. They were all incredibly mobile and I only photographed one from at all close - and even that one was almost impossible.









I'll probably reprocess a lot of the pictures I took today when I get a chance back home - I've done these on the iPad, knowing that when I get back to Switzerland I'll have very little time to get through them.

Here are a few other shots of some of the species (more on my webpage):


(geranium bronze)


(Polyommatus celina - presumed - this individual is absolutely classic and the species must fly in Málaga)


(Provence hairstreak)


(a different individual)


(Spanish festoon)


(Iberian scarce swallowtail hilltopping)


(swallowtail)


(green-striped white - these were almost impossible to photograph, zooming around in the heat and stopping for a fraction of a second every so often)

Guy

Amazing tally for a February day, Guy, even in southern Spain!

The white edges to the underside spots of your Provence Hairstreak are intriguing. Is this normal?

The white edging on the underside spots of the Provence hairstreaks is quite normal, David, just not always visible in worn individuals. It's the beginning of their flight period and these two hadn't been around for long.

And yes, I was very pleased with the tally too! I actually only saw three Spanish festoons so I think it was the beginning of their flight period too.

Guy

A few birds from Spain I didn't post before:


(short-toed eagle near Málaga)


(red-legged partridge sauntering along the track ahead of me, in the hills above Málaga)


(there was a lot of that going about - this is a cattle egret)

In Santander there were lots of Cetti's warblers singing from the reeds in a central park. I'm not sure if any of my attempts at photographing one worked, because almost everything I managed to catch on camera seemed to be Phylloscopus - presumed chiff-chaff, which I could also hear singing. This is my most likely Cetti's:



I'm not convinced, though!

This is surely Phylloscopus:



If any birders are reading this, their opinion would be valued!

Guy

Cetti's are right buggers to see let alone photograph in my experience. Neither of your pictures look like Cetti's to me, too green for one thing and Cetti's also have a very distinct posture, almost Wren-like. I must say though, you did see some fantastic butterflies in Spain, more than is decent on a family site like this!