Neil Freeman

[Wurzel]

"I love the way you can often think of an appropriate line from a song " I doooo like a bit of pop culture
Cracking set of images Neil especially the final Small White - interesting that the wing tips are so pale yet the black spots are really dark and contrasting Good luck with the Lycaenids

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel. Those black spots almost look as if they have been dabbed on after with a black marker pen.
No luck yet with the Lycaenids but it is still early for them around here.


Tuesday 5th May

A much sunnier day from the start but the cold wind from the east was still very much in evidence and quite blustery at times.

By mid morning it had warmed up enough to get some butterflies active in the garden with a couple of male Speckled Wood being the first to occupy their usual spots. Green-veined Whites soon joined them with one particular male that has been hanging around for a couple of days once again providing some photo opportunities.

Green-veined White male - Coverdale 05.05.2020

Green-veined White male - Coverdale 05.05.2020

With the turn in the weather last week and over the weekend, I had not been to my local spot by Wagon Lane Park for a while now so decided to have a walk down there early in the afternoon. The chilly wind could still be felt but the sky was almost clear of clouds and most of what I saw was quite active in the afternoon sun, particularly the whites which had greatly increased in number. These consisted of mostly Green-veined but with some Small Whites plus a few Orange-tips.

Small White male - Wagon Lane 05.05.2020

Just one Brimstone (male) was seen and no Large Whites again today.

Small Tortoiseshells are still hanging on with more seen today than on my last visit which was well over a week ago now. I reckon I saw at least a dozen with most of these looking the worst for wear now including some really tatty and almost transparent examples which were nevertheless still actively fluttering about. The one below was probably the best condition example I saw today.

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 05.05.2020

A couple of Peacocks were also seen, again past their best but no less active for that.

Peacock - Wagon Lane 05.05.2020

I watched one female fluttering around a large nettle bed and occasionally touching down to test the leaves. She finally found a suitable leaf and had just settled down to start laying when she was accosted by a raggedy Small Tortoiseshell and she flew off with the ST in pursuit.

Peacock, just before being accosted by a Small Tortoiseshell.

A nice surprise here today was my first Red Admiral of the year, a bit ragged with a large chunk of hind wing missing but my earliest ever for around here.

Red Admiral - Wagon Lane 05.05.2020

In the past I have recorded both Common Blue and Small Copper from here, albeit only in small numbers, but despite a good look around the likely areas I didn't find any today. Mind you, it is still early days for those two species around here, especially the Common Blues which tend to start later in May at my local spots.

Back home in the garden later in the afternoon I was just sitting there with a cuppa and watching the male Specklies chasing everything about when a female made the mistake of entering the line of sight of one of them. He chased after her, whereupon she dropped down and immediately played dead. It was quite amusing to watch him circle around and prod her with his antennae trying to get a reaction but he soon gave up and flew off.

Speckled Wood pair - Coverdale 05.05.2020

Speckled Wood pair - Coverdale 05.05.2020

As usual, once the male had departed, she then came back to life and flew off in the opposite direction.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

That Small Tort is in a very good state of repair Neil Lovely whites I've seen the playing dead routine a few times now and it always makes me chuckle one I saw was being hassled as she flew and she just dropped like a stone

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Those Speckled Woods are comical, Neil. It's interesting how different females adopt different strategies for shaking the males off.

Nice Small Tortoiseshell too; not seen one round my way for about 10 days now. The Small White is lovely too, rather more darkly marked than I would expect at this time of year.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for the comments Wurzel and David
There are still quite a few Small Tortoiseshells around here but the are mostly looking a raggedy bunch now.
The Specklies can be quite entertaining and I am fortunate to have them in my garden for most of the season.


Wednesday 6th May.

Clear skies and a bright sun from the start and the breeze was much lighter today meaning that it soon warmed up.

After doing some little jobs around the house in the morning, I took another walk down the road to my local spot by Wagon Lane Park. I saw pretty much the same butterflies as yesterday, minus the Red Admiral, all of which were fully warmed up and charging around so I didn't bother trying to take any photos.

Back home again, I made myself a cuppa and went into the garden, this being my usual habit on nice days like this when I get back in. Whenever I go into the garden, I have got into the habit of automatically casting my eyes over a number of 'favourite spots' where butterflies will often settle. This time my eyes immediately fell upon a nice fresh looking male Orange-tip and, despite the warm mid afternoon, he stayed there long enough for me to grab my camera.

Orange-tip - Coverdale 06.05.2020

He then took a short fluttery flight down the garden before settling again and over the next fifteen minutes or so I watched as he flew up and down the garden taking short flights before settling to bask for a bit. His flight looked to be quite weak for a while and I suspect he may have just emerged, but whatever the reason, Orange-tips are not usually such co-operative subjects in the full afternoon sun like this.

Orange-tip - Coverdale 06.05.2020

Orange-tip - Coverdale 06.05.2020

Orange-tip - Coverdale 06.05.2020

My apologies for yet more Orange-tip photos but...well, you know

After this period of fluttering up and down the garden, his flight became more normal and he took off over the neighbour's gardens in the usual manner.

Later, as I carried on pottering about, I noticed what at first I took to be a Large White fly in over the fence but when it proceeded to flutter around my Alder Buckthorns I realised it was a female Brimstone. This was the first female I have seen so far this year and I have only seen a handful of males, but having said that, Brimstones are never that numerous around here.

Anyway, I watched as she proceeded to lay on a number of leaves dotted around the two shrubs in this spot.

Brimstone female - Coverdale 06.05.2020

Brimstone female - Coverdale 06.05.2020

I planted these bushes about eight or nine years ago and they are now well over ten feet tall and getting a bit leggy so in need a bit of pruning back. She didn't seem to mind though and spent as much time around the tops of the bushes as lower down.

Between bouts of egg laying she would drop down and refuel on the dandelions that are dotted about the garden.

Brimstone female - Coverdale 06.05.2020

Other butterflies seen in the garden today included the usual Speckled Woods, Green-veined and Small Whites and a single Holly Blue.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Pauline]

Hi Neil - that sequence with the Speckled Wood is really well captured and the Brimstone egg-laying is great. Seeing these behavioural shots is just so much more interesting than the usual poses wouldn't you say?

[Wurzel]

Great report Neil really interesting to see the sequence of the Brimstone laying My fave shot tough has to be the OT on the Dandelion clock - I'm trying for my own 'Collection' of these shots but it's hard going Your OT would very nice in my collection

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Good to see your efforts to help your garden butterflies pay dividends, Neil. You should now have a chance to follow the larvae when they hatch.

Your Orange Tips are still looking in mint condition. Hard to believe they'll be gone in a couple of weeks.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Neil - that sequence with the Speckled Wood is really well captured and the Brimstone egg-laying is great. Seeing these behavioural shots is just so much more interesting than the usual poses wouldn't you say?

Thanks Pauline. Indeed I would, sometimes I just enjoy sitting and watching the various behaviour of the different species.

Great report Neil really interesting to see the sequence of the Brimstone laying My fave shot tough has to be the OT on the Dandelion clock - I'm trying for my own 'Collection' of these shots but it's hard going Your OT would very nice in my collection

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. I rather like shots on dandelion clocks myself. Green-veined Whites and Orange-tips in particular seem to be partial to settling on
them.

Good to see your efforts to help your garden butterflies pay dividends, Neil. You should now have a chance to follow the larvae when they hatch.

Your Orange Tips are still looking in mint condition. Hard to believe they'll be gone in a couple of weeks.

Thanks David. I have started following Brimstone larvae on these buckthorns a few times over the past few years but have never yet managed to keep track to final instar. I suspect they suffer from predation by the Great Tits that are always around the garden.


Thursday 7th May.

I decided to stretch the 'rules' a bit and drive round to my local spot at Castle Hills this afternoon which took under 10 minutes from my house. In truth, it would be possible to walk to here but that would take about an hour through residential roads and another hour for the walk back so I reckoned that time would be better spent actually on site.
I am getting a bit concerned about parts of this site as JLR are building a large new logistics hub very close by and I have a nasty feeling that further development will be expanding in this direction.
In fact, there is far too much development going on all around Solihull these days and it is no longer the pleasant town it used to be. The local council are obsessed with 'growth' and there are housing and business developments going up every where. And that is without the shambles of HS2 and it's associated development which has laid waste to a large area around the N.E.C. and continues to carve it's way through the countryside on it's way here.

Anyway, I digress. I was here to look for butterflies with my particular targets for today being Small Copper, Common Blue, Brown Argus and Small Heath. Out of these, Common Blue and Small Heath are usually the most numerous here but it is still a bit early for them. The timing should be better for Small Copper and Brown Argus but these two can both be a bit hit and miss here with only small numbers usually seen and some years none at all.

I soon saw plenty of other butterflies including Orange-tips, Green-veined and Small Whites and a few Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Speckled Woods, all of which were very active in the warm afternoon sun. I didn't bother trying to take any photos of these as I was concentrating on looking for my targets and had chosen this time on purpose hoping that they would be more active and therefore easier to spot, although I realised that taking photos would be a challenge. The afternoon sun also seems brighter and 'harsher' than usual this year, probably due to less atmospheric pollution due to the 'lockdown'.

I made my way around the likely areas where I have seen my target species before and my first success appeared in the shape of a nice fresh female Small Copper.

Small Copper female - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

About a hundred yards further on I spotted a male darting about and soon picked out his favourite perches which he kept returning to.

Small Copper male - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

Small Copper male - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

Small Copper male - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

A carried on around my circuit and disturbed a small orangey brown butterfly which proved to be a Small Heath. I managed to track it to where it landed down amongst the grass and managed a couple of record shots before it was off again and I lost sight of it.

Small Heath - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

Things were looking good, two of my targets seen and I had only been here about 30 minutes so far. I then followed the footpath into a second meadow area and was greeted by a flash of bright blue rapidly flying back and forth above the grass. This could only be a male Common Blue and I watched until it finally settled long enough for me to sneak up and get a couple of shots...on a dandelion clock no less (Wurzel).

Common Blue - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

Common Blue - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

A second male Common Blue turned up and for a while they chased each other about until they both disappeared over the boundary hedge.

I then began to circle back and checking in the last corner of the meadow spotted a small silvery shape flying about. This was my fourth and final target, a Brown Argus, a male that looked like he had been around for a few days.

Brown Argus - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

As well as the butterflies, there were quite a few day flying moths about including Latticed Heath, Cinnabar, Small Yellow Underwing and a couple of Mother Shipton. As with the butterflies these were very flighty and difficult to get close to plus when they did settle it was usually low down in the grass.

Latticed Heath - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

Cinnabar Moth - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

Small Yellow Underwing - Castle Hills Solihull 07.05.2020

A cracking afternoon in the end with all my targets seen. The final tally was two each of Small Copper and Common Blue and singles of Small Heath and Brown Argus. Only small numbers but it is still early for these here and Small Heath is the only one ever seen in any numbers here anyway.

I didn't count the supporting cast but Orange-tips and Green-veined Whites appeared numerous, with Small Whites, Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Speckled Wood in fewer numbers. Singles of Comma and Brimstone were also seen.

No Holly Blues again...I am seriously beginning to think that Dave Miller has hijacked them all, like a latter day Pied Piper calling them down the M40.

Hopefully I will be able to return here for another look, although it will probably be in about a week or so after the forecast cold snap early next week.

I am now on 15 species and don't expect to add any more now until the summer skippers and browns start to emerge.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

It's great when you get all of your targets Lovely shots of the Coppers and Argus but I think you can guess which was my fave shot I managed to get one for my collection the other day

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Your images prove that we are now moving to a new stage of the season, Neil, with grassland species such as Brown Argus, Common Blue and Small Copper filling in for the likes of Comma, Small Tortoiseshell & Brimstone.

This will continue for much of the rest of the month until the next batch of arrivals appear - Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, etc.

[millerd]

Good to see those Common Blues, Neil. Curiously enough your area seems to be a bit ahead of mine in that respect, as I've only seen a couple, and at a distance at that. They are glorious when new like that.

Cheers,

Dave

[Goldie M]

Hi! Neil, love your shots of the Common Blue, Coppers, we may be able to travel now so that should help reap some more Butterflies in. Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

It's great when you get all of your targets Lovely shots of the Coppers and Argus but I think you can guess which was my fave shot I managed to get one for my collection the other day

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. Yep, I reckon I know

Your images prove that we are now moving to a new stage of the season, Neil, with grassland species such as Brown Argus, Common Blue and Small Copper filling in for the likes of Comma, Small Tortoiseshell & Brimstone.

This will continue for much of the rest of the month until the next batch of arrivals appear - Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, etc.

Thanks David. Those four species in that last report, along with the day flying moths, will see me through the next few weeks. Small Copper and Brown Argus in particular can be very hit and miss at my local spots so always worth looking for

Good to see those Common Blues, Neil. Curiously enough your area seems to be a bit ahead of mine in that respect, as I've only seen a couple, and at a distance at that. They are glorious when new like that.

Cheers,

Dave

Cheers Dave. Yes, they are a bit early, I would normally expect them in a week or so but I guess all that warm spring weather has brought them on a bit.

Hi! Neil, love your shots of the Common Blue, Coppers, we may be able to travel now so that should help reap some more Butterflies in. Goldie

Thanks Goldie. Yes, it looks like we can travel a bit more now, just as the weather turns much colder.


Well, we all know how cold it has gone over the past couple of days but at least it has given me a chance to catch up on my;

Garden Moths.

Since my last update, I have added another 20 species for the year, consisting of 16 macros and 4 micros. Things remained slow up until the end of last week when the forecasts actually tempted me to run the trap for three consecutive nights. This is something that I wouldn't normally do but after so many frustratingly clear and cold nights I couldn't resist it.

As it happened, the forecast partial cloud failed to materialise on the the night of Thursday 8th resulting in yet another clear and cold one. This produced just 4 of 4 macros but these did include a new for garden (NFG) Golden-rod Pug and two new for year (NFY) of Waved Umber and May Highflyer. The 4th macro was a Brimstone Moth which I have already had a couple of this year. A few micros - 5 Light Brown Apple Moths and 3 Tachystola acroxantha plus singles of Bee Moth and Small Magpie - also came to the trap giving a total of 14 moth of 8 species.

Waved Umber - Coverdale 07.05.2020

Friday night (9th May) was again looking promising with a build up of cloud from late afternoon so I set the trap up again only for the heavens to open about half an hour later and deliver a deluge of biblical proportions for about an hour. As the trap was already turned on I left it (the electrics are sealed and there is a rain guard over the light tubes) and was glad I did as although the resulting catch was again small with just 5 of 4 macros, they included NFYs of Flame Carpet and Mottled Pug and best of all, a Lime Hawk Moth. A couple of Shuttle-shaped Darts completed the macros. Again a few LBAMs (4) and T. acroxantha (6), along with singles of Bee Moth and Syndemis musculana, made up a total of 17 moths of 9 species.

Lime Hawk Moth - Coverdale 08.05.2020

Saturday night came and again I watched a nice layer of cloud build up and temperatures looked to be staying mild overnight so I was tempted to run the trap for the third night on the run. This time the conditions remained good all night and produced my best catch so far this year with 70 moths of 26 species made up of 37 of 20 macros and 33 of 6 micros. Highlights were a NFG of Chinese Character and 9 NFYs of Poplar Hawk Moth, Heart & Dart, Knot Grass, Garden Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, Spruce Carpet, Yellow-barred Brindle, Least Black Arches and Lime-speck Pug.

Strangely enough, I didn't get a Poplar Hawk last year despite getting a few to the trap in previous years, so I was chuffed to get this one.

Poplar Hawk Moth - Coverdale 09.05.2020

The Chinese Character has markings and a resting posture that mimic a bird dropping, a camouflage that is apparently very effective as I have read of instances where birds have picked moths off from the outside of traps but left Chinese Characters alone.

Chinese Character - Coverdale 09.05.2020

The Lime-speck Pug has a similar colour scheme for similar reasons and is one of the few Pug Moths that can be instantly identified.

Lime-speck Pug - Coverdale 09.05.2020

The Least Black Arches is an attractive little moth that is classed as a macro despite being no larger than many micros. This is just one of many examples that shows that the difference is a purely arbitrary one and is based on families rather than size.

Least Black Arches - Coverdale 09.05.2020

Another Pale Prominent, the second for the year, made a liar of me when I said the other week that I only get one of these every other year.

Pale Prominent - Coverdale 09.05.2020

The Brimstone Moth is an abundant species which I always get a load of but it's bright yellow colour is always welcome at this time of year. I had 3 in the trap on Saturday.

Brimstone Moth - Coverdale 09.05.2020

And, a few of the rest, all species that I get every year in varying numbers.

Knot Grass - Coverdale 09.05.2020

Mottled Pug - Coverdale 09.05.2020

Yellow-barred Brindle - Coverdale 09.05.2020

Spruce Carpet - Coverdale 09.05.2020

Common Marbled Carpet - Coverdale 09.05.2020

With the return to colder weather, we had a light frost here this morning, I have not run the trap again since Saturday but it is looking better again later in the week.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil

[Goldie M]

Hi! Neil, I've just found a large Moth in the kitchen and posted it , Any Idea what it's called Goldie

[Wurzel]

Lovely set of Moffs Neil - especially the Knot Grass I feel like little eyes are following me round the room

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Hi! Neil, I've just found a large Moth in the kitchen and posted it , Any Idea what it's called Goldie

Hi Goldie. I have just posted on your PD. I think it is a Cabbage Moth but not 100% sure.

Lovely set of Moffs Neil - especially the Knot Grass I feel like little eyes are following me round the room

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. It is amazing how many moths (and some butterflies) have evolved to have a sort of face or eyes on their wings, even if they are not always obvious to us.

Cheers,

Neil.

[David M]

You really do present us with some fascinating moths, Neil.

The obvious eye-catchers are the hawk moths but some of the others have a real understated beauty, such as the yellow-barred brindle and the common marbled carpet.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks David. As you say the Hawk Moths are the eye-catchers but out of that lot it was the Chinese Character that I was most chuffed with as it was a first for the garden.

Wednesday 13th May

After a couple of days of cloudy and cold weather, it improved a bit here on Wednesday...just a bit. It was still mostly cloudy with a bitterly cold wind blowing from the north but at least the sun was making a bit more of an effort and later in the afternoon it almost felt pleasant. This was enough to bring out a few butterflies in the garden with a couple of Small Whites and a single Speckled Wood making an appearance.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 13.05.2020

Small White - Coverdale 13.05.2020

A male Holly Blue also fluttered in but took shelter from the breeze in the brambles which enabled me to take only my second Holly Blue shot so far this year.

Holly Blue - Coverdale 13.05.2020

He stayed put for the remaining time I was out there, which wasn't that long as the chill wind was starting to make my fingers and nose feel cold so I went back inside.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

More lovely shots Neil - especially like the Small White lush Hopefully things should pick up in the coming days and get back to where they should be - that blast from the North was a bit of a shocker - all the pupils (keyworkers children and vulnerables) were moaning when I was in as the heating was turned off in March

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel