www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

just like a pole-dancer........

They come over here, taking all the jobs......

Hi Pete,

I'm still catching up but just wanted to say cracking mini report from Hungary and Large Blue report. Good reading.

Best wishes,

Lee

Thanks Lee - great to see you back!

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks Pete

Kefalonia

I've spent the last 2 weeks holidaying with my family near Lixouri in Kefalonia, Greece ... watching the brilliant Olympics from the bar next to the pool etc. etc. Not too many butterflies around, but the hotel was choc full of Painted Lady and these fellas (lots and lots of them!) which gave me the runaround trying various camera settings, but I still never ended up getting a good shot!:
The holiday (and island) felt largely devoid of butterflies - although watching a Swallowtail for 10 minutes as it floated (in the same spot) on a sea breeze was something I've never seen before. I could have sworn it was actually enjoying itself (yes, I know I'm "anthropromorphising") Other species seen include Scarce Swallowtail, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Long-tailed Blue, Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Cleopatra, Brimstone, Large White, Clouded Yellow, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Rock (or Woodland!) Grayling and quite a few Southern White Admiral. While out in a village called Sami (really!) I came across this chap - very dark uppersides - and I'm hopeful that it's a life tick of a Pigmy Skipper - but if someone (Guy / Roger G.) could help me out here I'd appreciate it!
Next report (from today) in the next 30 mins

Cheers,

- Pete

Home, Stockbridge Down and Broughton Down

I managed to get some time today getting back into the swing of things back home. My darling wife has been kind enough to plant some caterpillar-fodder (sorry, "Purple Sprouting" broccoli) and, before we went on hols, I was delighted to see shedloads of Small and Large White ova all over the leaves, although I somehow forgot to let her know ... Suffice to say, the plants are decimated in parts - with some very large and lovely larvae with happy smiling faces all over the place. I also found a parasitic ichneumon fly, Apanteles glomeratus, sitting pretty, so fully expect to see some of the larvae perishing in the fullness of time.
I also spent a couple of hours visiting Stockbridge Down and Broughton Down. Stockbridge had excellent numbers of Chalkhill Blue (although not the numbers seen at other sites) and the 50% cloud was extremely helpful in that the butterflies held their wings open for most of the time. A four-spotted, red-dotted, female below:
I also came across a female Gatekeeper that was covered in tiny Trombidium breei red mites:
I managed to find several Silver-spotted Skipper, but decided to shoot over to Broughton Down (my first ever visit!) to see what was around. I bumped into Glynne Evans who was mid-transect ... but he did give me some excellent pointers. Thanks Glynne! I found around a dozen SSS, including 2 ovipositing females with one shown below (not a brilliant pic, but evidence!).
All ova were laid on either the foodplant (fescues) or dead vegetation close to bare ground, with a few being laid in the "classic" location of "vegetation next to a rabbit scrape"! The photo below is one of over 100 - and it must have taken me at least 5 minutes to get set up with flash, plamp etc. etc.
Cheers,

- Pete

Cracking shot of the possible Pygmy - I've firmly fingers crossed for a positive ID for you I visited Kefalonia a few years ago so reading through your report reminded me of watching Red Rumped Swallows drinking from the swimming pool

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Pete. My first impression, on the basis just of that single photo, would be nostradamus ... The colour scheme would seem better for that (though I'm very wary of judging colours from photos) and the apparent presence of small pd spots doesn't rule it out because there are light, spotty, ill-defined patches over most of the hindwing (so it's more like a gently variegated, pale wing than a dark wing with pd spots). What would be really useful would be a high-def blow-up of the costa of the hindwing. It looks as if it might be rather densely covered in fine hair, and seems to show a colour change in the right region for nostradamus, but at this resolution you can't really make out any hairs.

I don't mind being a party pooper here because it's far better to assume the commoner species, or the species you've already seen, and work to prove the rarity or life tick than the other way around! That's how I work anyway - ultra-conservative. Prove me wrong and I'll rejoice with you!

Guy

Wurzel wrote:Cracking shot of the possible Pygmy - I've firmly fingers crossed for a positive ID for you I visited Kefalonia a few years ago so reading through your report reminded me of watching Red Rumped Swallows drinking from the swimming pool

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Yeah - we had Swallows too! Forgot to mention the other wildlife - the highlight of which was seeing the Loggerhead Turtles - just brilliant!
Cheers,

- Pete

Fabulous creature!

Susie wrote:Fabulous creature!

Me or the turtle? Don't answer that

Cheers,

- Pete

Having studied quite a lot of pictures and descriptions, I've persuaded myself that your skipper is pigmy, Pete! The close-up of the hindwing shows no sign of the cilial brush, which is described clearly in many books. Most pictures show a slightly warmer colour in Mediterranean and a very plain unh, in contrast to an often variegated, greyer unh in pigmy.

I'm no expert, and look forward to someone else's input, but I've come round. Perhaps you had views of the uppersides, too, which would help.

Guy

Marvellous Thx so much, Guy.

I only saw the upperside in flight (which doesn't help much with a skipper!) and all I can say is that it was a dark chocolate colour.

Cheers,

- Pete

Aston Rowant, Greenham Common, Thatcham

Just catching up on the last week where I had the opportunity to drop into Aston Rowant for a couple of hours after work. Following a very hot day, things were cooling down at around 6pm and so were the Silver-spotted Skippers which were everywhere. I can honestly say I've never seen so many at any site before; there must have been several hundred across the site. I found several females ovipositing and even managed to find a few ova around chalk scrapes - I think I've finally sussed out their preferred egg-laying sites! Chalkhill Blue were on their last legs, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a fresh Small Tortoiseshell nectaring on Hemp Agrimony, before it decided to lead me on a merry chase up and down the hillside before I could get a decent shot!
Closer to home, I decided to pay a visit to Greenham Common to see if any Grayling were still around. I was pleased to find quite a few Common Blue which seem to have "bounced back" given the poor numbers earlier in the season. I even managed to fill a gap in my photo collection - of a "normal" brown(ish) female. Alongside quite a few fresh Peacock that were nectaring on buddleia, I managed to find a single Grayling too - which happened to be an ovipositing female. After 20 minutes or so, I'd finally managed to get a half-decent shot of an egg that was laid on a fescue.
Finally, back at home, I took the dogs for a walk to the local park. Given the treatment this park gets from the local council, I always "rescue" anything I find since I've seen too many things strimmed out of existence in the past, only to regret me not relocating anything I've found. This time I managed to find a Comma larva and two Red Admiral larvae that were in their characteristic rolled-up nettle leaves. I brought all three larvae home and only got around to photographing them today - only to find that the Comma had pupated! The pupa is really quite beautiful. The Red Admiral larva (below) isn't normally found outside of a rolled-up nettle leaf, of course - this critter was being transferred to a fresh supply of foodplant.
Cheers,

- Pete

Doings @ Home

I've been laid up with a bad back for the last few days - so have been confined to the garden until this morning, when I managed to get to the local park with the dogs, and saw the most beautiful Holly Blue female and, of course, I had no camera! I have to say, I was pretty miffed, but this spurred me into looking on the ivy buds at the back of the house and, lo and behold, found a relatively-young larva right next to its egg! Marvellous! The only other newsworthy item is a Small White pupa (see below). I've spent some time watching both Small and Large White larvae closely over the last couple of weeks and have been wondering where they've all gone. I think I found out this morning when I watched a wasp fly around between the leaves of the foodplant for a couple of minutes before carrying a young larva off.
Cheers,

- Pete

Woolhampton Gravel Pits

A 2-hour walk out with the dogs surprised me beyond belief today when, on a very casual stroll around the lakes around Midgham and Woolhampton, I managed to find an incredible 32 Red Admiral larvae and 5 pupae. If you're not sure how to find these - then take a look at viewtopic.php?f=29&t=3977&start=100. Possibly the easiest pupa to find in the wild! I've searched for these immature stages every year over the last decade, but have never found as many as this year. I hate to make predictions but, if the weather holds out, I reckon we'll be seeing a significant emergence of Red Admiral over the next few weeks if my findings are anything to go by. Which would be a great end to the butterfly year! One thing that really surprised me, and that I've never seen before, is finding a Red Admiral larva feeding out in the open, rather than within a nettle leaf, or "tent" of leaves. It was clearly nearing pupation - but something I've never, ever, seen before. A random selection of photos below.
And anyone who reads my diary will know that I'm obsessed with studying the immature stages of our British butterflies What's more, I've become very interested in the relationship that certain species have with ants as well as the various wasps and flies that are parasites. Hymenoptera here I come Anyway - it may seem strange to some reading this diary that I was quite excited at finding a parasitised Red Admiral larva and, when I got home, the characteristic yellow cocoons of the ichneumon fly, Apanteles glomeratus, which deposits its eggs inside a young Large White larva. I've kept both batches of cocoons in order to observe the flies when they emerge; what this space
Cheers,

- Pete

Some gross yet strangely fascinating shots Pete So in the case of the Large White how mobile is it as it looks like a target for a passerine?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wurzel wrote:Some gross yet strangely fascinating shots Pete So in the case of the Large White how mobile is it as it looks like a target for a passerine?

Yes - pretty disgusting but an important aspect of the ecology of species - as relevant as what foodplant the larva feeds on, I'd say! I think we need to illustrate significant parasites on the website too. So any shots of known parasites are most welcome! E.g. for Large White (Cotesia/Apanteles glomeratus), Holly Blue (Listrodomus nycthemerus), Small Tortoiseshell (Sturmia bella), Marsh Fritillary (Cotesia/Apanteles bignelli).

I'm sorry to say that the Large White larva was still alive when I found it. As for predation, I guess in both cases (Red Admiral and Large White) their defence mechanisms are still intact (the Red Admiral in a rolled up nettle leaf and the Large White with warning coloration).

Cheers,

- Pete

BC HQ
I was invited to provide input to a BC event today - a trustee's strategy meeting where progress on the BC 2020 vision was being discussed. As well as a very informative meeting, and a chance to talk with many of the great and the good in BC (Martin Warren, Nigel Bourne, etc. etc.), I also had a chance to grab some photos of the large number of butterflies on the buddleias. An incredible 8 species were on show - in order of numbers - Red Admiral (around 20), Small Tortoiseshell (5), Comma (3), Large White (3), Painted Lady (1), Small White (1), Speckled Wood (1), Brimstone (1). Not bad given the much cooler weather - although the courtyard at Manor Yard provides a good amount of shelter and is a bit of a suntrap. The Painted Lady was definitely on the dark side.
Cheers,

- Pete

Hi! Pete, I've not seen one Painted Lady this year up here in the North, and only two Red Admiral's up to now, things aren't looking too good for them this year. The Large White's have also suffered. Goldie