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On 7th and 8th July, I stayed local, and later on 8th I travelled up to Yorkshire. My local walks produced a few things of interest - increasing numbers of Essex Skippers......and the beginnings of the Gatekeeper season. On the 8th I also encountered a brand new Brown Argus, but some way from their usual haunts - the spring brood must have ranged out a bit. Plus a Small and a Large Skipper to contrast with the Essex.And as ever, a nice summer Comma. Reports from northern climes will have to wait - until I return from another trip up there!

Dave

Fantastic Emperors Dave and some luscious Essex among a fantastic eclectic collection I'm looking forward to the Northern posts - I'm trying to work out what caught your eye up there?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

You've certainly seen a huge range of species during the latter part of June and early July, Dave. I love your fresh Brown Argus in particular.

Looking forward to finding out what you saw up north.

Cheers, both - June is a busy month in terms of variety of less usual species. I think the idea of the "June Gap" must have referred to the more common ones, or is simply out of date these days as the warming climate changes the emergence dates of quite a few butterflies.

I travelled first to Holmfirth late on 8th July and stayed a couple of days. The weather was not particularly good, and I didn't see anything of note. I then moved across to my sister near York for two nights, and on 11th July the sun appeared enough to entice me out to the old chalk workings at Kiplingcotes. Marbled Whites were the dominant feature here - there were appreciable numbers enjoying the various types of knapweed - plus a modest selection of other species. Dave

On Friday 12th July, I drove across the country to Cumbria, and Arnside Knott. It took far longer than anticipated, as I was held up for ages just getting from one side of Harrogate to the other. The main advantage of a later arrival though was that the sun had come out, and so had the butterflies. I saw perhaps 17 species this afternoon, including two new ones for the year: Grayling......and Northern Brown Argus.A few very ragged SPBF were around, as were a few Painted Ladies (equally worn)......and a single female Dark Green Fritillary encountered laying eggs down in the leaf litter.Great views from the Knott as always. After a night in a hotel, I would be back the next morning, hoping for another Fritillary...

Dave

Hi! Dave , there not so tatty now the Painted Ladies, the new arrivals are great
It always amazes me Dave, the fact the Marble White's are in Yorkshire and not in Lancashire as well, unless nobody as found them yet Goldie

The Marbled Whites seem to be spreading in Yorkshire, Goldie, but the Pennines seem to be too big a barrier for them to cross over to your part of the world. You would have to have them arrive from the south, and I'm not sure where the nearest ones are to you that way.

Up fairly early on Saturday 13th July, and back to Arnside. The Knott sat in a pool of sunshine, defying the forecast in a favourable fashion for once. I saw 16 species today - but they included three I hadn't seen the day before, so that made 20 across the two days. One of these was a Small Tortoiseshell.The first Gatekeepers were emerging, including this unusually marked individual.I also came across an attractive new Green-veined White......and several more Painted Ladies.Northern Brown Argus were around again in good numbers, so I took a few more shots of a species I won't see till next year.I spent some time in the meadow on the south side of the Knott known as Heathwaite, but it seemed very disappointingly underpopulated with butterflies. I looked in vain for fritillaries, noticing a dearth of thistles here and very few brambles in flower. I made my way back up to the top of the hill, scattering Graylings and at one point disturbing a Purple Hairstreak that had been lurking unseen on the bracken. (The story of my summer, really!). Taking a short cut along a path behind the trig point, which looked a bit more sheltered, I finally spotted something a bit different. Here there were some brambles in flower, and happily nectaring on them was a female High Brown Fritillary.It was the only Fritillary I saw today, and a welcome sight indeed - making the pilgimage very worthwhile. I don't think I've ever seen more than two of this species here, but curiously on each visit I have almost always seen one.

Dave

Congrats. for finding that wonderful Dark Brown, Dave.
Especially envious of the last two images, must make the effort one day.

Great stuff,
Trevor.

PS. Dawney's performed very well today.

Cheers, Trevor! Yes, the High Brown was a lovely insect, and posed nicely too - I find they are far more amenable than their close cousins, the Dark Greens.

Back south again, and on Sunday 14th July it had to be a local walk to catch up after the break. I managed to see around a hundred butterflies of a respectable 14 species in the 90 minutes between five and half six, and the late afternoon light really made the colours glow. All three skipper species put in an appearance......with the ageing Large Skipper still madly chasing every Comma he could find. There were good numbers of these, so he was spoilt for choice. Interestingly, both fresh hutchinsoni and those headed for hibernation were amongst them.New second brood individuals of both Common Blue and Brown Argus were around......and Peacock numbers are starting to build.The most frequent butterfly seen was the Gatekeeper, and nearly all appeared to be fresh males.They are having a better season here than last year already, and it's still early days.

Dave

Monday 15th July - continuing reasonable weather, so it was time for a trip down to Denbies for the first Chalkhill Blues of 2019. There were good numbers flying, almost all new males, but by no means in the proportions you sometimes see here. They were still sharing the slopes with the Marbled Whites, but it was clear that this would not be for much longer - the latter were fading fast.A few female Dark Green Fritillaries were still swooping about, pausing from time to time to dive down and lay eggs - there are lots of violets on these slopes, visible only in the spring though these butterflies can clearly detect their presence under thick coverage of grass.However, the lovely new Chalkhills were the stars of the show today.I managed to find just the one female, which appeared not to have been detected by the many males. She was new enough to display hints of the iridescence female blues can show when very newly emerged.All in all, a great sight.Finally, amongst the variety of moths disturbed as I walked, there was this one - not one I've knowingly seen before. Dave

With the end of the afternoon left on 15th July, there was time to pop over from Denbies to Box Hill for a welcome cup of tea and a few more butterflies. Out on Burford Spur, there were still numbers of DGF flying - mostly females, but a few worn males were hanging on too.I counted about a dozen species, including a feisty Large Skipper that still looked fairly fresh.Amongst the growing throng of Gatekeepers, I came across this mating pair, with both of the partnership looking new and illustrating a distinct difference in colouration between the undersides of the two sexes.A good end to the day.

Dave

Hi! Dave, I'm really about your Dark Green fritillary lovely shots but I'll miss them this year Goldie

millerd wrote:...amongst the variety of moths disturbed as I walked, there was this one - not one I've knowingly seen before.moth 150719.JPG
Dave

Shaded Broad-bar Dave, a nicely marked one too.

Cheers,

Neil.

Thank you, Goldie - it's a shame you won't get to see the DGF this year. There are still a few around, but they are getting rather worn now.

Cheers, Neil. That's not a moth I've come across before, so I shall tuck it away in my moth album!

Tuesday 16th July: There was one last gathering of people of a purple persuasion down at Chiddingfold, and we were duly entertained by a rather scruffy male Emperor who came down to the track and an area of mature bait of unmentionable origins. Over the Emperor season this year, many very sociable hours have been spent in a variety of excellent company, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for making it such an enjoyable midsummer climax to the butterfly season. I'd name everyone individually - if my memory were up to it! It's been great.

Before I had reached the main event, I was side-tracked by one of the most cooperative White Admirals I have come across for a while. Unusually, despite not being particularly new, it was almost entirely whole.A female SWF was also fairly approachable as well.All the butterflies with "white" in their name featured today, including this Marbled White......and a new second brood Wood White, of which five or six were seen.Not much gap between the broods this year.

Also attracted to the patch of imperial bait was a Holly Blue.Completely unconcerned by the presence of the much larger species (which at one point it attempted to chase off - with little success), it made quite a contrast of the "little and large" kind.However, the Purple Emperor was what we were really all here to see, somewhat faded or not. Dave

After all that, a ramble on my local patch later on 16th July was always going to seem a bit tame, but there were 15 species flying, including some nice new Brown Argus and a splendid fresh Red Admiral. Dave

On Wednesday 17th July, I had arranged to meet Bugboy down at Bookham. After an unexpected shot of a Meadow Brown with wings akimbo......Silver-washed Fritillaries were the main highlight here today, females in particular. After meeting up with Bugboy, we drove on down to Chiddingfold. What a contrast to only twenty-fours hours earlier! Gone were the groups of purple people, and gone were the Emperors too. The atmosphere was quite different. We looked mainly for Wood Whites, but found perhaps only ten at most.SWF again provided the best entertainment......with Marbled Whites being surprisingly frequent as well, moving in from surrounding fields.On the black and white theme, there was also a White Admiral - seen from an unusual angle. With plenty of hours left in the day, we decided to continue at Denbies - an entirely different kind of site.

Dave

17th July (continued): Denbies Hillside. The Chalkhill Blues had now taken over from the Marbled Whites - noticeably even since my last visit only a couple of days before. Photos were exclusively of these, with the exception of a single female DGF, even though a dozen species were on the wing. Dave

Some beautiful Chalkhills in your recent posts, Dave. It's that time of year though when much of the rest is starting to look a little worn. Nice that you've got Wood Whites to search for not too far away from your neck of the woods. I so wish we had them here in south Wales.

Crickey Moses Dave - I go away for a week and the reports flood in It's difficult to know where to begin having finally caught up but those NBAs and the High Brown underside definitely deserve a few cracking stuff! If the weather reports are to be trusted then I might be heading to Shipton on Monday or Tuesday next week - I'll PM over the weekend

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks, David - fresh male Chalkhills are lovely insects and there is infinite variety. No two are the same, and its no wonder the Victorians amassed large collections of them displaying every nuance imaginable.

It was a great little visit to Arnside, Wurzel, one of my favourite places even if the butterflies weren't quite so good there. However, the range of species there is amazing considering its northerly location, and seeing both NBA and HBF on the same day is a real highpoint of the year. The HBF was a corker too, with just the small tear on one hindwing and kind enough to pose for the underside shots with its good side toward me!

Thursday 18th July started wet, but by lunchtime it was very warm and muggy with some sunshine breaking through. I decided to undertake one of my periodic counts on my local patch, but inevitably there were photos as well. I counted 337 butterflies of 18 different species over around three and a half hours:

Gatekeeper 91
After a mediocre season in 2018, they are doing extremely well this year. Small White 63
Ubiquitous today. Meadow Brown 60
Numbers waning slightly now.

Peacock 32
An unusually large emergence this year, and some territorial behaviour seen too. Essex Skipper 15
Small Skipper 11
An estimate - but of those counted, there was a definite majority of Essex. Red Admiral 11
A steady inclease in numbers now. Brown Argus 11
The second brood is well underway, with some nice new examples. Comma 9
It seems to be a very average year for this species. Both summer and winter forms are around. Holly Blue 7
New second brood males are appearing, and many of them are headed straight for muddy patches to take minerals. Large White 6
A poor year so far around here, but I did find a mating pair today. Speckled Wood 6
Another common species that has been thin on the ground - this is the highest count this year. Small Heath 5
It is between broods at the moment.

GVW 4
Very few amongst the many Small Whites.

Common Blue 3
The second brood is just appearing. Small Tortoiseshell 1
Once again, just a singleton. Brimstone 1
Never seen in any numbers in the summer here, despite their reliably good showing each spring.

Ringlet 1
Another singleton only - curiously never common on my local patch. Dave