www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Interesting observations, Dave. My feeling was that butterflies in general were fewer at Denbies on my visit. I remember a few years ago, the site got very overgrown during the summer, so perhaps that’s why they have had grazing animals on this year.

For what it’s worth, I think all your females could be Chalkhills, though I’m not 100 % certain. I have always found Adonis to be a richer, deeper shade of brown, and a bit smaller.

Lovely set of shots Dave, luscious Chalkhills and Adonis (like the one in the hand in particular )and really cute Silver Spots. I had a look at the females and wondered if they were all Chalkhills and then I saw that Essex had already posted similar

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Denbies doesn't seem as good as it used to be for certain, Mark. Hardly any Common Blues, and fewer of almost everything else, though the Marbled Whites were okay and the Silver-spots have never been very numerous.

Cheers, Wurzel - the one on my finger just happened to be the best shot I managed all afternoon...

Well, they must all be Chalkhills, then! I know Bugboy is in agreement on this as well, so a three-nil vote is good enough for me. I shall change their filenames forthwith.

Another local walk on the morning of Saturday 17th August after a blank day on 16th. Around 150 butterflies of 13 species seen, so a pretty good outing really - though a third of them were Small and Green-veined Whites. This Small White was particularly strongly-marked underneath.There were also 24 Holly Blues, and the second brood seems to be peaking with many more females amongst them. The extent of the black on the females is quite variable.The next generation was underway too.A sprinkling of other Blues......and one or two other things in the overall mix. Dave

With the sunshine continuing, I headed up to Aston Rowant for the afternoon of 17th August. There were continuing good numbers of the site speciality, Silver-spotted Skippers, with females beginning to predominate.The Chalkhills were generally getting tired, but some of the females were still quite fresh.As at Denbies, very few Common Blues were flying, but there were quite a few Brown Argus.In contrast with the North Downs site, this west-facing Chiltern hillside now had a decent population of Adonis Blues, all males so far from what I could see.I liked this particular pose with the butterfly apparently presenting a small bunch of flowers...No trip anywhere at present is complete without at least one Painted Lady.Will we be sick of them by the end of the season? I doubt it somehow...

Dave

Home again for Sunday 18th August. A different selection today: This trio of Nymphalids......and a pair of Green-veined Whites illustrating the contrast between male (larger and paler) and female. Dave

Love the Adonis Blue shots Dave, I wish they'd come further North I seem to miss them each year

I've not seen too many Green Veined White in my garden either this year ,just a couple compared to the SW's, lovely shots of those and love the Comma on the Berries Goldie

That's a beautiful pair of Green Veined Whites, Dave, although your female Holly Blue from a couple of posts back is even more irresistible. Those black forewing borders are huge.

Hi Dave,

Just caught up with your visit to Arnside, I missed going there for Scotch Argus this year having gone in the other direction to Cornwall instead.

What was your impression of Scotch Argus numbers this year? You will probably remember I was a bit concerned about then there last year.

Cheers,

Neil.

Neil Freeman wrote:
...Just caught up with your visit to Arnside, I missed going there for Scotch Argus this year having gone in the other direction to Cornwall instead.
What was your impression of Scotch Argus numbers this year? You will probably remember I was a bit concerned about then there last year.

Cheers,

Neil.

Hi Neil - I haven't been up there at the right time for Scotch Argus for a few years, but my overall impression this year was that there were noticeably fewer, and that they were no longer as widespread across the Knott as they once were. I only found them in three distinct areas, and only one of these (near the edge of the woods at the bottom of the western side) scraped into double figures. 2018 was very warm and dry in the lead up to their season, which may have made a difference last year I suppose. Gatekeepers on the other hand seemed to be far more numerous this year than before, as were Ringlets a month earlier. I believe there is some concern locally about the continued existence of Scotch Argus in this southern outpost.

Thank you Goldie - Adonis certainly are lovely insects, and if you time one of your visits to Kent for mid-May or mid-August you should find them in the Dover area. There were a few at Samphire Hoe a couple of weeks ago.

Cheers, David - the GVW is a very much underrated butterfly, especially when very fresh (I think I've commented to this effect before). There will be some more female Hollies to come as well, again with varying degrees of black borders. As with those above, some just have row of black spots on the hindwing, much like the first brood, but others have quite a wide solid black border. I continue to be fascinated by this species.

Dave

Cracking set of reports Dave - stand out species are the Small White, various Silver Spots and the GVW I think we're quite lucky in the UK in that some of the most common or widespread species are spectacular to look at (Small Tort, Holly Blues, Peacock etc) and those GVWs fall into that group - interesting to see the difference in the yellow between the male and female Better make the most of the Painted Ladies though - I seemt o recall that last time they were in such high numbers there was a dearth the year following

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Many thanks, Wurzel. Having relatively few species in the UK does mean it's worth looking more closely at some of them and seeing just how much variety there can be within a single species. Some are definitely underappreciated too! It's been ten years since the last really big immigration of Painted Ladies, way back in 2009, and you're right, 2010 was not particularly good for them at all. Let's hope 2020 is better than that.

More local adventures on Monday 19th August after a brief trip to Bookham which drew almost a complete blank for butterflies - certainly nothing of note. At home, there was a certain element of deja vu, with another GVW pairing......a few Holly Blues......more striking new Commas......and of course a Painted Lady.In addition today though, there was a relatively fresh male Common Blue. Dave

Fingers crossed Dave Those are lovely GVWs again, really well marked Is it just me or have they suddenly shown a massive increase in numbers after a dearth during the spring?

Have a goodun


Wurzel

Wurzel wrote:Fingers crossed Dave Those are lovely GVWs again, really well marked Is it just me or have they suddenly shown a massive increase in numbers after a dearth during the spring?

Have a goodun


Wurzel

You're right Wurzel, I've seen a significant increase recently. The recent rains must have helped keep their foodplants nice and lush for the hungry larvae, something that was lacking last year which probably lead to the poor spring showing this year. Same can be said for the Specklies too.

I have to agree with both of you here - GVW figures went up noticeably about three weeks ago, then subsided a bit, only to rise again last week - and now Small Whites seem more numerous once more. To be fair, accurate counting of these two species on sunny days is a nightmare since they don't settle for more than a second or two.

After another blank day on 20th, I went out locally once more on Wednesday 21st August. More White butterflies, and this time it was the turn of the Large Whites to get up close and friendly with each other.Small Whites outnumbered the GVW today.One of the former posed rather strangely.Then, after a rather nice new Comma...... a splendidly deep pinky-orange Painted Lady......and a fairly fresh Common Blue......I had yet another rewarding interlude with a female Holly Blue... Dave

As we're about a week behind over here Dave the GVWs are still the most numerous although the Small Whites do seem to be picking up Cracking Painted Lady in among the great sequence of shots but the most envy inducing shot has to be the Holly Blue in the hand - that fill a gap in my 'collection' nicely

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Good to see your Comma, I've not seen one for sometime.
I've also never met a tame Holly Blue. Perhaps she's taking a well earned break from egg laying.

Great stuff,
Trevor.

Cheers, both. As you know, the Hollies round here are specially trained to be amenable to photography, so it was only a matter of time before one became tame enough for this... Seriously though, it worries me that I must be indistinguishable from the surrounding greenery. Male butterflies are far more inclined to wander onto a finger, as they are interested in salts from the skin surface, but females don't generally have this requirement, being more interested in sugars. I may have recently picked a few blackberries of course, so that could have been it.

I also briefly popped into Bedfont Lakes Country Park on 21st, as I was passing nearby at the end of the afternoon. Not much flying here, except in one small area where I found Common Blue, Brown Argus,Small Heath and a single Small Copper. The last of these was good to find as they used to be quite common here but I hadn't come across one for a few years. Dave

Thursday 22nd August. More sunshine forecast, so with reports of interesting arrivals along the south coast, I set off for my first visit to Southwick of the season - where Bugboy had reported Clouded Yellows. I drew a blank here, and in fact aside from a selection of Painted Ladies on the buddleias there was little else to see.There is a fair amount of BLEP here, and the vegetation around these plants had clearly been recently trampled as people searched for evidence of LTB or the butterflies themselves. Naturally enough I had a good look too, but aside from what could conceivably be larval feeding damage, I found nothing on this front either. Dave

After the disappointing look down at Southwick, I then moved a couple of miles inland to Mill Hill. Still sunny but rather windy, it was difficult to approach the various things flying. Adonis Blues were the standout species, with a few Chalkhills remaining......and the odd Common Blue as well. A few Brimstones could be found at the top of the slopes in sheltered parts, feeding up for the winter......and also Painted Ladies (though these were very energetic, apparently relishing the breezy conditions). Most shots were therefore of the Adonis, including a couple of females. Dave

Things were starting to heat up on Friday 23rd August, so I tried Bookham again for those elusive Brown Hairstreaks. Still no more luck, but the local Small Copper population obliged, as did the inevitable Painted Lady. I decided to follow up with something slightly different and another look at Dawneys Hill for Graylings. The first couple appeared almost as soon as I'd come out onto the site, and while wandering over the whole expanse, I came across at least 12 to 15 of them. Most were worn, characteristically torn by their existence among the gorse bushes.I came across one female flicking her wings open and shut, normally indicating the presence of a courting male, but I couldn't spot him: maybe the camouflage was just that bit too good!However, this did provide one of those rare open-wing views of the species. Dave