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Amazing to see a Holly Blue flying in the last week of November but I fear its days are very much numbered with the end of this milderish spell just round the corner

I Red Admiral at this time of year is feasible, but a Holly Blue?.
An absolutely incredible sighting, Dave. A record ?.

The fat lady has been good to you !. She's singing even louder around here.

All the best,
Trevor.

Amazing stuff Dave

There must be a significant heat island effect around your patch.

Cheers,

Neil.

Cheers, all.

Though the Holly Blue sighting is pretty unusual by any standard, I don't think it's a record, Trevor. I think one was seen in December last year (in Sussex?) believe it or not. Unlikely to be beaten this year, I suspect.

I wondered if it might reappear in today's sunshine, Buggy, but I saw nothing on my usual walk and like you I doubt whether it has any chance of survival now. They do survive spring frosts, but the sun then is a great deal stronger and there are more nectar sources available.

Whether the tendency for very late Holly Blue sightings here is a heat island effect, Neil, I couldn't say. It is noticeably hotter here in summer, but the contrast in winter is not so obvious, and you would expect other parts of the London area to be similarly blessed - maybe no one is looking... It is true to say that the first air frost of the autumn is forecast tonight, and that is probably late compared to some other areas. No doubt the reasons are far more complex than we imagine.

Dave

Crickey Dave - we know that you have a habit of pulling Holly Blues out of thin air but one this late in November that must have really taken some effort I think it's been at least two weeks since my last butterfly though it's been so long I can't really be sure

Have a goodun

Wurzel

millerd wrote:Whether the tendency for very late Holly Blue sightings here is a heat island effect, Neil, I couldn't say. It is noticeably hotter here in summer, but the contrast in winter is not so obvious, and you would expect other parts of the London area to be similarly blessed - maybe no one is looking... It is true to say that the first air frost of the autumn is forecast tonight, and that is probably late compared to some other areas. No doubt the reasons are far more complex than we imagine.

Complex indeed, Dave, but food for thought nonetheless. One of the things I notice about living in south Wales is how often butterflies are seen active quite early in the year. I guess that's 'heat island' in reverse, in the sense that due to proximity to the coast it's far milder throughout the winter yet cooler than most inland parts from mid spring onwards.

Despite a number of spells of relatively warm sunshine between the periods of heavy rain (not to mention a tornado a few miles down the road in Chertsey...), I have not seen any more butterflies. In fact it's another glorious-looking morning today, and there are still a few dandelions flowering along with white dead-nettle and one or two other things. The best I could manage was the flash of a Kingfisher along the River Colne, though it would have been hard-pressed to see anything to catch in the turbulent overfull stream: in fact the river had overflowed in a few places and had flooded the path so that the extra water was trickling gently into the lake (which I believe it is designed to do in these circumstances).

So, in the absence of anything lepidopterous to report, all that remains is to wish everyone a terrific Christmas and a New Year filled with interesting butterflies. It's been great meeting lots of you in the field (and spending inordinate amounts of time chatting!), and reading everyone's fascinating diaries from both home and abroad.

I shall leave you for the time being with the long-promised and particularly appropriate pose of my favourite butterfly... Dave

Cheers Dave Hope you have a cracking Christmas and a a New year brimming with Butterflies Looking forward to chatting/looking for butterflies next season already

Have a goodun

Wurzel

That's a highly festive shot, Dave, and I sincerely hope your chosen species provides you with super abundance next year.

I shall look forward to seeing the images.

All the best.

Christmas Day 2019

As usual, I spent Christmas up in Yorkshire with my sister and an assortment of our offspring. On Christmas Eve, just as it was getting dark, a Small Tortoiseshell appeared in one of the bedrooms. It was very active, but we managed to capture it and place it in a tupperware box. We then put that in turn in one of the outhouses where a number of other butterflies usualy spend the winter. I reasoned that in the box it would cool relatively slowly and would therefore return more gently into winter torpor. My sister mentioned that this was the third Tortoiseshell she had moved from indoors to this spot in recent days. On Christmas morning, the butterfly was now largely inert, but still alive, as it gripped the surface it was moved to.

Christmas Day was of course largely bright and sunny to start with. Around lunchtime, there was fluttering in the hall, and yet another Small Tortoiseshell had made an appearance from some indoor hiding place. This time, with such comparatively decent weather, the individual was released into the open air. The first thing it did was to bask briefly on an ivy-clad wall in the sunshine, before moving onto a piece of bare wall well out of reach of the camera. No doubt the bricks had warmed a fair bit in the sun. However, while it was sitting on the ivy, I managed a quick shot. Talking to a few folk up there over the next couple of days, it appeared that several of them had also found Small Tortoiseshells in their homes, awoken from winter slumber. Perhaps people turn the heating up a notch when visitors arrive for the festive season, air their spare rooms and open cupboards to extract spare bedding. It's always Small Tortoiseshells, too, never any other of the hibernating species.

Interesting. Does this count as a December sighting? Not really I suppose, but nearly...

A Happy New Year to you all!

Dave

Your Small Tortoiseshell shot is about as un- Christmassy as it's possible to get !.
A real taster of things to come.
I too found a Christmas Day Small Tort in Wiltshire, again in a warm bedroom, a couple of years back.

Great stuff !,

And a happy new Decade, Dave.

Trevor.

That was a delightful Christmas present Dave - so thoughtful of your sister to have laid on some butterflies for you As it was 'free flying' I don't know why it wouldn't count as a December sighting? I reckon you're onto something with the reasoning for the sudden emergence
Have a great New Year!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

millerd wrote: ↑Sun Dec 29, 2019 9:01 pm...Interesting. Does this count as a December sighting? Not really I suppose, but nearly..

I had one brought to me that had been found by my neighbour in her cottage a few doors down last January. It's always nice to see a butterfly but this mild winter must have caused all kinds of disruption to their attempts to hibernate.

A cold snap soon, please!

Cheers, everyone - it was indeed a very pleasant and well-timed (not to mention appropriate) Christmas present!

Into 2020...

Despite a series of sunny mornings recently, including one with temperatures up to 13 degrees, no butterflies have yet been in evidence on my local patch. There are a variety of nectar sources available, should any bold individual choose to appear, including a good number of dandelions which are their usual early spring staple diet.The relatively mild winter thus far has meant for some slightly less usual blooms: This large clump of ox-eye daisies for example......yarrow taking over a number of "lawns"......and even one or two holly bushes bursting into flower with the last of 2019's berries as yet uneaten not far away.It's a good thing Holly Blue caterpillars munch on a wide variety of food plants in the spring and do not rely on the eponymous bush.

The local lake looked very pleasant in the winter sunshine, though there was the inevitable intrusion visible when I looked more closely at the photo. The days are getting longer now, and it has become noticeable (just) that evenings are becoming lighter. Onward towards spring!

Dave

It has been a very mild (if stormy) start to the year - I can't work out if we'll get a really cold spell or a crazy hot spell this year which will throw everything into disarray - it would be nice to just have a 'normal' spring for once Still only about 6 weeks until the butterflies start emerging properly - fingers crossed!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

millerd wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2020 4:07 pm...The days are getting longer now, and it has become noticeable (just) that evenings are becoming lighter. Onward towards spring!

Judging by your images, Dave, one could be forgiven for thinking spring's already here!

Same in my area right now. A few celandines and daffodils are already out and with no meaningful cold weather forecast for the next few days, this unseasonal flowering of plants looks set to continue.

Much colder here Dave with some really strong winds, UGH! Goldie

Still nothing lepidopterous local to me, despite a fair bit of sunshine and generally mild temperatures. It has been windy, though, extraordinarily so on Sunday as it was across the whole country. This was particularly interesting round here, as a significant proportion of incoming flights at Heathrow were aborting their landings at the last minute and going round again. Several made more than two attempts before succeeding.

Nevertheless, the overall mild weather has reinforced the spring feel that began in January. More flowers are out......and they have been joined by early-flowering prunus, including odd bits of blackthorn.At least one pussy willow has broken its buds......and the weeping willows have that overall yellow-green tinge and fuller look they acquire as their buds swell too.I am keeping a close eye on the various magnolias in local gardens, as they too have bulging buds and precocious blooming puts them very much at risk of being spoiled by frosts.

This all does seem a bit early... It is still the first half of February.

Dave

Things are certainly looking more 'Sprung' round your way Dave so it won;t be long I reckon til you get onto some butterflies - a Small Tort or Red Admiral. Hopefully we won't get hit by some last minute cold snap, no-one's mentioned a 'Beast from the East' so fingers crossed

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Those Violets look like Sweet Violets, I only have Dog Violets, but at least they
are helping with the Pearl Bordered breeding programme.
Believe it or not there are some Sweet Violets growing under some brambles
at High and over, the only ones I have seen around here.

The new season is getting closer!.
Trevor.