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Cheers, Wurzel - yes, a definite double-take there.

Friday 24th April. Yet another day of warm sunshine - a high of 22 degrees today - and the total butterflies seen reached around 120, the highest yet this year, of ten species. Curiously, no Commas were amongst them.

During this morning's excursion, I found myself following a Speckled Wood along the path. I spotted another one coming the other way and expected the usual interaction of a frenzied tight spiral under the trees which might go on for some time. However, the approaching individual was dived upon by the one I'd been with, and virtually pinned to the foliage. A female - but rather than playing dead to reject his advances, some courtship behaviour ensued. I can't say I've ever seen this before, with the two butterflies face to face in this way. It didn't last for long at ground level - the pair quickly took off into the trees to continue matters, and this was my last view of them.I've already noted that the Holly Blues hae been taking minerals from damp spots along the paths. The continued dry weather seems to have had other species doing it too, and I encountered a Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell not far apart indulging in the same way. The Hollies continue to entertain, and today's bit of curious behaviour was from this female apparently laying on some cow parsley. Close investigation after the event revealed no eggs were laid on this unlikely plant, but it seems from this and from previous years that they will think about laying on almost anything in the spring.Another highlight of the day was actually getting a couple of decent shots of Large Whites for the first time this year.Red Admirals are around every day now, in the same places but not usually the same individuals each day.Another sign that summer isn't too far away - my first Silver-Y moth of 2020 characteristically playing very hard to get.Finally, the day would never be complete without one of these. Dave

Lots of interest as well the great shots here Dave First up really interesting behaviour between the Specklies - I've not witnessed anything like that before apart from in Wood Whites - normally courtship involves, chasing, harassing and in some cases almost violence but the image makes it look affectionate Also interesting to still see a Small Tort - I've not seen on in a week now and I though they'd gone. Finally interesting Holly Blue behaviour - I saw and photographed something similar a week or two ago and I couldn't find any eggs either - is this like a 'dummy' run or a practice or has the innate urge been suppressed because the female recognises it as the wrong host plant?? Intriguing.

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Having seen Holly Blues apparently laying on a wide variety of unrelated plants in the spring, Wurzel, it looks as if they are attracted to almost anything with flower buds of approximately the same size. However, quite a few are "oviposturing" and don't actually lay - at the crunch moment something must feel wrong and the egg fails to be triggered. The abundance of the species coupled with the relative scarcity of buddy holly (sorry - I couldn't resist that ) means that the females must start to become desparate to lay and become more catholic in their tastes. Generally round here this means dogwood (which is quite common), vetches and goats' rue.

Saturday 25th April. Cooler again today, and a bit of cloud to start, but with light winds and strong sun later, it was another lovely day with around a hundred individual butterflies seen again. Orange Tips, Peacocks and Holly Blues remained the commonest species, with Small Tortoiseshells being the one absent species today. However, there was a newcomer - I found a brand new Small Copper, making the 12th species on my local patch so far in 2020.Amongst several Red Admirals with various degrees of wear, I found one to add to the list of mud-puddlers......and another resting after a few sorties into the riverside nettles apparently laying eggs. The location was too precariously situated by the water to investigate safely!The lower air temperature meant the Holly Blues were opening up noticeably more than recently.Another Large White female cooperated......and I also found a very dusky-looking female Green-veined White.Later in the day, after yesterday's absence, one or two Commas appeared - though they are looking a bit more faded now.A Brimstone surveyed the hedgerow for some while before selecting this spot to dive into and and roost nearly invisibly till the morning.Finally, Orange Tips were also settling down and allowing closer approaches. Dave

Great to see a few Large White images creeping into people's PDs, Dave. The one you depicted in your last but one report is particularly well marked.

Glad you stumbled on a Small Copper too. Always nice when the regular group of species are joined by a newbie. By the time the weather clears up I guess we can expect Common Blues, Brown Argus, Small Heaths and a few more besides?

Cheers, David. Getting decent photos of Large Whites is not the easiest of tasks for such a common butterfly! You're right - I'm hoping that once May is underway the very species you mention will appear on my patch. Following previous years, it would probably be Brown Argus and Small Heath first, followed a few days later by Common Blue. Then towards the end of May, Large Skippers and maybe an early Meadow Brown or two. If there's to be an influx this year, this is when I'd expect to see the first Painted Ladies as well. Fingers crossed!

Back to the summer weather in April. Sunday 26th April was glorious again, sunny throughout, calm winds and up to the 21 degree mark by late afternoon. Over a hundred butterflies seen again today, with all the usual suspects doing well including Holly Blues topping the 30 mark. There seemed to be yet more fresh males appearing, three weeks down the line from the first ones appearing - the month has been excellent for them.Little knots of three or four males squabbling were pretty common.The sun was a bit strong for fully opening up today, but there was the odd one.They do have a liking for these flowers (alkanet?)......but some prefer their namesake.I thought initially that this was a female, but on second thoughts what you can see of the upperside tends to indicate otherwise.

The Small Copper seen on 25th appeared again in the same spot, and posed a little more than before.More Red Admirals......and a few of all the others too. Another very full day dominated as ever by Holly Blues.

Dave

Cracking set of shots and reporting Dave but where has the 'summer' weather gone As I type this it's bucketing down outside Mind you a drop of rain is long overdue and I've got to work to tomorrow so it can do what it likes Good luck finding those Greenstreaks on your local patch

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

millerd wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2020 9:22 pm...Little knots of three or four males squabbling were pretty common..

That's the behaviour I'm used to seeing round my way, Dave, but it tends to happen quite early in the season and then stops. I note that many of your specimens look quite fresh, whereas the ones I'm currently seeing are invariably quite worn now.

Nice to see numbers of Red Admirals on the rise. That's yet to happen here in south Wales.

You've an amazing local patch, Dave, nice to have in these very trying times. I am amazed at the amount of butterflies you've seen, and the great shots that you have managed, makes for very nice viewing especially those Holly Blues

Mike.

Cheers, Wurzel - yes, a drop of rain is definitely required. Some of the nettles that the Red Admirals were looking to lay on had started to curl, which is a sure sign they are a bit thirsty. I'd guess that after the last three days of April they'll be fine. Looks like things are back on the up now.

Definitely fresh male Holly Blues still emerging, David. Quite surprising considering they have had 26 consecutive days suitable for flying and in a normal year they would probably have had half that or fewer. In fact, many butterflies will have worn themselves out with such a lot of continuous activity - an average of around 8 hours of sun a day during this April, and an average high here at Heathrow of nearly 18 degrees.

Thank you, Mike. I am lucky to have such a productive area within easy reach of home. The majority of the Holly Blues are within five minutes walk, and everything else within about 20 minutes. Nothing particularly rare or unusual, though - but you can't have everything!

Monday 27th April. Much less sunshine today and a bit cooler (up to 19 degrees), though it remained dry. Fewer butterflies (around 70 or so) but the change in weather didn't deter the Holly Blues that much - a third of the total were of this species. Of note today though was another Small Copper, patrolling a different spot. It was quite a diminutive individual as can be seen here - barely larger than the buttercup it's sitting on.Not far away was a nectaring female Orange Tip. In the fairly dull conditions she made no attempt to leave this clump of flowers.Wandering from this area across a wide expanse of grass, I thought I'd found a Common Blue. Tracking it at low level, it came to a stop finally on some brambles: I should have realised - it was a female Holly Blue. I think it had been investigating the idea of laying on one of the many clumps of goats' rue sprouting from the grass - behaviour I see most years, but usually not until well into May when the plant has prominent flower buds.Once again there were a selection of shiny new males, including one puddling from a damp patch caused by the spray from a hosepipe......and another on the blue flowers again.The remainder just sat in characteristic poses. The less said about the last three days of April, the better - even Wednesday 29th (which was dry and not too chilly) produced no butterflies at all here. Better days ahead in May...

Dave

More enviable Holly Blue shots, Dave. I admire the way you have trained them to pose within camera range.
The problem with the old railway is there is so much high vegetation, and very little lower down.
Could your Small Copper be an ab?, with fewer forewing markings.

Stay well,
Trevor.

Hi Dave,

Can you send some of those Holly Blues up here please, I have only seen a handful so far and only one of those was a female.

Cheers,

Neil.

That is a tiny Copper Dave And more lovely Holly Blues Things do look better weather wise in the near future though we're due a blip on Tuesday - luckily I'm rota'd on then

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Lovely Holly Blues again, Dave. Some of them look impeccably fresh, especially the one basking on the leaf towards the end of the sequence.

Nice to see a Small Copper too, and rather an unusual one as well.

Nice Holly Blue photos, especially the female open winged. Can't remember the last time I had one pose like that for me.

Kind Regards
Kev

Many thanks to all of you. It's a good thing Holly Blues seem to be a popular subject, or you'd all be bored with them by now! There was an appreciative article about them in the Times today (2nd), with some rather poetic descriptions, which I thoroughly approved of until the end, where the writer made an astonishing error by stating that they overwintered as adult butterflies. Rather disappointing I shan't believe anything I read in the papers ever again - so much for fact-checking!

Friday 1st May. After three distinctly inclement and butterfly-free days, the forecast was better. Unfortunately the forecast was as reliable as that Times article and quickly launched into heavy showers. That said, the showers were interrupted by some reasonable bursts of sunshine, and I managed a bit of a walk without getting wet. The butterflies must have been relying on the forecast too as I managed to see a reasonable number, of which nearly half were Holly Blues. I only found six other species today, but the relatively cool air kept them more subdued than recently.Oh, I nearly forgot - some Holly Blues Dave

The Holly Blues in your patch have a long emergence period.
Some have clearly been around for a while, with some in your last post
looking very fresh indeed. I am getting daily HB flypasts over my garden,
but they are not as friendly around here.
Also that is a great, sharp, OT shot in the above post.

Stay well and healthy!,
Trevor.

More brilliant stuff Dave - the third from last Holly Blue has caught the light just right to make it look almost like a Common Blue The papers often disappoint when it comes to writing about this countries flora and fauna although in this case perhaps we can let them off the hook as I think they probably got a bit over excited as they were writing about something other than Covid-19 There is talk about a slight easing in that they will make it clear that you can travel to the countryside (although not the beach) so you still might be able to get some Marshies - they've only just started

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

That is an enviable female Green Veined White, Dave, a species I've really struggled to photograph so far this year.

Those fresh Holly Blues keep rolling off the production line round your way! Are they continuously brooded?

Hi Dave,

Lots more cracking Holly Blues recently, I really am becoming convinced that mine have all gone down the M40 to you, perhaps word has got around up here about the great conditions you have for them down there

That female Green-veined White stands out for me though, with the extended dark markings along the rear edges of the forewings, a striking example.

Cheers,

Neil.

Cheers, Trevor - you're right about the Hollies. They keep on coming, and in fact though numbers do drop briefly before the second brood arrive, it's very rare for there to be an actual gap. It is possible to see one on any day from the last week of March right through to the end of November.

I don't think they are actually continually brooded as you suggest, David - they do have a few months off over the winter! Two full broods and a partial third one almost every year. I think it may be this last one whose offspring are the later individuals emerging now. Just a theory.

GVW are quite variable, Neil, especially at this time of year. When fresh they are beautifully marked butterflies. If it were possible to export a few Hollies, I'd be happy to - I had seen 18 this morning before I saw another butterfly, and all before 10am.

I really hope your optimism is well-founded, Wurzel. The problem might be deciding where to choose as a destination. And the famous Law of Sodde will no doubt case the weather to crash spectacularly... No one likes a soggy Marshie (however appropriate that actually sounds ).

Saturday 2nd May. Sunnier and warmer again. My walk around my local patch was a bit truncated today as I had another plan in mind for later on. Nevertheless, I found a couple of new Small Coppers again.It's interesting that though they do get a bit tired and faded as the season progresses, you hardly ever see a torn Orange Tip.Unlike even relatively new Red Admirals......or ageing PeacocksThough there were once again plenty around (I counted around 20), only a couple of HB photos today. With just a relatively brief break, I continued my walk in a different direction, heading south to Staines Moor. I had forgotten how close this area is, and what it was like, and it is only the limitations of the current situation that sparked me to try something different. I'm glad I did - but I'll continue the tale in a new post in a bit.

Dave