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The afternoon wander down to Staines Moor also on 6th May had no surprises, but there was a bit of interest. Small Heaths had appeared here too......and there were now several Brown Argus flying.I found a female Orange Tip minding her own business and as I was getting a shot or two......she suddenly became the centre of a great deal more attention.Rejection was the fate also suffered by an amorous Small Copper, who pursued the lady of his desires for some while through the grass, and must have thought at one point that he had met with success.She finally escaped, and here she is regaining her composure. Dave

Looks good for a Brimstone larvae, a freshly moulted 2nd instar if I'm not mistaken

Tis indeed Dave - I'd been reading about them making number 3 More cracking images - it seems you can't escape the Holly Blues Love the shots of the Brown Argus where it's opened it's wings almost as wide as it can - like it's having a really good stretch You've got to feel for the Small Copper - so close

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Thank you for the confirmation, Buggy and Wurzel. I could always go and look these things up in Pete's book of course, but then I'd get sidetracked for hours...

And another female Holly Blue to come next as well...

Thursday 7th May. Another 12 hours of sunshine, and a hike in temperature up to 23 degrees. Butterfly numbers remained similar, around the 70 mark with 11 species seen locally. There were notably more Brown Argus today (7)......and more Small Heath too (4)These two kept darting between my feet.The Small Coppers can't compete with those down the road, but there were still a few around.However, the Holly Blues certainly can, and there were over 20 seen again. In fact the first butterfly I saw today, soon after 0830 this morning, was another glorious new female. Dave

As has become customary, I followed the early circuit on 7th May with another walk down to Staines Moor. The novelty of being able to see so many Small Coppers has yet to wear off! The warmer conditions made them much more difficult to approach, but a wide loop around taking about an hour allowed me to count just over 30 of them. As ever, double-counting was highly likely, but I no doubt walked right past a few too. It all evens out. Some of them were quite dark in colour, which seems unusual for the first brood - maybe the almost constant sunshine and relative warmth since mid-March has caused this as they are certainly darker in later broods during hot summers. Not only were they more difficult to approach, but they were reluctant to open up much - but at least that meant some underside shots were available for a change.Other species seen included supercharged Brown Argus that weren't stopping for anything, Holly Blues, Peacocks, Small Heath......a female Orange Tip (quite possibly the one seen a few days back) laying on Hedge Mustard......and one final surprise, a very ancient and careworn Small Tortoiseshell. Dave

millerd wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2020 4:18 pm...In fact the first butterfly I saw today, soon after 0830 this morning, was another glorious new female...

Sublime!

Dave, we now officially 'surrender' to you.

That’s a glorious female holly blue you have there, Dave!

That Holly Blue Dave - "We're not worthy, we're not worthy..." (Another pop culture reference - see if you can get this one ) The Brown Argus shots are mighty fine too

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

What can I say Dave and that doesn't cover it Goldie

Some great shots of butterfly behaviour Dave - particularly like that Holly Blue egg-laying as I know how hard it can be to get such clear shots when you only have a couple of seconds. I was interested in your tiny Brimstone larva - to me it looks like 1st instar as it seems identical to 'my' Brimstone. I could be wrong - I shall know better as my ones develop.

Many thanks once again for all your votes of appreciation for the Holly Blues. There are more to come, believe it or not - popping up everywhere, they are.

I'm glad you like the behavioural shots, Pauline. They are the one thing you cannot deliberately set out to get and their spontaneity somehow provides a greater sense of achievement than just a standard posing Small Copper or Brown Argus (though the best of these are also rewarding). Hopefully there's a mix of both coming up.

Friday May 8th was yet another sunny day, with temperatures reaching a summery 24 degrees locally. 80 butterflies seen, 12 species. The relative newcomers put on a good show, first the Brown Argus......and then the Small Heath.Difficult to resist a Small Copper......a subtly marked Green-veined White......or an Orange Tip, especially as the latter's days are surely numbered now in such a continuously sunny flight season.However, knowing that they were just starting to appear, I was on the look out for shiny new Common Blues. The day was a complete failure on that score - I saw a series of blue butterflies cruising across the gentle grassy slopes, but every single one turned out to be a female Holly Blue. Most ended up on the frequent goats' rue clumps, looking to lay or actually doing so. I ended up with an extrordinary number of photos and have spent a while pruning them down to a manageable representative few.I think there were four different butterflies involved overall. I did manage one shot of an egg! They were surprisingly difficult to find... It's interesting to compare the degree of black marking on the various females seen here - some almost approach the levels seen on the summer brood.

That's probably enough Holly Blues for now...

Dave

I've noticed the Goat's-rue is just starting to bud on my patch and Holly Blue numbers are very slowly starting to creep up, two or three a day rather than the odd one every two or three days. They're still very uncooperative but when they start fixating on on the Goat's-rue I'm sure I'll be tripping over the little buggers

Your shots are Fab Dave, especially the Holly Blues, I've yet to see one, looking forward to more shots from you. Goldie

That's no way to talk about these delightful (not to mention amenable and numerous) little creatures, Buggy! You're right though, they do get zoned in on the goats' rue from their bases in hedgerows some way off and have been annoying me on an almost daily basis by flying quite a long way a foot or so above the grass to reach their target. Doing this they look uncommonly similar to male Common Blues...

Thank you again, Goldie - you're bound to get a Holly in your garden sooner or later I'm sure.

Saturday 9th May. Perhaps even hotter than Friday, with lots of sunshine once again. If anything, the heat subdued butterfly numbers a bit today, and certainly made photography more difficult. Though having already resolved not to take any shots of Holly Blues today, I couldn't help myself follow a blue butterfly to a typical resting place on a bramble. Getting closer, I was very surprised to find it was actually a Common Blue - the first on my local patch for 2020.With Holly Blues flying across open fields and Common Blues frequenting hedgerows, it just shows how general rules of thumb can be overturned just like that...

The only other reasonable shots I took here today were firstly of a fresh Brown Argus nectaring on its foodplant......and secondly a nice Green-veined White. Dave

Late on the afternoon of 9th May, I popped down to Staines Moor again to see how the Small Coppers were doing. The sun was still strong, and it was hardly any cooler, so it was a while before the butterflies settled to become something more discernable than bright orange flashes in the sunlight chasing each other around. When they started to stop for nectar, they spent a lot of time with their wings closed, allowing for a different kind of photo.Gradually, one or two opened up - lovely and new, with a splendid deep colour and mostly sitting on their favourite buttercups.There were several Brown Argus around as well, sharing an interest in these extraordinarily yellow flowers. Dave

Those buttercups really set off the butterflies well Dave Gurt lush I had another look at your OT from a few posts back - is it just me or are those quite large black markings on the wing tips?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

A cracking array of Coppers there Dave,they are glorious arn,t they when fresh ,glad someones finding them in good numbers this season , I,ve seen a few on my local jaunts but ,really missing the numbers (and variety ) we see most years at Dungeness ,which is closed to the public for at least another week ,but with luck ………….. should catch some in the second brood (hopefully !!)
Regards Allan.W.

For Sunday 10th May, the promise all week had been that the weather would turn really chilly overnight. However, the cold front moving south decided to edge its way rather slower than expected, and Sunday morning had hazy sunshine, and for a few hours it was still quite warm. Around midday though, the cloud that had been visible in the north made its presence felt and within an hour the sun had gone, the wind had risen, and yes it was really quite chilly. In fact by 1800 it was only 9 degrees - having been as high as 18 earlier on (and 24 degrees 24 hours earlier!).

The morning had however provided some decent butterfly entertainment. Small Coppers, looking fairly fresh, or in some cases, very worn indeed.A few Peacocks still - one of these just looks worn out, but the other actually appears really fresh in depth of colour - if it wasn't for the fact that its wings appear to have been chomped.A few Orange Tips, including this one with a bit of a dusting of dark scales over the orange.Numbers of Brown Argus are building - I saw nine this morning.Small Heaths are appearing regularly now too.Only a few white butterflies today (they seem to have a nose for impending bad weather), and this Large White was grabbing a bit of fuel before hunkering down somewhere.The Holly Blues appear not to be sensitive in this way, and I counted 14, more than anything else.The highlight among these was another mating pair, somewhat better positioned for a photo this time. Dave

Sorry, Wurzel and Allan, I forgot to acknowledge you appreciation for the Coppers! The population I've found at Staines Moor is the largest I've come across anywhere outside of Dungeness (but that one is just in another league!) I wonder what the second and third broods will be like? Should be quite impressive as well I hope.

Monday 11th May was rather chilly as forecast (only 12 degrees at best), but without too much wind and quite a lot of sunshine, I actually saw forty-odd butterflies on my local patch, with ten species represented. The surprise of the day was the first Comma for nearly a week, though it was wearing rather thin as the saying goes...The cold hadn't prevented the Common Blues from emerging, and I saw three today - though none of them posed nicely with open wings, as they persistently disturbed one another.The remainder were the usual suspects...One particular male Brown Argus posed in a rather curious way - whether any females would be taken in by his purported masculinity I somehow doubt... Dave

To say that he's got some cajones is an understatement Dave I was reading your post and thinking "cool, great shot, etc etc" but my mind is now blank and all I can picture is that final image, brilliant- cheered me up no end!

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel