www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Photos 3 and 9 are beautiful es the pair

Wurzel wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2023 9:33 pm Brilliant to see those cracking Duke and Duchess shots Boyboy and also hear that the Dukes are doing well there That final one definitely has a different 'look' about it, good for an 'ab' Also seeing the under wing of your Duchess reminded me of something I've noticed before when looking at female Dukes/Duchesses, the costa on the fore wing seems slightly concave

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Interesting observation too Wurzel - I had to look up costa !

Thanks Wurzel, that final one is one of the ab. semibrunnea that I saw. Although I had several encounters throughout the day, looking at my pictures it looks like the same two.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


May 2023

Tuesday 23rd. The following week I met up with Neil H. again. This time we weren’t going to let the plagues of Dukes distract us and we went straight to the Pearl site. It was a slow start, just a couple of males already patrolling but as the morning warmed up many more appeared, mostly females and by the afternoon it was easy to stand in a spot and see four or five flitting around egg laying within a few feet of us. We did a head count as we walked along the ride, coming up with 40+ which considering how small this site is, and how poorly others have fared after last years drought is pretty good! We found a rather attractive ab. although the photo’s don’t really do her justice, particularly in flight the paler edge really did stand out. Although the focus was obviously on the Pearls, and there were very little other butterflies around, a few other inhabitants did catch my eye. A few of these Dung Beetles were buzzing around and Neil found a Giant Cranefly, Tipula maxima, nearly big enough to feed a small family! Since Neil was dropping me off at Arundel, it would be rude not to also drop into Rewell Wood on the way where a few more Pearls posed for us before going to bed. Also seen here were a few Brown Argus and a Grizzlie. Thanks Neil for showing round this new site

Greta set of photos Bugboy - especially that rather nice looking ab Bentley, away from the EC, seemed to be doing quite well this year as well . It seems to be one of those 'hit or miss' years both for sites and different species Good to see another named ab. - I'll have to have a look back at my old ones to see if I've anything similar

Have a goodun

Wurzel

bugboy wrote: ↑Sat Jun 17, 2023 7:14 pm....and by the afternoon it was easy to stand in a spot and see four or five flitting around egg laying within a few feet of us...

That's great news, Paul. I wasn't sure how this species would fare given the heatwave conditions last summer for the early stages, but it certainly doesn't seem to have caused too many problems at that site.

Thanks Wurzel, good to hear they are doing well over at Bentley, at least for this year anyway.
Thanks David, sadly it’s not all good news for them, at the other Sussex sites they were out in ‘modest’ numbers at best. It was only at this one small site that they could be considered as having a good year, Neil and I think it is most likely due to its aspect protecting it from the worst of the summer sun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


May 2023

Saturday 27th. Over the winter whilst researching new sites to explore I discovered a website that maps every footpath in the UK and whilst browsing this I found an easy route to Battlesbury Hillfort from Warminster. The Marsh Fritillaries in their western strongholds provide a much better experience than the handful of inbred individuals that are clinging on at some of their unauthorised release sites more local to me so it’s a no brainer as to where to get my fix! An early start got me to Warminster at 10 and I was on site by 10.30 with things already warming up. As well as the main target, there was plenty more to enjoy and as often happens with me, I took several hundred pictures so the day will be split into two, saving the Marshies for the next post.

The first butterfly I found was my first Adonis of the year. Dingies popped up regularly as I perused the Hillfort, a Forester Moth posed nicely, and a rather nice female Common Blue proved irresistible. By far the most numerous lepidoptera of the day was the 5-spot Burnet. Based on the time of year I suspect these are the rarer Zygaena trifolii. Because of the numerous other targets, I didn’t pay them much attention, except for this individual, a form minoides where all the red spots merge into one irregular blob. Walls popped up here and there but their main stronghold (at least the males) was the sun-baked path around the ridge of the hillfort where more Adonis also held court. My plan for the day was to walk across the various bronze age Hillforts to Cotley Hill and back. There was very little on Middle Hill save for a handful of hyperactive Small Heath at the top.

There was a bit more variety at Scratchbury Hillfort but still nothing like the abundance of Battlesbury. The walk to Cotley, which was obviously quite slow and meandering, only took about an hour and half and with the stunning scenery was anything but a chore, even with some quite large hills to navigate under a hot sun and cloudless sky. It was the usual selection at Cotley and pretty much the same as I’d found at Battlesbury, unsurprisingly. As with many places this year, Grizzled Skippers were rather scarce, the nicest one I found was licking the path down towards where you park if you haven’t walked all the way! On the return walk I was distracted by some Kites getting too close to the local Lapwings who were giving them a hard time whenever they floated over their field Probably about 50% of the pictures taken were of the Marsh Fritillary so I'll be sifting through them for the next post

Fascinating to hear about this particular walk, Paul, as I've toyed in the past with doing it in reverse (Cotley to Battlesbury and back). However, I've always been too sidetracked by all Cotley has to offer to leave enough time... Looking forward to the Marshie installment!

Cheers,

Dave

Great stuff, Paul. You have demonstrated why Wiltshire is one of my favourite
counties to visit for butterflies, sheer variety and abundance.
Looking forward to your Marshies, hope you found some variety of wing markings,
all the ones I saw this year were pretty ' standard ' in that respect.

bugboy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 20, 2023 9:21 pm By far the most numerous lepidoptera of the day was the 5-spot Burnet. Based on the time of year I suspect these are the rarer Zygaena trifolii. Because of the numerous other targets, I didn’t pay them much attention, except for this individual, a form minoides where all the red spots merge into one irregular blob.

I would agree Paul. Although both are on the wing in June, forms with confluent spots are far more common in Five-spot Burnets than in Narrow-bordered Five-spots. Five-spots also tend to be the one seen on southern chalk hillsides, especially where there is plenty of Birds-foot Trefoil which is the sole foodplant of this species. Narrow-bordered Five-spots use a wider variety of foodplants hence it's wider distribution.

Cheers,

Neil.

Looking forward to the Marshies Bugboy great to see you picking off all the local Wiltshire delicacies Full marks in particular for that Wall shot

Have a goodun

Wurzel

That's a beautifully lit Wall Brown, Paul. Shows the intricate underwing pattern superbly.

Looking forward to your Marsh Frits. I only managed four worn ones on my local patch this spring.

Thanks Dave, it is a nice walk, hilly but gorgeous scenery, personally I think Battlesbury is a better site anyway!
Thanks Trevor, they were all pretty standard for me too, all different but no extremes in colour or pattern.
Thanks Neil, good to have my ID confirmed, those other reasons you list were also what lead to my initial ID.
Thanks Wurzel, that Wall shot did take a bit of time to get, had to go full stalk mode to nab him in between walkers.
Thanks David, that picture did need a bit of post tweaking to bring it out, he was trying to stay cool so only just catching the sun and sitting on a chalk path, the contrast was pretty severe. I’m happy with the result though

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


May 2023

Saturday 27th cont. The Marsh Fritillaries were out in force and it didn’t take long for the first few to show themselves. They’d ben on the wing at Battlesbury for a few weeks by now so most were showing signs of age but there were still enough presentable ones around. The Hawthorn was in full flower and several was feeding on the blossom, looking particularly picturesque in the process. Walking around the more exposed ridge it was all supporting cast but dropping down the slope on the eastern flank they appeared in greater numbers than on the southern slope. A particularly nice female was very popular! On Middle Hill I found just a solitary camera shy individual and there were non to be found on Scratchbury Hillfort. At Cotley Hill normal proceedings resumed. Here they were more fresher to be found although nowhere near the numbers I’d seen at Battlesbury. After an hour and half I made the return back to Battlesbury where they were still active. Amongst them was a particularly old one who wasn’t so much greasy as straight out of the chip fryer! It was a long but a very good day with oodles of things to point my camera at. Overall, I’d say Battlesbury is the better site (controversial opinion ). Although Cotley gets a lot of attention, there’s the same range of species at both sites but I’d say Battlesbury is easier terrain and, at least on this visit, there was significantly more Fritillaries to find and also from a personal standpoint, its much closer to a train station too !

Beautiful selection, Paul. Almost breaks my heart given how few I saw myself locally this spring, but there's a price to be paid for spending so much time abroad and this was a dear one this year!

Thanks David, the price you pay for going after all that European exotica! Always next year though

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


May 2023

Sunday 28th, Chiddingfold. I had enough time to sneak in a visit to see the spring brood Wood Whites. The Sunday bus service between Godalming and Chiddingfold is a bit thin on the ground, so I had to keep a close eye on my watch but apart from that, it was quite a relaxing day for me, although perhaps not so for some of the butterflies, hormones were running rampant throughout my visit. Once again there was a lot going on and many pictures were taken so it’ll be a double post day. First the Wood Whites who were well spread out but good numbers were found and there were many tongues waving around. A selection of the many hundreds of pictures taken of them doing their thing: Some females had to deal with more than one tongue being waved around! more rampant hormones in the next post.

Stunning Wood White behaviour shots Bugboy The were doing something similar when I saw them, it seems that they don't use the standard White dismissal (raising the abdomen) but sort of flap their wings irritably, so instead of flipping the bird they batter of ardent males with their handbags
"there was significantly more Fritillaries to find" this could be because they emerge first at Battlesbury and progress Eastwards along the vale so the'll have had longer to build. As for Battlesbury being the better site to be fair you're more likely to get Dukes there but the parking is nowhere near as good Personally I think that Sidbury is better than all of them

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lovely shots Bugboy of the Wood Whites They look so delicate , you've really shown that in your shots Goldie

Thanks Wurzel, it’s all very curious but I’ll never tire of watching it, even if I don’t really know what’s going on.
Thanks Goldie, when I watch them fluttering along I like to liken them to little drunk fairies

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


May 2023

Sunday 28th, Chiddingfold part 2. A few weeks before my visit, BadgerBob had an unusual find here, a female Silver-washed Fritillary and I did wonder if it were still hanging around. I got my answer shortly after arriving (or at least I thought I did), swooping around the sides of the path near the bridge was indeed a female SWF. I naturally assumed this was the same one, it was certainly a little more worn than Bobs one, but once images were compared it seems this is a second individual, making this even more curious. Does the lifecycle require a cold spell to hibernate through in order to complete its growth, or has last years record breaking temperatures thrown up another oddity? Are they double brooded in any part of their range? Anyway, it was mostly Wood White for quite a while after her appearance. I did however wander quite a bit further than my previous visits, ending up on the Surrey/Sussex border where I found a Grizzled Skipper buzzing around, the first time I’ve seen one here. Another first was a Green Hairstreak in the clearing near the triangle so beloved by the WW, but it slipped of before I could get a snap.

As I said in the previous post, hormones were running riot today and not just the WW. The second most numerous butterfly of the day was the Brimstone, and it was while wandering down towards the Sussex border that I found one poor female being harassed by up to four males. Sometimes she’d manage to give one the slip only for another two to come along. Other times three would be on her and she’d manage to give them all the slip when they decided to start arguing amongst themselves. However, there was one particularly obsessive and persistent male who didn’t know the meaning of no, or even “NO!” I watched the whole thing for 10 minutes but I’m sure the female had to endure the harassment for a lot longer! On the plus side it did give me plenty of opportunity to obtain many upperside shots. I'm not sure what he's looking for here but I think at this stage a restraining order should be issued!

The life of a mated female Brimstone is not a peaceful one! That's a great series of shots, Paul.

The SWF thing is a real mystery - these butterflies must have emerged in the early part of May, so compared to those appearing now must have undergone very rapid development after their hibernation as a tiny caterpillar. Conceivably they passed the winter in a later instar, giving them a headstart. Last year's extraordinary weather certainly caused several plants to go through a second "spring" in autumn and flower a second time, so maybe some insects followed suit. We shall probably never know.

Good to see a Grizzlie in those woods. I used to see them regularly in the Oaken Wood bit, but haven't come across one for some years. I used to see the odd Dingy Skipper too, but not any more. I don't go back to the days of PBF though!

Cheers,

Dave

Great shots of the Brimstones Paul.

I'll go along with the others, Ref. your Brimstone sequence. Great stuff!

Trevor.

Great Brimstones Bugboy You've got to feel for the female -so much harassment mind you other species have it worse, often even being ripped out of the pupal case and mated there and then

Have a goodun

Wurzel