Thanks for your contribution
MrSp0ck. I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on this, everyone’s entitled to an opinion. I base my opinions solely on the actual facts at hand rather than all the various opinions touted as (alternative) ‘facts’ you find on various social media platforms. The facts as I see them were that some Black-veined White emerged at Hutchinson’s bank, that’s it. There’s zero evidence for how they got there either way as far as I can tell. I’m not aware of any being recorded in the UK last year and there’s no evidence for large numbers being on the north coast of Europe despite reports to the contrary. The same fact can be put on the ones seen on the south coast, they were seen, that’s it. How they got there is open to discussion and being closer to the continent then genuine migrants is slightly more plausible, although once again the lack of numbers on the north coast of Europe puts doubt in that theory. It’s merely conjecture to combine the separate events into one theory.
So, we’re left with having to fill in the gaping hole between none recorded last year and some recorded this year. If we’re to believe that a wild female laid the eggs last year, then we also have to swallow the large pill that after crossing the channel she then flew across hundreds of miles of ideal habitat, across Sussex and Surrey, and managed to remain unseen last year during the tail end of Glanville season at a very popular butterfly site. The fact that 3 were picked out this year on UK soil before all eyes were alerted to their presence suggests that there’s no reason she couldn’t have been seen last year if she were present. Based on the very limited facts at hand, my opinion is that it's far more likely that at some point someone dumped some larvae at Hutchinson’s bank. Since it’s an opinion I’m more than happy to change it should more genuine facts on the subject surface but as it stands, I believe it’s very unlikely for the Hutchinson’s bank BVW’s to be a natural event.
Thanks
Wurzel, it will remain one of the many mysteries in the world of nature
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June 2023
Tuesday 6th, Denbies. Unfortunately I was a bit late to catch the first brood Adonis in all their glory, although a few were quite fresh, the vast majority of what remained were a little past their best
And in some cases, quite a way…
I decided to mostly ignore any female Blues since Commons were also on the wing and I’d end up giving myself a headache trying to work out which was which but on the odd occasion one was fresh enough to be identifiable.
Even at the ripe old age many were, hormones were still running rampant (raging butterfly hormones, a recurring theme in my PD at the moment!)
Somewhat fresher looking were a couple of season debutants
Also looking fresh, but more surprisingly, were some Grizzled Skippers. At this rate I’ll be seeing Grizzled Skippers flying alongside Chalk Hill Blues!
Some Orchids I’d never seen before were pointed out to me, Man Orchids. I’m sure I’ve walked past this species on more than one occasion, just like I did today, they aren’t particularly conspicuous especially if your focusing on other stuff, but up close its plain to see how they got their name.
Returning to the Adonis, one of the last ones I found was an ab.
krodeli.