www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi! Wurzel, still enjoying your shots from France, the colours of the different Butterflies has well, Goldie

Cheers Mike I got lucky with that Mazarine as I almost didn't bother to follow it I've been wondering about that Galnville ab as the forewings look really like a Knapweed but with the 'black dots in the boxes' on the rear wing margin of a Glanville
Cheers Goldie There should be another one hot of the press later - just got to do a bit of tidying up (house) and another bit of tidying up (of the prose) first.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Taking a closer look, you're right, it's Knapweed, Wurzel

Mike

Hi Wurzel. I too have been enjoying your French shots - but things always kept happening just as I was about to post a reply and say so!

I'm sure Ernie is right about the Coprinus. I've never come across that species on my wanderings, though I've eaten hundreds of their cousins, the shaggy inkcap. And yes - knapweed. This is an incredibly variable butterfly. Females especially, but males too, often have 'Glanville' spots on the hindwings.

Keep 'em coming!

Guy

Cheers for the confirmation Mike
Cheers Guy That one did throw me for a bit as in the UK those particular marks are diagnostic...then I remembered that this was taken in the UK It certainly is a variable butterfly - I saw them in all shades and colour combos but always with that exaggerated marking on the forewing

A Cloudy Day!? 17-08-2018 Part 1

It was cloudy when I awoke and so I didn’t take my usual morning constitutional. Instead we again ventured forth on the tiny country roads this time Bergerac bound. As we drove despite my wife’s fears I couldn’t shake a certain 80’s theme tune from my head (do, do, do, doody do do) . It was a slightly surreal morning; the parking was fine though it felt like we were more abandoning it than parking, we saw a mannequin with a Moose Head and a statue of ol’big nose himself (Cyrano) and when I used a public lav the toilet disappeared into the wall and all the lights went out leaving me mid flow with literally nowhere to go!

Once back home things got a bit more back to the proper routine and so I went down to the lake to watch the girl splash about and also to do a bit of rowing. On the way down a Sooty Copper became the latest addition to the ‘garden’ list and down on the Jetty a Lesser Purple Emperor came down on the path twice. I couldn’t get close enough to get any shots off and I was always at the wrong angle. It then took off for a third time and this time laded on the jetty and then in the boat. I was able to creep up slightly more but only for a few distant shots. I was still happy though as any shots of a new species are great and the ones I got picked up the blue and the extra set of eyes/rings on the wings that can be used to differentiate Lesser from (Greater?) Purple Emperor. It made a few subsequent landings on the boat, however these were when the girls were out on the water. They did manage to row back to the bank but after splashing, the movement, the girls changing seats etc. it only took the slightest of nudges as the boat grounded to set the LPE. I was eventually ‘released’ and so took my now usual route to the Cutting. I was hoping to track down the Mazarine again and so I went to the left hand side. It was quite busy this afternoon with a nice and fresh male Sooty Copper and a Weaver’s which got the ball rolling. Other Fritillaries started appearing including a pair in cop which I couldn’t ID at the time and now back home with all the guide books I’m still struggling with. I’d hazard a guess at Heath Fritillary as that the more ‘common’ species but it could be Meadow. I wandered along the taller Cooch grass and the Blues starting appearing which was what I was hoping for. If they had orange spots on the underside I’d check for the cell spot and hope that it was missing and if it was then I’d look more closely. Unfortunately I only found one cell-spotless Blue and that wasn’t anything new; it was a Short-tailed Blue. By keeping a close eye on the small to middling butterflies I managed to get onto a dusky looking Small Copper and I also was able to add a Long-tailed Blue to the trip list. Even more of a bonus it stopped for long enough to enable me to actually get some shots unlike in Lisbon two years previously. Slightly further on a Spotted Fritillary shone out among the straw background colour. These butterflies are so bright and gaudy that they seem out of focus; they look like someone’s planted a fake model butterfly to catch out the unsuspecting Lepidopterist. As I was revelling in the glorious unctuousness of the Spot Frit a Swallowtail bombed by and distracted me. I followed it for a bit but it was very flighty so I managed only a few record shots and I couldn’t relocate the Spot Frit so made my way back to the entrance to the Cutting... Have a goodun

Wurzel

Great shots again from the Dordogne, Wurzel lovely to see the LPE and the Sooty Copper. Weavers is one we missed as we did the Long-tailed Blue, you did well to get those Spotted Fritillaries are one of my favourites too. Like you I'm not sure if the pair in cop are Heath or Meadow as they appear so alike, sorry I'm no help

Mike

Lovely Butterflies Wurzel, I'm really enjoying your shots Goldie

Cheers Mike No worries about the ID the mystery just adds to my enjoyment of them - especially as I have already seen both of the species that it could be
Cheers Goldie It's great looking back and reminiscing Anyway back to the UK...

The Devenish 01-09-2018

I had about an hour and half free on this afternoon but with a pick-up in Salisbury which meant not enough time to get to anywhere like Martin Down or Shipton…so “where to go?” was the conundrum. It was still a bit early in the season for Five Rivers, there were at least a couple more outings to Laverstock on the cards and so The Devenish seemed the best option; with maybe a sneaky Small Copper?

On arrival there were no cars in the car park and when I stopped and listened I couldn’t hear anything so I was the only one around. I started off by checking the small Paddock even though it seemed it was too early for hibernators and I was proved right with only 2 Specklies seen. While I waited and watched at the gate, I felt a weird crawly sensation on my shins; something pushing their way through my leg hairs. Looking down I found that it was a bloody Tick but luckily it was still climbing upwards towards the hem of my shorts and wasn’t clamped on so I can gingerly picked it up and squashed it. I wouldn’t normally go out of my way to harm another creature, normally I’m all for live and let live but in this case it was definitely Live and Let Die; I felt like I was meting out a little justice for those people that I know that have been bitten and suffered as a consequence.
Next it was on to the Orchid Meadow and almost immediately a male Adonis catches my eye. So I just watch to see where it goes as each time it lands it seems to upset a butterfly that’s already there throwing up two male Common Blues, a Brown Argus and Green-veined White. This was a useful tactic as I might have missed most of these butterflies as they nectared low down in among the twisted tussle of tendrils. I carry on my usual Devenish route and next it’s up the hill through the narrow path hemmed in on both sides by tall shrubs and a large Bramble bush. At this wall of Bramble a Red Admiral swoops by almost taking my head off as it does so. Round the corner a solitary Comma feeds, bumbling around on the Bramble and probing its proboscis into between the drupelets of the Blackberries. About half way up the steep steps cut into the Down a couple of female Adonis flutter about but apart from this all is quiet and very little else seems to be flying. The grass is really long and dried to a golden straw colour which highlights the ripples as a breeze plays up and along the side of the Down leaving nothing but a memory of susurration. I work along top of the Down and then back down and along the lower slopes where the tree line starts to make its stand against the grasses but I see only a few whites All the hemp Agrimony which provided perching posts for the Small Coppers in the past have been cleared and the habitat looks all wrong of them here. I hopped over the half way fence and this side looks much more promising as its been grazed by the sheep and so the sward is much lower and there are various wildflowers speckling the green Down with colour. On a good clump of Hemp Agrimony I watch a GVW, Small White, male Adonis and two Brown Argus for a while and then move round to the lower slopes on this side of the fence. Here there’s a Small Copper. It seems slightly battle hardened with a chunk here and there taken from tis wing. As I ‘m watching it wishing t was a bit more intact it gets buzzed by a second Small Copper and this one is in much better nick and with the traces of three blue badges. I spend quite a bit of time here as every time I get close to getting a good shot the other appears and annoys the first. Back at the Hemp there was a gorgeous Brown Argus along with the more tired looking one but as I’m getting my shots I feel that familiar creeping sensation on my lower leg, back of my calf this time. Looking down I find a second Tick which gets short shrift and I decide to start for home what with time starting to past too quickly. I stop briefly in the Orchid Meadow for another ‘Staircase shot’ this time featuring a Common Blue but this is spoilt as I have to remove and dispatch yet another Tick before is latches on grrrrrr! I wonder how many would have been successful if I’d been wearing my usual long trousers and not my shorts? Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi! Wurzel, love the shots of the Comma on the Blackberries When i've been up in the lakes it's mostly been the Horse Flies that
have bitten us , Jim in particular was their favourite fruit Those Ticks are horrible, they make me cringe just reading what you've written UGH!! Goldie

That Lesser Purple Emperor must have been a real treat, it would have made my Holiday!.
Pity you couldn't have got closer, it looks like a real beauty.
Also, your Spotted Fritillary is a dazzler, so bright. In the Cevennes they were frequently seen.

Lovely shots.
Trevor.

PS. Enjoy the social, send everyone my regards.

Cheers Goldie Bloody Horse Flies Luckily none of the Ticks latched on - the things we have to put up with for our hobby
Cheers Trevor Spotted Frits are vying for the exalted position of my favourite butterfly. Will pass on your regards tomorrow

A Cloudy Day!? 17-08-2018 Part 2

Once back at the start a Pearly Heath cheered me up amid a Glannie, Knappies and a lovely female Spot Frit. The Glannie was hanging out with a Meadow whereas the poor female Spot Frit was hassled endlessly by a Knappie. It really wanted to move the Spot Frit on but she stood her ground. It almost looks like a slightly confused mating attempt – and who can blame it they’re hard enough for us to make an identification with our stereotypic binocular vision and enhanced pattern finding function. Imagine seeing the kaleidoscope of colours/tones that a Spot Frit would appear as when viewed with compound eyes . I took myself on along the road to the top of the hill and mooched around in the field that I visited on my first morning. A Blue landed close by on the walk up, a Short-tailed again and once in the field proper there were various Browns, Common Blues an errant Swallowtail and four species of Fritillary. The Swallowtail raced up to me and then flew away again even more quickly than it appeared but I refused to give chase and instead headed back to catch up with the family – more rowing and swimming. A while later I was able to take a bit of a break and so I set to checking the various areas on the other side of the lake round by Sara’s house. The little bit of ‘Meadow’ held Dingy Skippers and a Brown Argus, I found a fantastic female Sooty near the wood store as well as half a Map. Then a massive ethereal Scarce Swallowtail buzzed by me. It wouldn’t stop for love nor money and so I had to resort to in flight shots a la Sports Mode. I pressed on finding a Heath and a Grizzlie and eventually ended up in the Paddock among the odd Glannie and a multitude of Browns. The Hedgies here seem unusual with the underside looking more like a Meadow Brown and also they’re huge compared back to those back home. Upon my return I had to remove a squatter which Little L had named Monty…He did leave of his own accord and I’m sure he’ll be back, coming and going as he/she pleases. Again I sat up by solar powered light and wrote up my diary and thought back over the day. I’m surprised at how quickly we’ve all fallen into the rhythm and also how calm and at peace we all feel but also how I don’t think I’ll get used to the butterflying. I mean today didn’t throw up any lifers but it was just great to experience such quality AND quality in such a small area and with so little effort. A stroll to the neighbours throws up a Scarce Swallowtail, taking the girls swimming produces a Lesser Purple Emperor and a 10 minute walk sees me finding 20 odd species. Each evening I sit and wonder about what will turn up tomorrow…knowing full well that it’ll be something good!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Fantastic shots Wurzel, it would be great if we could see some of those lovely Butterflies over here, Goldie

Nice shots from the Dordogne again, Wurzel continental Speckled Woods are much brighter than ours and those female Sooty Coppers are stunners

Mike.

Cheers Goldie It would be great and I still can't fathom why we don't see a few more species...if only they could get here, I think we need to start chartering a cross channel ferry specifically for butterflies
Cheers Mike I love the Sooty Coppers - they seem to have really sharp markings when really fresh

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Agree with Goldie! That sounds so nice Wurzel, great shots of those lovely butterflies.

Cheers

Cheers Andrew I reckon Knapweed Fritillaries should be first off the boat

I might need some help from Ernie for this one...

Garston Wood 02-09-2018

Today was the last day of the holiday and so rather than sitting inside coped up and fretting about what horrors faced me on my return to work on the morrow I decided that we would head out to Garston Wood. The weather reporters (I don’t like to call them forecasters anymore as that would suggest a modicum of accuracy) had again got it totally ‘a’ about ‘f’ with a thick blanket of cloud instead of the promised sun. So instead of butterflies I took my camera to try for some shots on an impromptu fungus foray. There were some real beauties about; dark maroon clusters, sulphurous yellow ones, mini puff balls and one which at first I thought was a bit of discarded grey plastic wrapper. Almost back at the car park and the sun started to eat its way through the clouds and the sky started to brighten. With the coming of the sun the butterflies started venturing forth and the girls spooked a couple of Specklies as we left the ‘butterfly’ enclosure. Then I spied a pair of Whites up ahead meandering along and occasionally into each other on the edge of the path. One looked noticeably bigger than the other and when I caught up to them at the top of the rise it became obvious why – one was a miniscule Green-veined White and the other a Large White. By now they’d worked their way not only up the hill but also further into the vegetation along the side of the path and I didn’t wat to trample in a try for a shot so I let them be and caught up with the others. We paused at the junction to at the main path to listen to the mass of bird song and then started for the car…

It was along this main path that suddenly the dearth of butterflies became no more; there were Specklies everywhere. It started slowly with one Specklie seemingly all on its tod which got attacked by a second which flew out of the foliage. Then there was a third which attacked the second before being attacked itself by a fourth and fifth. These last two interfered with all those around them and then locked into a death spiral ascending for upwards for what felt like forever and then suddenly they shot off in different directions. Each little scrubby area along the path between the trees seemed to hold masses of Specklies; there was easily a total of 20 along this small stretch of path. I felt sorry for the single Green-veined White which was easily outnumbered. The final butterfly of the trip was a Specklie. It had to be really didn’t it? Well when I say Specklie I mean half a Specklie as it was cleaved neatly down the middle…At first I thought it was just playing dead but a prod revealed that it was indeed bisected. With this morbid image running through my mind I drove home hoping that it wasn’t a portent for the next day when the GCSE results would be revealed…

Have a goodun

Wurzel

December 2018

Happy Advent! Looks like I need to start the 2019 Calendar now then!
Have a goodun

Wurzel

That's quite a fungal selection, Wurzel - I really wouldn't fancy eating any of that little lot, though no doubt there's at least one in there that is some kind of delicacy for those in the know...

Your semi-Speckled Wood has those green spots that elderly members of the species seem to acquire. I wonder what causes this? It almost looks like mould,

Cheers,

Dave

Cheers Dave I know what you mean about the greenish tinged spots, they don't age well do they?

A trip to the Marche….18-08-2018

During the morning we strolled the market of Ste-de-Foy-Grande and checked the local Intermarche where I discovered that KS3 French is enough to get by with. We munched our patisseries overlooking the Dordogne River and I swear that I saw a Large Copper but I wasn’t able to pursue it as the girls were eager to get back and get back out on the boat.

Once back after a while it was my turn for the hour off and so I tried my luck where the host suggested hoping the grassy pasture might throw up a Mallow Skipper. Unfortunately it was a bust with the usual representatives but in much lower numbers. So I made my way back up the hill to the cutting and set about checking the out the grasses and Fleabane which were set in further away from the road. In amongst the smaller Frits there was a Fritillary that was slightly smaller than the marauding Silver-washed and slightly larger than the Knapweed…I cautiously approached and it became apparent what it was when it turned and gleamed silver upon catching the sun. A Queen of Spain. It didn’t have so much of the grey/silver scaling near the body so I’m wondering if it’s a male? I noodled around some more with the Queenie and in my noodling ended up looking at some of the other Frits that were hanging about in this neck of the cutting briefly seeing a SWA in the process. It was a stunning sight as it glided across the grass tops and seemed to hang motionless in the air for a fraction of a second before it turned on a sixpence and cut along in a different direction. Sublime. I turned my attentions back to Queenie but a pair of smaller Frits landed between us. They weren’t heavily marked enough to be a Weavers which meant that I was looking at what is considered a scarce butterfly in this area, a Small Pearl, and not just one but a pair. It felt slightly odd to consider that Spotted Frit is common and Small Pearl is scarce . Back to Queenie once again but thanks to a bit of an unproductive jaunt at the start which used up almost half my allowed time I needed to start making my way back. I did stop when a Cloudy bombed pass and landed ever so briefly. I managed two shots before it was off again and when it paused a second time I managed a third before it was well and truly gone. A little later while sitting in the sun watching the girls a small blue butterfly lands at my feet and starts mud-puddling. As I get a few shots I wonder what it could be. The colour was too blue for a Holly yet it has some chequers on the wing margins yet the underwings were mostly white with many of the black spots missing. Still puzzling over this anomaly I set out for take 2 thought this time I headed straight towards the cutting in order to make the most of my time but I didn’t venture in I just stuck to the verge and carried on up the hill. I’d stop now and again for various things such as a Short-tailed Blue, Weavers and Wood Whites. Carrying on further up the hill there were Common Blues, Sooties and the odd smaller Frit by the time I’d reached the top of the hill and the field that I’d visited on my first morning. The next field on also looked promising and as I crossed the road a massive dark butterfly took off from the grass. It dwarfed the Meadow Browns it spooked and when it flew in a series of bounds and glides it didn’t show any of the orange that you get with a Meadow Brown. After flowing it with my eyes I watched as it landed and settled so I was able to get in close for a few more shots of a Dryad for my collection. I just couldn’t get over how huge it was! I strolled back across the first field again stopping occasionally. A Painted Lady was the one new and different thing amongst all the usual suspects. It did stop for the briefest of times unlike the Swallowtail which almost pleaded with me to follow it but I wasn’t playing that game this evening! The breeze had picked up and on the exposed field this was a little troublesome as the butterflies would alight on top of the taller flower heads and then rock violently back and forth as if on one of those kiddies playground toys. A little later I did get a ‘first’…Little L and I were bringing back some ice blocks by torchlight and when we stopped to watch the Bats skating across the top of the water a rustling started near to my foot. Little L and I were both stunned and delighted as a mole crawled from one side of the path to the other!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Gorgeous Queen of Spain amongst others and a live mole! Mr Greens all round !