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Thank you, Neil - the Jersey Tiger is a splendid beast, and it's good to hear it is beginning to spread even further. However, not so the Box Tree moth... That's sort of a one-all draw, I suppose...

Cheers, Wurzel. I have to agree - Red Admirals are very entertaining when they've had a few. They flop around and then chase anything that moves - on my local patch I've seen them react to planes taking off as the shadow goes past. No plums here though, just lots of alcoholic soggy blackberries which they have to share with Commas, Speckled Woods and even a Holly Blue or two.

The Bank Holiday Monday 31st August was warmer again, and there was some pleasant sunshine. I was able to go out and have a look at two other spots I always visit when up in this part of Yorkshire - Calley Heath and Kiplingcotes. Very different sites really, the former being a bit of lowland sandy heath, and the latter an old chalk pit.

Calley Heath had produced a Painted Lady on my last visit three weeks earlier, but couldn't oblige again today. I had to make do with Small Tortoiseshells......Peacocks......and a Comma. This splendid fresh individual was firmly attached to a sprig of overripe blackberries.There were a few fresh Speckled Woods around, including this one keeping an eye on the gate.All three common species of whites put in an appearance, and unusually a male Small White sat still, wings open, long enough for a decent shot.On another piece of ragwort I found a Cinnabar moth caterpillar. This seems quite late for them, and it occurs to me that I hadn't seem them up here before.This site is always good for Brown Argus and Small Coppers. The second brood of the former was just coming to an end - I found three, of which this was the best preserved.The Coppers (half a dozen or so) varied from almost invisible to brilliantly shining in the sunlight. By contrast, there wasn't a lot of variety later in the day at Kiplingcotes. Initially, I found a Brown Argus here as well (but none of the Common Blues I had expected to see).A few Meadow Browns remained......the inevitable Small Tortoiseshell......a fresh female Speckled Wood......and a brand new Red Admiral. I headed back south at the end of the day and found the traffic suitably light - which was the plan!

Dave

Interesting to see the difference between the sites Dave Lovely set of shots, cracking Small White but the worthy one for me is the Brown Argus on a Dandelion - wish I had that one in my collection

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Nice to see you're getting a few Small Tortoiseshells, Dave.

Lovely Small White too. Not only did it pose well but it's a very well marked individual.

It's a pity that Brown Argus wasn't in better nick, Wurzel, as it did decide to pose very nicely.

Small Whites probably get even more ignored than the Large and GV varieties, so sometimes it's worth paying the fresh ones a bit of attention. This is especially true now there may be a continental interloper amongst them of course!

I did have to go to Yorkshire for all those Small Tortoiseshells, David. They were in all the locations I visited, and several at a time in each of them too. No longer an end-of-summer event down here in the south, as it was when I was young...

Tuesday 1st September. Back home, and a day with long hours of sunshine and back to balmy southern temperatures too (well, 21 degrees at any rate ).

I started the day with a recce of my local patch after a five-day gap. White butterflies dominated proceedings, with 14 Small, 8 Large and 4 Green-veined.Most other species were just singletons, though there were 5 Holly Blues......and 4 Speckled Woods.Among the others were a Small Heath......a Red Admiral......and a very new and brilliant Small Copper which was prepared to pose for some time and a whole series of photos. By now it was about half eleven, so I decided to head to somewhere else within relatively easy reach - Bookham Commons. The place had a real autumnal feel to it now, and I struggled to find anything flying at all. Eventually I unearthed a few Small Coppers (of which these were the most whole)......and a single Brown Argus.Pretty well resolved that this would be my lot, I suddenly spotted something in flight that confounded that idea. Down it came, close to the same barbed wire as the last one I'd seen here - a female Brown Hairstreak.She didn't open up, nor did she stay long, but she made a pleasant coda to the visit.

Dave

I finished 1st Septemberwith another walk down to Staines Moor to see if the Small Coppers there had anything interesting to offer.

First of all, I found a couple involved in a chase sequence similar to that recently described by Ernie.The female hid deeper in the grass in the end and the male gave up looking for her.

There were a whole variety of other largely quite fresh examples.One had a noticeably reduced hindwing orange band.One caeruleopunctata displayed nicely and warranted a series of shots.Finally, a more worn individual made an appearance. This one would have been very striking had it been fresh, but even in its less than pristine state it was clear the lefthand side was very pale.I imagine this is not a genetic aberration, but more likely a congenital one from the pupal stage of development. Quite a contrast, though!

Dave

I've seen that behaviour with Small Coppers.
A very persistent male after a female, when the Lady is clearly saying no.
Long may this weather continue (with the odd drop of rain) and extend the season.

Take care,
Trevor.

That Brostreak made a nice end to the Bookham visit Dave - I'd have been tempted to have called it there but I'm glad you didn't as those Small Coppers are a sight for my work weary eyes The final one is interesting - aren't the pale ones often cited as 'pathological'? Either way it certainly stands out even if it isn't the 'newest recruit'

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Thanks, Trevor - yes, long may the sunny weather continue, though it's been a tad on the hot side here the last couple of days.

Cheers, Wurzel. You're right "pathological" is the term, but I couldn't remember it. Another somewhat unusual Copper to add to the increasing collection.

Wednesday 2nd September was not as sunny, nor as warm, but encouraging enough for another half-hour drive up the M40 to Aston Rowant.

As with everywhere else I go at the moment, there were Small Coppers. There have been one or two past years when I've struggled to see them, but that's far from true these days.The tail end of the season is the best time to see Meadow Browns with their wings open and the variety in orange markings becomes apparent.This last one appeared to have part of the pupal shell still attached to its body.I was surprised to find one or two Chalkhills still hanging on, especially the males......and there were several Brown Argus flying, mostly worn too.However, I hardly saw a Common Blue at all. By contrast, all the bright blue butterflies seen turned out to be Adonis. They remain incredibly eye-catching even when they begin to wear - the iridescence of the wings actually seems to increase as they age.Silver-spotted Skippers were still busily darting around, though almost all of these were females now, and even most of these were starting to look a bit weary. Just one worn male......a couple of posing care-worn females...a rather better female......and amazingly one that looked freshly-emerged.The sun proceeded to disappear for the afternoon so that was it for the day, and as it turned out for the following one as well: Thursday 3rd had no sunshine at all.

Dave

Lovely 'late' Silver-spot Dave I've noticed that change in the Adonis as well Dave - I saw one last weekend and it blindingly burn your retina blue. I was convinced that it was a fresh one and then it landed and it was in a right state! I noticed a slimilar thing with the male Chalkhills as well - they'd be flying around looking pristine and sky blue and then when they landed they'd be worn and grey - perhaps as the scales wear the refractive index changes so they bend the light more/less and so appear bluer

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

I think you're probably right about the changes to the scales on the wings of blue butterflies, Wurzel. Even Common Blues can look fresher in flight than they actually are close up (though I did see some genuine new third brooders locally today - give it a fortnight and you may see the images here! ).

On Friday 4th September, there was a bit of sunshine - enough to tempt me out locally for an hour or so: around 50 butterflies of 10 species.

Notable today was a glimpse of a Comma - there have not been many around at the end of the summer here compared to most years (maybe they've all gone straight into hibernation with the Tortoiseshells and Peacocks).Though as usual most of the 24 white butterflies seen were Small Whites, I concentrated again on the GVW amongst them, which are generally a more attractive subject.Meadow Browns are pretty well finished here now, but this one opened up to reveal a very worn individual almost looking like it had been badly coloured in by a less than interested child...There were a couple of Small Coppers, including one now familiar dusky male, plus a more normal-looking female.Small Heaths numbered half-a-dozen, and will probably continue to appear until the weather starts to turn appreciably colder or wetter.There was also a last burst of activity from the summer brood Holly Blues.Still not a bad range of things to see as the season starts to wind down.

Dave

Nice dusky copper! also a for your Holly Blues - you seem very good at finding them!

Is it just me or is there an exceptional number of fresh specimens
of certain species around at the moment. In the last week I've seen fresh
Common Blues, Small Coppers, Large, Small & GV Whites, Cloudies, and
most Vanessids.
It will certainly be an Autumn to remember!.

Keep up the good work,
Trevor.

"give it a fortnight and you may see the images here! " - could be worse, I'm still posting from June
Those Green-veined Whites all looked really well marked - I can't recall a season where I've seen so many of those that are heavy marked - the hot weather earlier in the year perhaps? A very apt description of the Meadow Brown - if I look closely enough I swear I can see where they've gone over the lines

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Thank you, Katrina. Holly Blues are a daily staple on my local patch, though they do seem to be disappearing now...

Cheers, Trevor - there are new examples from quite a few species around, and I can readily add Brown Argus and Wall to that list of yours (not to mention a certain other blue butterfly... ).

Cheers, Wurzel. You're probably right about the GVW - the hot spells have darkened some of the other butterflies, so why not them as well?

Saturday 5th September. Some more decent weather, and another multiple site sort of day starting at Box Hill. Very little was flying now, but I managed to track down a few individuals over on the slopes at Dukes.Several of this attractive flower were now appearing though they appear to hold no interest for the butterflies. Autumn Gentians? Over at Denbies, it was largely a similar story. However, there were still a few remaining tattered Silver-spotted Skippers......and Small Coppers and Small Heaths were more numerous.Meadow Browns remained as well, and continued to provide for the long emergence this species has.There were also a variety of faded and ragged female blue butterflies, but none worth the effort of photographing and struggling to identify afterwards. I'd say most were probably Chalkhills.

Dave

At this time of year, quite often the more specialist downland sites lose out to the ordinary general countryside. Later in the day on 5th September was a case in point - a walk down to Staines Moor again provided more interest and variety than the North Downs had that morning. There were more Small Coppers for a start......including the strange-looking one seen a few days earlier.Plenty of white butterflies were flying - here are a couple of Small Whites.Small Heath and Meadow Browns appeared, as did a few Brown Argus and Common Blues.A Red Admiral was another bonus. Dave

Sunday 6th September had some hazier sunshine, but it continued warm. I remembered that Bugboy had mentioned that he had recently been to Chobham Common to see if the serious recent fire there had harmed any of the areas where Graylings (and Silver-studded Blues) are usually found. He'd discovered that these parts of this extensive area had been untouched (the fire appeared to have spread the other way, towards the outskirts of Sunningdale). I therefore headed down there to see if any Graylings were still flying at what must be the tail end of their season.

I was surprised to find quite a few butterflies (20-30 at a guess) spread over a wide area of mixed heather, gorse and birch scrub, with plenty of bare sandy patches and bits of charred wood debris where there had clearly been fires in the past. Though I saw both males and the larger females, I didn't come across any courtship behaviour and so had no opportunities to see and photograph any uppersides. Plenty of posed undersides were on offer though, demonstrating how the camouflage of this butterfly blends with a variety of backgrounds. It was a relief to see them, and doing pretty well too I'd say.

Dave

A cracking collection of Graylings - one of my favourites for so many reasons (habitat, behaviour, variation, time of year they're about etc) It's great to see a 'good news' story about butterflies as well, makes a nice change Seeing the date of that visit has got me wondering if there might still be a few now, ekking out a living in the New Forest - wonder if I can wangle a 'family walk' there tomorrow

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

They might well still be around, Wurzel - this was a fortnight ago, but some were fairly fresh (and I note that Guy P. has been seeing them in East Anglia much more recently too). On the subject of behaviour, here's one I missed somehow, sucking up minerals from a damp mossy patch. I don't recall seeing one do this before, but as many species do there's no reason why Graylings should be any different. Another sunny morning first thing on Monday 7th September, so I made an earlyish start and headed down to High & Over on the South Downs behind Seaford. Trevor had mentioned fresh Wall Browns and he was spot on - however, I wish I'd heeded his sage advice to be therereally early, as they were already extremely active in the sunshine. It didn't help that a stiff breeze was blowing parallel to their favourite hedge, so that neither side was sheltered. The steps and the path above them were reasonably out of the wind but unfortunately there were constant interruptions from passing walkers both with and without dogs.

Well, that's the excuses out of the way - I did manage a few reasonable shots by the end of the visit. I also have to admit to chatting for some while to Andrew Burns, previously encountered at Chiddingfold in the Purple Season. Good to see you again, Andrew. Next on the agenda was Tide Mills near Newhaven, but on the way I stopped off at the spot where I had seen good number of Long-Tailed Blues last year at the same time. This year the BLEP was almost entirely gone over and there were no LTB this time round. However, the chalky bank had attracted other butterflies, including (what else? a Small Copper......and nectaring on the last remaining pea flowers in initially heart-stopping fashion, a fresh Common Blue. Tide Mills itself was very much a disappointment too - it was windy down there, and aside from a few Whites and more Common Blues I saw nothing of interest. With the days shortening now, I hadn't left myself enough time to go anywhere else - Brighton would have to wait for another day.

Dave

Tuesday 8th September. The car was due a service today (annoyingly they couldn't do it at the same time as the MOT), so I was restricted to just a local walk. Still, at least it was very warm (25 degrees today) and 40 or so butterflies of 11 species wasn't so bad, including the highest counts of Red Admirals (8) and Speckled Woods (5) since the end of July.The familiar heavily-marked Small Copper was still holding the same territory......with a Brown Argus as a sparring partner today.A newish Common Blue was not far away as well, probably another third brood example.One surprise was finding a Peacock along a sheltered stretch of path where I'd seen doens in the spring. I only had time for a distant shot before it sailed away over the hedge. Unfortunately, the car service highlighted an urgent problem that couldn't be fixed until the following day, so I was unable to do very much on 9th September - which as it turned out was lacking in sunshine anyway. A very brief walk turned up a single Brown Argus, though nowhere near their usual haunts. They do seem to range out at the end of the summer. Dave

My machinations didn't come off Dave so I didn't get to search for aged Graylings after all

Another great set of reports - your first and last Wall look to be the ab.anticrassipincta with the extra spots around the fore wing eye
I hope your car got troubles got sorted out

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel