www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I was gutted to see on the local news tonight that my local stretch of the river arun has been polluted. I am very concerned for the dragonflies.

News story here:

http://www.wscountytimes.co.uk/news/loc ... _1_2781381

Jack

That's awful Susie

I am sure the case will have been/should be reported to Fish Legal - this organisation (formerly known as the ACA) fights for the rights of polluted sections of rivers nationwide. I have been a member for many years and know that they have been extremely successful in forcing polluters to redress some of the damage done to our waterways (even big multi-national companies). Although mostly supported by anglers, the organisation is certainly not aimed solely at anglers, but anyone who loves our waterways and wants to see them remain the beautiful and life-filled entities they are supposed to be. As rivers are essentially the "arteries" of our country, we need to ensure that the lifeblood which runs along them is as free of chemical pollutants as possible. A river without aquatic insects is a stale, lifeless drain and those responsible must not be allowed to get away with it.
See: http://www.fishlegal.net

Trev

Thanks, Trev.

After an extremely large lunch out I needed a walk this afternoon so set off for a walk around my local patch. At 5pm with blustery overcast conditions I didnt expect to see much. I was pleased to see meadow brown and half a dozen or so small tortoiseshell. Then I spotted a scarce chaser by the arun and was really pleased. My little bit of the river seems to be unaffected by the recent pollution. I was hoping against hope that I might spot a purple emperor, although I would have happily settled for a silver washed fritillary, white admiral or purple hairstreak but no luck. I was chuffed to see an egret and a hobby though and was bimbling home when I saw something butterfly like sitting in the middle of the road. It was a fresh white letter hairstreak. I managed a couple of shots before the wind whipped it away.
Another of the emperor moths has pupated. It has been really interesting watching it spin it's cocoon.

Is it just me or does that WLH look a bit unusual?

Seems its 'W' hasn't formed correctly.

I thought that too but after all my whittering on about aberrations I thought I had better shut up for once. Glad you spotted it!

There's no discernable 'W' at all, Susie.

May as well call it a 'White Line Hairstreak'

I think there is a tiny trace of the central part of the W but it is very faint.

Despite the unpromising weather I ventured down to Southwater as it was at least dry in the vain hope that He might grace me with His presence. No such luck! There wasn't very much flying at all. It was nice to bump into ChrisC though, it's a shame I had to leave so soon.

In the soggy meadow which usually is a hive of activity there wasn't much on the wing. There were a few marbled whites around though as well as the meadow browns.

Was good to see you too sue. thanks for the advice on where to see the butterflies

No worries. I'm great at telling people where to go!

This is a quick bit of film from the weekend of the second emperor moth to spin it's cocoon. I always thought the silk came from their rear end.

http://www.facebook.com/v/10150286796596972[/video]

Hiya Susie,

I'm still trying to figure out which way is up or down in that vid! Clever use of mirrors, or were you hanging upside down on a climbing rope?

I kept and reared a Drinker larva some years ago, housed it in a small fish tank. It decided to spin its cocoon on the glass side and when the adult emerged I kept the cocoon for posterity. The side attached to the tank was perfectly smooth and flat, all I needed was a dab of gum tragacanth and a strip of plastic and hey presto - another curio for my collection I also have three Convulvulus Hawk pupal excuviae, just try keeping those buggers stuck in place!!!

All the best,

Gibster.

I am filming down into a plastic tank, the type that is usually used for fish, and there is a glass to one side in which the food plant was kept. The emperor has decided to make home in between the edge of the tank and the glass.

Sounds like you have all sorts of interesting things in your house!

I went back to southwater briefly today. Weather was rubbish and not much about. I guess I am getting blaise as I saw a couple of white admirals, a red admiral, a silver washed fritillary, a few marbled whites, a very fresh small white, meadow browns, large skipper, speckled wood and a comma. I had a look for white letter hairstreak in broadbridge heath but nowt about.

Susie wrote:

264854_10150286030461972_584286971_9100436_1778745_n.jpg

Despite the unpromising weather I ventured down to Southwater as it was at least dry in the vain hope that He might grace me with His presence. No such luck! There wasn't very much flying at all. It was nice to bump into ChrisC though, it's a shame I had to leave so soon.

In the soggy meadow which usually is a hive of activity there wasn't much on the wing. There were a few marbled whites around though as well as the meadow browns.

253468_10150286030266972_584286971_9100431_2970159_n.jpg

262000_10150286030561972_584286971_9100438_1705488_n.jpg

Beautiful shots Sooz. Such a photogenic butterfly!

Cheers,

- Pete

Susie wrote:Sounds like you have all sorts of interesting things in your house!

Trust me, you don't know the half of it (and, truth be told, neither do I lol!)

Thanks Pete, they don't come much fresher than those chaps.

I haven't seen your place on Life of Grime have I Gibster?

Susie wrote:I haven't seen your place on Life of Grime have I Gibster?

Bloomin' cheek!!! What I meant was that I've large collections of pressed leafmines, a few pupa, some bugs, beetles (yep, a few store boxes stuffed full of micros - don't hate me!), fossils, umpteen dozen reference books, bundles of notebooks,field guides, all sorts of entomological paraphenalia, etc etc. And then there's all the bird stuff! Sam made me leave my boxes of skulls, wings, pellets, feathers etc elsewhere when she moved in with me...

Anyway, getting back on track - your oddly marked WLH - there used to be a small population of WLH on the edge of Epsom Common where the white W was actually yellow! A local chap (Aaron Jones???) used to be very into abbs and he knew of them. Then a couple of huge roundabouts were built and the road widened, the elms were cleared and I've not seen a WLH there since.

Laters,

Grimester