www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

May 6th
Here are the two young Adders from my trip to Denbies, both females. The second photo showing a colouration in this species of snake that i have never seen before.

Really interesting shots Nick. I saw a male about 9 years ago at Martin Down that had a similar colouration to the second female - is it a form of Erythrism (reddening) although I've only seen that mentioned in hair and feathers - but scales are keratin based?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Wurzel,
the colour of the Adder in the second photo is apparently common in juveniles, [i`ll have to get out more]. As to how they vary in colouration, i have`nt a clue.

All the best, Nick.

Male Green-veined White taking in salts to replenish his energy levels, probably after copulating.Having found over forty Orange-tip eggs on either Cuckoo Flower and Garlic Mastard, i have only come across two Green-veined White`s eggs.Green-veined White`s ovum on Garlic Mustard.

Since photographing this female Orange-tip, i have tried when possible to get out, to get a couple of shots of a male, and failed on each occasion. I have seen them often enough, but not in the numbers i saw last year. I have also visited a local site that is normally very good for finding them roosting, but still nothing. Maybe i`ll get lucky next time............On one of these visits though, i did come across this rather attractive, even though tatty around the wing edges, male Comma.

Last sunday [May 12th] i visited Chiddingfold Wood hoping that the Wood Whites had at last emerged, and after a couple of hours looking, not one was seen, thats three weeks late so far. So it looks like i will have to wait another week before i hope to see this beautiful little butterfly. But i did see my first Grizzled Skipper for this wood, plus two Speckled Woods and, three Brimstones. I also found some more Orange-tip`s eggs on some Cuckoo Flower, and four eggs on a single plant of Garlic Mustard, as depicted in the photo below.

May 16th
Today i met up with my good mate, Mark Colvin for a days butterflying. Arriving at Hayshott mid-morning, we soon found our first goal, the Duke of Burgundy and, what a good start to the day it was, with the butterfly behaving impeccably for the two of us. Later we were joined by a young fellow called Jake, who had never seen a duke before, so Mark set about finding one and, soon came up with a male, which made the young man`s day.

Cracking shots Nick I wish someone would find me a Duke

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel, your comments are always appreciated , and i`m sure you will be seeing this lovely little butterfly soon enough yourself.
All the best, nick.

May 16th continued, the Dukes.

Lovely work, Nick.

I particularly like the first underside shot.

I won't tell anyone you've ditched the DSLR and acquired a Lumix

Now let's see your Pearls ...

Thanks Mark, your comments as always are appreciated, the first underside photo is my favourite, and i`m really pleased to hear that you are not telling the world that i have acquired a lumix and, that i have binned the DSLR. The pearls will hopefully be posted later today and tomorrow.
All the best, Nick.

Nick,
I have always thought your photo's with the DLSR were brilliant and could not be surpassed.I cannot believe you have throttled down,except the Lumix is a lot lighter and that perhaps is important as muscle fatigue creeps in with advancing years.Which Lumix are you using.? Perhaps it would be better for me travelling on aeroplanes now that Easyjet are reducing their cabin baggage allowance.
I particularly liked your backgrounds out of focus,which might be harder with the Lumix.
Philip

Thank you for the very kind comment on my photography Philip, but you have got the wrong end of the stick about me binning my DLSR, i still use it, and do not have a Lumix, the comments made on the subject by Mark and myself, is a on going, running joke. So i would`nt take any notice of it in the future, i don`t.
All the best, Nick.

Thank goodness for that!
P.J.U.

hideandseek wrote:do not have a Lumix, the comments made on the subject by Mark and myself, is a on going, running joke

I looked at the EXIF data, to see you're still using a EOS. I have both a Lumix and a DSLR and must admit that the image quality gap is closing quite remarkably in the newer compacts. As I get older, I appreciate the light weight of the Lumix and also find the 'intelligent auto' feature extremely useful for when I forget to check the camera settings (another hazard of getting older ) Next stage will be to drop using a camera altogether and just enjoy watching

Mike

Hi Mike,
i totally agree with you on everything you said.The only regular Lumix users on this site that i know of,or i can think of at this hour, Sussex Skipper and Mark Colvin, are a true testament to this, with their fine portrayal of butterfly photography using this camera and, i`m sure there are many others. Maybe in the distant future when a DSLR, tripod etc, etc, gets to heavy to lug about the countryside, i might just have to get one.
All the best, Nick.

May 16th continued.
After myself and Mark left Heyshott, the land of Dukes, we headed to a private wood in West Sussex, where Mark assured me we would find our second, and final target of the day, the beautiful Pearl-bordered Fritillary. On arriving at the location, the weather conditions were perfect for observing this butterfly, with both cloud cover, and periods of bright sunshine. But after about twenty five minutes i was beginning to doubt as to whether we would actually see one, with not a single one of these insects flying low over the ground when the sun sent rays of warmth over the area of anticipation. Then, as if by order, one appeared from beneath some dead Bracken, half flying, half scuttling across the low vegetation and landing near to my feet. On closer inspection, both myself and Mark realized it had just emerged and, had`nt quite dried out. Then within a further twenty minutes Mark had found another one, which had also just emerged, what perfect timing..............the beautiful fresh, bright colours of these butterflies glowing like precious stones.....................what could be better than spending an afternoon with these Pearls?.................and in such good company..............and that includes Mark. ................thanks mate.

Cracking shots Nick - Pearls are great aren't they?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks again Wurzel, i totally agree with you about the Pearls being great. I was fortunate enough to have watched this particular butterfly emerge from the undergrowth, the colours on the underwings are quite spectacular and, it was wonderful to have captured these colours for the record before they faded. I am a great fan of the underwing shot, where, in my opinion the real beauty lies in most butterflies, if not all.
Thanks again, all the best, Nick.