www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

More interesting reports Buggy. I especially like the Swallow I think the addition of the odd bird, moth and bug amongst the butterflies (and you've found some smashing ones), paints a more 'rounded' picture of the outing, together with the scenery of course.

Thank you Pauline

Tuesday 4th August

Up until the last minute I was planning on going down to Eastbourne and wandering along the coastal paths after some Walls but after reading Trevor’s report from Malling Down I decided to go there, slightly cheaper train fare and a place I’ve never been before, hoping for Silver-spotted Skipper and maybe some Walls. I did what I usually do as to forward planning, a quick look on google earth and off I go. The sun was shining for most the trip until I arrived at Lewes when it started to rain! Luckily it was very light and lasted only a few minutes. I see what Trevor says about the place, a very picturesque little town.

Anyway, now to find my way up to the Downs which I could see looming over Lewes in the distance. I headed in the general direction, getting slightly lost and at one point I’m pretty sure I inadvertently wandered up someone’s garden path thinking it was an entrance to the Downs, I beat a hasty retreat before I was noticed...

I found the entrance in the end though and made my way up through some wooded paths which eventually opened out onto the downs. The weather forecast for the day was for sunny periods and a stiff breeze: the first half was mostly correct but I beg to differ about the second half, it felt like I was walking in the actual Jet Stream at times

I figured most butterflies would be seeking shelter from the ‘breeze’ and I found a nice swathe of Wild Marjoram in the Lee of a small ridge. It wasn’t exactly sheltered but it was teeming with butterflies every time the sun appeared, Gatekeepers, Essex Skippers, Chalkhill and Common Blues were very numerous but there was also a nice Small Tortoiseshell and I had 2 fleeting glances of a Silver-spotted Skipper. Further afield I found a nice aberrant Chalkhill With another one nearby doing the sensible thing and hiding in the turf! Walking off to find a more sheltered area a Skipper zoomed low over the ground and landed to feed on a Birds-foot Trefoil at my feet. Rather than flying off after feeding I watched as she slowly crawled through the short turf looking for the perfect spot to bask, which as it turned out was right behind a single longer blade of grass! They do this on purpose I’m sure . Unfortunately for her she hadn’t banked on my ninja-like stealth and I was able to use another stem to wedge the offending blade out the way without disturbing her . More wandering and I came across what looks like some old chalk quarrying with a wooded ridge, at last some shelter. Here I needed to put my ninja-like mountain goat skills to use. I managed to see my first female Chalkhill of the year, a second flew past with 5 males in hot pursuit! I also found a decent looking Small Copper which turned out, by the skin of its teeth, to be a member of the blue badge gang. Silver spotted Skippers flitted around and stopped occasionally for a photograph as did a couple of Walls, who didn’t stop for pictures! Exploring further a couple of Buddlieas were proving popular to the local Vanessids, Red Admirals, Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Commas all in attendance. This fly puzzled me for quite some time and took quite a bit of internet searching to ID but I think it’s a male Golden Horsefly Atylotus fulvus. His huge eye’s make him look like he’s wearing a crash helmet! As I explored further, wandering along gullies and ridges, Silver Spotted Skippers kept turning up, they seemed to be everywhere which is not too surprising since there is an awful lot of Sheeps Fescue making up the turf. I heard a couple of Linnet and as if to illustrate the strength of the wind, he was quite literally blown of his perch shortly after this picture was taken. I made my way back to the old quarry and spent a bit of time trying to get a shot of a passing Wall, all I managed was this one spying at me over the turf, my ninja skills failing me on this occasion. A few more Silver-spotted Skippers and time to head off, despite the wind a rather enjoyable afternoon exploring a brand new site for me

HI Bugboy,
Looks like you had a successful visit to Malling Down and went home with a bag full of images.
I have found Silver Spotted Skippers on every part of the South Downs visited this year but Malling
Down is probably the best site.

All the best,
TREVOR.

trevor wrote:HI Bugboy,
Looks like you had a successful visit to Malling Down and went home with a bag full of images.
I have found Silver Spotted Skippers on every part of the South Downs visited this year but Malling
Down is probably the best site.

All the best,
TREVOR.

Thanks for the tip in your PD Trevor, been struggling with them this year until yesterday

Great report Bugboy, lovely Silver Spots and that Wall shot is a classic Mind you I need to be careful poking fun I don't want to be on the wrong end of the Ninja

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi! Bugboy, love the shot of your SSS skipper, I'm still trying to find them around Lydden and Temple Ewell, hope the spider Hasn't got them, your photos also of the Coppers are great Goldie

Thank you all and yes Wurzel, careful what you say

6th August (part 1)

Due to a couple of groups of grown men being unable to sit around a table and have a civilised discussion Londons public transport system was a no go area, so today I had a little afternoon mooch around my local patch on the off chance of finding an Emperor moth caterpillar but also just a general nose around. The morning was dreary with the constant threat of rain but come the afternoon the sun came out and temperatures rocketed! Quite a few Common Blues, a few Meadow Browns and a couple of Gatekeepers, several unspecified species of White, 3 Commas, a couple of Holly Blues and a Painted lady were busy flying around in hyperdrive so there was very little opportunity for photos. I did come across another Jersey Tiger though nearly stepped on this female Roesel's Bush Cricket catching some rays and having a wash and in this picture there are 3 kestrels hovering! Presumably mum, dad and fledgling. On the way back a brown female Common Blue was having a snack Admiring the masses of blackberries I decided to come back a little later when things had cooled down a little bit

Blackberries are proving a serious distraction on some of my walks locally too, Buggy. There are some luscious berries out there and I'm returning home stained to Staines... Those are a good selection of Silver Spots, too!

Dave

Thanks Dave, it was good to finally see decent amounts of SSS and those blackberries are some of the nicest I've tasted!

6th August (part 2)

By the early evening things had certainly cooled down and the Blues were busy looking for places to roost, catching a few last rays when the sun peered out from behind a cloud. Whilst engrossed in getting a few pics of this one I’d accidentally knelt in a Yellow Meadow Ant nest. The frantic brushing off of hundreds of angry ants scaring the Blue away, it’s a perilous hobby, this!

Lurking in the undergrowth I found a Wasp Spider Argiope bruennichi, first time I’ve seen one here. Stunning looking animal, or if you’re a grasshopper your worst possible nightmare since that’s what they specialise in catching. There were lots of these Crickets . They have the honour of being christened with one of my favourite names for an animal. This particular one is a female Long Winged Conehead, 1 moult off from getting her long wings (there’s also a Short winged Conehead!). Wandering back I checked on the Wasp Spider and found she had got lucky, a grasshopper twice her size had been immobilised for later! I didn’t let the blackberries go to waste either, this was 10 minutes worth picking and I have to say they are some of the most succulent and sweet blackberries I have tasted! And they found themselves to be major constituent of these yummy muffins! Think I had the oven too hot, didn't rise as much as I hoped.....but they do taste good I can assure you!

A fruitful day in more than one sense

Wow, I'm impressed ... and a bit peckish too now Great shots of the spider

Ooh those blackberries look good!

Nice muffins Bugboy can you post one to Kent Please Goldie

Thanks Pauline

They are very good Blackberries Katrina, very good indeed

Haha, not sure it would survive the post Goldie!

8th August, in search of Brownies

Today was my first proper hunt for a Brown hairstreak and since I’ve become reasonably familiar with the place this year I chose to go to Bookham Common. I got there early afternoon and stuck to the open scrubby areas which seemed to be the best looking habitat to my untrained eyes. There is certainly tons of Fleabane there to tempt any hungry Hairstreaks down. There were also loads of gatekeepers around so each and every one had to be closely inspected and followed in flight....just in case! All the Gatekeepers inspected turned out to be Gatekeepers. There was also quite a few Common Blues around but only one settled long enough for a photo, a particularly nice looking female. Like everything else all the others were on solar powered hyper drive this afternoon. Whilst taken her picture a small orangy butterfly flew into my field of view, momentary excitement was dashed when it landed, it was obviously too small for today’s target but nevertheless it is nice to see another Small Copper this year, I’ve missed them. It was actually the first of several I saw today, first time this year I’ve seen more than just the one! Not quite Dungerness levels but better than the rest of the year so far. I managed one shot of a Comma before it shot off. and I managed to get this beast before it got me! Obviously I don’t like killing things but when you feel something stab you reactions take over and if something decides to take my blood without asking I’m afraid bad things may happen! I noticed it was different to the normal Clegs that attack me so took its photo before popping it into the nearest spiders web (waste not want not). Chrysops relictus is apparently quite localised to damp heaths, moors and light woodlands and rarely far from water which pretty much perfectly describes Bookham Common!

Anyway, back to Butterflies. There were still some Small Skippers around, it seemed that virtually everything today was orangy coloured! (Well apart from the Blues.....they were blue!) Still no Brownies though and at this point I didn’t even know if it was still an active site for them. That was until I met a couple who were after the same quarry. They lived locally and although they had yet to see some this year have seen them in recent years and were more than happy to point out the favoured spots and also showed me two large Ash used as master trees. Even with their help though, the hairstreaks, if they are out yet, remained very illusive and I ended the day Brown Hairstreakless.

On the return walk I stopped to admire a lovely looking Brimstone, too busy fattening himself up to worry about the strange man shoving a camera in his face! It was still warm and I had a spare hour or two so I decided to go and have a look at some of the White Admiral cats I’d found on my last visit. I easily found the 3 close together, one of which had moved leaves, his original leaf now looking very dead. There was a fourth one in the vicinity last time but his leaf was empty and no sign of him anywhere else. I’ll name these since I will try and keep an eye on them (not as vigilantly as other forum members but I plan to pop back a few times over the winter) so the top one I shall name ‘Brian’, the one on the right who has moved leaves will be ‘Shifty’ and the lower one shall henceforth be known as ‘Sid’!

Today Brian seems to be just lazing around, perhaps getting ready for his first moult? Shifty was just hanging around covered in poo and like Brian, still looks to be 1st instar Sid on the other hand has moulted and is now a tiny spikey second instar. The two younger ones didn’t move much but whilst inspecting them and seeing if there were any others Sid decided to go for a wander. I thought at first he was peckish but he seemed to be on a mission, perhaps finding a new leaf that wasn’t so yellow? He finally found the stalk were he dithered for some time, seeming confused as to how to pass this new obstacle. I did wonder whether he was planning ahead and laying down some silk line to stop the leaf falling but his movements seemed too random, not the regular too and thro movements I would expect from a cat laying down silk lines. After dithering though he turned round and returned to his rib. Whilst all this excitement was going on I found a culprit for some of the other holes in the Honeysuckles leaves, a Sawfly larvae. Heading back to the train station a comma buzzed me. Upon landing i saw it was the same one I had seen a few hours ago, identifyable by the hindwing damage. he looked beautiful backlit with the evning sun!

Hi! Bugboy, Love the Brimstones Can't say I've seen one of them in Kent yet, off home tomorrow, may be I'll see one there ( if it's not raining) Goldie

There were Brown Hairstreaks down at Bookham last year, Buggy - I managed four (and an egg) on the last day of August. I'm going to leave it a week or so before having a look.

Dave

You may not have seen any Brownies Buggy but it looks like you still had a great day. I love Brimstones and this is the best time to photograph them.

Good luck with the BHS hunt, I'll be looking for some too as soon as I am able.

Best wishes

James

Thanks for the tip Dave

I certainly did James, I always try and make the best of my days out, keep your eye's peeled and something always turns up worthwhile even if it's not what you're looking for

9th August, Box Hill & Denbies (part 1)

Last day of my week off so a trip into Surrey was in order. Didn’t get to Box Hill to nearly 1pm due to the London Transport system which seems to fall apart every weekend!

Anyway upon arrival I bypassed the masses at the top of Box Hill and headed straight for the Silver-spotted Skippers. On the way I noticed common Blues were living up to their names. Equal numbers of males and females spotted, and a few females were willing to sit for me but the males were mostly in hyperdrive. This was probably the highest numbers of these I’ve seen all year. Over at the Skipper bank the first thing I saw (apart from some more Common Blues) was a nice male Small Copper followed by an equally lovely male Small Blue with a very generous dusting of blue scales. Silver-spotted Skippers started to make their presence felt before I reached the main bank, unlike last year where the main concentration seemed to be at the far end today I was seeing them in numbers all the way along. I was told last year that the grazing regime has changed on the bank and it would seem its being welcomed by the Skippers. A lot of them looked very fresh, possibly only a few hours old but as it was early afternoon, hot and sunny, photo’s were hard to come by. There were almost too many, constantly harassing each other and if they weren’t chasing each other they were after one of the many six-spot Burnets that were also there.

I did spend a bit of time with a mating pair of Common Blues. I felt sorry for the male, she just would not settled and continuously dragged him round in circles wherever he landed. I think he got sick of it all in the end because they disconnected and went their separate ways 10 minutes after I found them! A few Chalkhills were around but after much persistence I managed to find some Skippers that were willing to sit still for more than 2 seconds. Across the road on the higher bank quite a few Chalkhills were about but also several SSS as well, it seems like a particularly good year for them at this site.

On the way back it had clouded over somewhat which had calmed the SSS down a bit and I found a courting pair of Skippers, well courting in as much as the male followed her around like a lost puppy but sat motionlessly behind her when settled, like a 13 year old boy experiencing his first crush and not a clue what to do about it. I watched them for 15 minutes but lost them before anything more exciting happened. Also seen were some Brown Argus a Speckled Wood, and a few Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns and a single female Brimstone

A quick stop off the grab a well earned Ice cream and it was of to Denbies to see how the Chalkhills were doing over there.

Great shots of the mating pair Buggy, and I envy you the SSS Goldie

Thnaks Goldies, And I envy your Purple Emperor

9th August, Box Hill & Denbies (part 2)

So after a brisk walk to Denbies, it was nearly 4 by the time got there, I set about looking for some female Chalkhills since I’ve not had much luck finding them. That changed almost instantly with several flying up from my feet as I walked along. They were mostly clambering around in the undergrowth laying eggs but some were feeding. In my searching I found another Wasp spider and also there were a few SSS flying around, only a few though. As I prowled around in the grass a lady who looked vaguely familiar walked past, blonde curly hair. But I wasn’t sure and carried on after the butterflies. There were lots of males feeding and starting to roost and females flying up from almost every step This female obviously thought she was some kind of hairstreak! Slowly making my way back I saw the blonde lady again, taking pictures. So a blonde curly haired lady taking butterfly pictures at Denbies hillside could obviously only be one person.

We swapped pleasantries and then introduced ourselves in one of the more surreal opening conversations I’ve had with someone who’s to all intense and purposes a stranger.
“Are you Susie?”
“Yes I am , who are you?”
“I’m Bugboy !”
After nearly a year of posting I’d finally met a fellow UKBer !

Susie was after Abs. And quickly pointed one out to me and allowed me to go first. After I got a few pictures both blues decided to bugger off when Susie settled down to take a few. Luckily there were quite a few abs around, mostly of the vestigial spotting kind and with it being early evening most were settling down to roost. I managed to follow the same one and grab some more shots as well as some more normal Chalkhills I couldn’t resist taking a snap of this roosting Brown Argus I also found this rather lovely/evil looking crab spider, I wonder how many Blues have ended their days in its fangs. And I ended the day with this beautiful female Chalkhill At 5.30 I wasn’t looking forward to my trip home, probably not getting back until close to 9 but Susie very kindly offered me a lift to Westhumble station, an hour’s walk becoming a 10 minute drive !

So despite a hellish trip to and from London still thoroughly worthwhile afternoon out.

Hi Bugboy,

Some great reports recently, entertaining reads with cracking photos

Cheers,

Neil.