Thank you for the aircraft info, Vince - fascinating. I thought the one on the right was a Hurricane, but had no idea what the other one was at all. I knew someone on here would know something!
Cheers, Wurzel. Those Coppers were great to watch - the moment the nearer of the two flew ahead, the other one was after it in a flash and they disappeared off round a wide loop at top speed before returning separately to similar positions. Meanwhile, not far away, that female was ignoring the male antics and getting on with egg-laying.
I wondered about that Small White too(which is why I included it). It's a pity the photo wasn't a bit better. Of course, the main SSW foodplant (
iberis sempervivens) grows wild on the Chilterns apparently...
Yes, things have by no means finished round here, Trevor, but last week I did venture down to Sussex quite a bit.
Monday 21st September. The equinox already, but another day more resembling summer than autumn. Rather than go to Brighton again, I decided to make the shorter trip to Mill Hill, always a good spot for late-season butterfly bounty. Three species in particular grabbed the attention - third brood Walls, Clouded Yellows, and the extraordinary numbers of third brood Common Blues.
I found good numbers of Walls, including examples of both sexes, at various points across the whole site. As usual they were not easy to approach.
I found one unfortunate curiosity. I had seen what appeared to be a couple of the species courting, and then one of the pair flew off. Zoning in on where the other one seemed to be, I found a female Wall which had lost both wings on one side rendering it unable to fly.
I have no idea how it came to be in this predicament, but if a male does find it and succeed in mating, it may be able to crawl to a suitable spot to lay a few eggs. Nature does have cruel moments. There was one individual I did get quite close to for a shot of that beautifully intricate underside.
The meadow areas all along the top of the hillside, especially those near both car parks, were alive with Common Blue butterflies - they almost certainly numbered into three figures and most seemed to be fresh. The variety amongst the females was amazing - no two were the same.
However, a lot of my energies today were expended in the traditional sport here of chasing Clouded Yellows. As with the other two species, they were widespread, but flew faster, longer and overall less accessibly. At least there were quite a few to choose from, and I amused myself once again in trying to get a few shots of their uppersides in flight as they whizzed past tantalisingly close.
I did take some more traditionally posed shots as well.
I also encountered Dave Cook enjoying the late season butterfly spectacle, and we spent a considerable while chewing the fat amidst the blues and yellows as they gradually thought about settling down and roosting. Good to see you again, Dave.
An excellent day, and I decided it would be worth repeating on the Tuesday to make the most of the last day of summery weather.
Dave