www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Isn't it just, Dave? But here's the thing - I had assumed that they would pupate in leaf litter or soil (and there is plenty of that available to them). It is early days but this one squeezed under a white coloured pot to pupate - the same colour as the stones on Noar Hill. I have never lifted up stones to look for them (how remiss of me!) but such a location would certainly protect from footfall and grazing cows and most birds. I'll be there soon anyway looking for BH so something do whilst watching

Thank you Allen. Apparently these are quite rare and are the result of a mutation called Erythrism. I appreciate your honesty re your Duke pupa. Would you be prepared to give me (and possibly others) the benefit of your experience? With hindsight is there anything you might have done differently? Have you any idea why they might not have emerged? Is there anything you would do differently? I don't want to put them in the fridge but any advice, tips, suggestions you can give me based on your experience would be very welcome. I am sure everyone on this site wants to do their very best but sometimes for various reasons mistakes happen.

Not wishing to be repetitive (but I AM on a new page ) I couldn't resist another look at that pink Grasshopper. I probably will never see another as seemingly they ARE very rare as many of the pink nymphs don't make it to adulthood because of predation. It was quite windy and it was right in the middle of a large nettle patch surrounded by grass. So not only did I have to try to hold a bit of the grass out of the way and take the shots with one hand, I was also kneeling in a load of nettles. Furthermore, I really couldn't get in position for the angle I wanted. OK, got the excuses out of the way for the photo quality of some shots.

Whilst watching I was surprised to see her joined by a green male Grasshopper. As he approached her I was reminded of the Wood Whites as he touched her with his antennae and nudged her with his leg, edging closer and closer. He would rub his back legs together and her wings would tremble. I thought I was about to witness a mating but after 10 mins he gave up. Not all brilliant shots but hope it conveys the impression:
I haven't seen this before and it was fascinating to watch. Apparently after mating they lay their eggs in damp soil but I couldn't see much of that around.

Right, back to butterflies. Whilst out and about recently I came across this lovely pair of Essex Skippers:
There were also a few of those very blue female Common Blues emerging earlier than most of the males again - just like at Bramshot last year:
and a Large White:

Hello Pauline ,in all honesty ,I,m not sure quite what went wrong with my Duke pupae ,things seemed to be progressing well as I recall (it was probably 30 years ago ) , but something obviously didn,t suit them ,and they turned a brownish colour ………...and just didn,t emerge
Sorry I can,t be more helpful. I kept them (the pupae ) in a smallish box in a fairly cool room ,maybe if I,d kept them in a colder environment
and some leaf litter they may have been Ok.
With the exception of Orange-tips ,I rarely try to rear butterflies these days the Dukes put me off a bit.
I,m on holiday at present ,when I get back I,ll see if I can find ,the pic I,ve got with three different coloured grasshoppers on,not sure ,but I think one of those was pinkish . Great picture of Essex Skips in-cop ……… a butterfly pair I,d like to see.
Regards Allan.W.

Thank you Allan. I hope you are having a lovely holiday. I shall look forward to seeing your photo.

A bit of a mixed bag today. 6 days later than I am usually seeing them at what is considered an early site, after much searching I managed to locate a single Chalkhill Blue. Very active so just a record shot to mark the day:
The Dukes are progressing well but one is less than half the size of the others (wonder if this is the one that DIDN'T eat his first shed skin). It has surprised me that given exactly the same conditions the rate of development can differ to such an extent. Still a bit wary of taking photos at this crucial stage but managed to grab a couple this morning in poor light:
The Pine Hawk pupa and Puss moth are both still wriggling. They need to get a move on!

As previously mentioned I have a ground feeder that is permanently topped up with peanuts for squirrels, birds, badgers to take as they like. Yesterday morning it had been dragged across the garden so I blamed the badgers and went to retrieve it from on top of the mole hill where it had been left. Turned out the 'molehill' was actually a hedgehog that had gotten under the tray and his spines had got caught up in the fine mesh so he had been dragging the tray along on top of him . Once rescued I kept him safe until dusk last night and after a good feed of mince, carrot, apple, weetabix atc (not forgetting the water) off he went:
Still in the garden, having put the hose on for my new turf, butterflies flocked to get a bit of moisture including this very fresh Holly Blue:

Lovely Chalkhill Pauline - the reports are starting to trickle in of these now but perhaps the poor weather we had has slowed things back down a little bit?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Pauline wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 2:11 pmHey, I have my first Duke pupa!...

...and what an exquisite work of art it is too, Pauline. There is a precious cargo indeed within it.

I've given up trying to figure out what is going on Wurzel and I've forgotten when we last had a 'normal' year weather-wise. I'd be interested in any early reports you might be able to provide (either way) re Shipton. Last year locally was a strange one with the BH. I fear it is going to be a tad difficult this year too having seen high levels of predation last season combined with lots of blackthorn having been cut down. Much of it is blackthorn that is usually peppered with eggs so I do hope they checked first.

The pressure is still on David. I check these larva regularly and the one I managed to photograph yesterday was still exposed today. I checked again at lunchtime and he was writhing around on the soil. My first fleeting thought was that this was some strange prelude to pupation but I have seen too many larva parasitised and it looks very similar. In my excitement to rear these I broke one of my own rules which is always to collect eggs I have seen being laid.
Hoping I'm wrong but can't think what else it could be.

Yesterday I popped up to Noar Hill to see how it was looking. It was teeming with butterflies (and people) but no BH. I was a bit disappointed to see that a great deal of blackthorn has been cut right back especially on the track and around the area of the Beech tree where the BH tend to congregate. In recent years this blackthorn has been peppered with eggs so I hope they checked first. I have been told that they do check. I appreciate that it is necessary and I recognise they do it on a rotational basis, but still...........it seemed to me that the level of predation of eggs at the end of last season was higher than usual so combined with the loss of Blackthorn I am bracing myself for the possible impact. However, the Hemp Agrimony is looking great and all being well it won't be too long before the BH are spotted there. A few shots from yesterday:

Elderly male DGF were patrolling territories and chasing everything that came within range before returning to a favoured stem. Females were looking to egg lay but I didn't have much time to watch them. I still cannot get close to these butterflies and sadly this was my best effort

Love the final shot Pauline - I need to remember this one and come back to on those dark and dreary days in the winter, it'll brighten my mood considerably Lovely looking female Common Blue, love those hints of blue on the tips of her fore wings

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Doesn't look positive for that larva, Pauline, but don't give up hope; it may well be behaviour not associated with parasites. Only time will tell. At least you are in best position to observe and record, something that is beyond the overwhelming majority of the rest of us.

Are you kidding Wurzel? I thought that was the worst one!? I really DO need to rethink my style of photography . Glad you liked the female Blues

Thank you David. I swear rearing these Dukes has aged me by at least 10 years! When I found that larva I had no idea how long he'd actually been writhing about for but I watched in dismay for about 45 mins and there was no change. It even occurred to me to 'put him out of his misery' but I don't think I could have done that. I remembered what Vince had told me previously so I separated him from the others and contained him as I expected alien creatures to erupt out of him at any time. It occurred to me that he had somehow got damaged as he was secreting something from the front end (see photo) and had gone very pale. I had to go out but when I returned he had stopped writhing and was walking around making strange movements with his rear end. I potted up a new plant and put him on it but there was no change. I got up about 1.00am to check him and he was beavering away burying himself in the soft compost!!! This morning he was still trying to complete the job. I am beginning to think that this was just the beginning of a bizarre pupation process as I initially thought. All the compost I use is very loose and soft so I would not have thought so much effort would be needed. I shall keep watching carefully:

Hi! Pauline, I hope it's okay and it manages to Pupate, one thing for sure your certainly learning a lot from this experience

I've not had much time to check all the posts, it's a case of quickly on and quickly off at present

We went to Recolver yesterday but it was too hot, the vegetation there was mostly dried up, the Butterflies seen were mostly White
so I didn't bother too much taking shots, the hight light was a large Bacon Sandwich sat out under an umbrella in the Sun.
Goldie

Isn't that where LTB were seen Goldie?

Goldie M wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:23 am one thing for sure your certainly learning a lot from this experience

Do you think it's a gender thing Goldie? The first one just got on with it without any fuss and this one is making such a song and dance about it! Perhaps a male and female?

Yesterday I had 30 mins to spare so I went in search of PH eggs to try to monitor them (yet again) in the wild. I only found 2 but I came across this very colourful larva which I believe is a Grey Dagger. I am not sure which instar but quite a size:

I decided to take advantage of the weather to see how the Chalkhill Blues were progressing. It was very heavy and humid - dark skies threatening a downpour which never came. The lack of sun definitely slowed them down but the warmth encouraged them to open their wings in the hope of better things to come. There weren't many - probably about 4-5 males and no females that I could find.
An exquisite, almost immaculate, Peacock begged to have a photo taken so how could I resist:
and this Gatekeeper appears to have a single polliniumis still attached to his proboscis preventing it from fully retracting:

"Are you kidding Wurzel?" Nope I love the way that it will remind me of a cracking summer afternoon
Great close ups of the Chalkhills and Hedge Brown

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Amazing how two larvae of the same species can behave so differently. I look forward to seeing how this latest episode concludes!

Beautiful Chalkhills. Looks like the lighting was near perfect which is often the case with cloud cover. I see this regularly on the continent; the temperature is warm but the sun is behind clouds, meaning that the butterflies sit nicely with wings fully open. It's a godsend for photographers.

Hi! Pauline lovely shots of the ChalkHills, I'm hoping to get some shots at LTE.
No Pauline, I think the Long Tailed Blues are
mostly at Kingsland, ( i think that's the name ) the other side of Sandwich, I could wrong though.

Must be Male Pauline!!! Goldie

Well in that case Wurzel, thank you very much. I shall have to experiment with different styles for sure.

Thank you M. - definitely male

I think there has to be something amiss David. His rear end is still protruding from the compost and still moving from side to side. In the meantime I have had a second pupate quietly overnight so I missed that transition:

With a house full of men (electrician, carpenters, heating engineer) over the last few days, the only way for me to maintain any sort of social distancing was to go and sit in the garden with a moth book (and yes Neil, your shots are easily just as good as the ones in this book). I had forgotten how many wonderful moths there were, most of which I shall never see and many of which I would never be able to identify especially given the huge variety even within species. Many already know that I struggle with even the simple ones. Nevertheless, I thought I would give the moth trap another try last night. There must have been hundreds of moths in there this morning, especially the tiny ones. Sadly, there were also about a dozen hornets and the bottom of the trap was littered with wings and bodies
Huge numbers of moths flew away before I could get any sort of photo including some that I liked enough to try to identify. One was Mother of Pearl, a real beauty, very feminine looking, whilst an Oak Hook Tip was an interesting shape and the exact colour of wood. There were 3 species of Footman and I believe they were Rosy, Dingy and Scarce. I think one might have been a Ruby Tiger - is that even likely? A rich brown colour with a furry mantle.

Anyway, on to a few that I did manage to photograph - a mixture of old favourites and a couple new.
Buff Tip - I'd be really embarrassed if I got this one wrong!
Buff Ermine
Lesser (?) Swallow Prominent

This one has to be my favourite just because of the sheer elegance of it - so streamlined and very architectural looking. It deserves a couple of shots:
Pale Prominent
Black Arches I believe?
Another guess at Peppered moth
Really wanted a shot of this Sallow Kitten but it wouldn't stay still
True Lovers Knot - about a dozen of these.
No time to identify the last 3 as have to go make more teas/coffee.