www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thanks Wurzel, I’ve managed to squeeze a few more days in recently, although not unscathed.. the perils of an aging body!
Thanks David, she was a fine specimen!


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May 2024

Wednesday 1st. Ok so one of the last three days of my break wasn’t quite as grey and damp as the others. It was relatively mild and although overcast it seemed the cloud cover was thin. I stayed local and perused the Marshes and Wetlands for a few hours. Arriving on site I turned the corner and sat on a bramble leaf was a Green Hairstreak. He was a little worn but just a short distance away along the path I found a freshly minted female who basically knocked him out the park, I've never seen a Green Hairstreak look so.... GREEN! The subdued lighting obviously helped. She had taken a liking for the Rape nectar which now grows in profusion in this corner of the site. I followed her from a while before losing her in the sea of gold. Other butterfly life was few and far between, just the odd White and some Peacocks. On one of the few patches of Garlic Mustard I found female Orange-tips had been busy. I spent the rest of the day birding. Although the sun came out and brightened everything up, it just made the occasional White impossible to get near although some other invertebrates did catch my eye. I have a sneaky suspicion that female Hairstreak may make another appearance in the favourites thread over the winter though, what a beauty.

I reckon that Greenstreak could be a shoe-in for the Favourites Thread Bugboy if not then its more than welcome in my 'I wish I'd seen/photographed' collection

Have a goodun

Wurzel

bugboy wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2024 10:05 pm I have a sneaky suspicion that female Hairstreak may make another appearance in the favourites thread over the winter though, what a beauty.
IMG_0125.JPG

Yes indeed! I would say that is a certainty. What a lovely butterfly and like you say, the light shows it to its best

Cheers,

Neil.

Thanks guys, she was an absolute beauty!


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May 2024

Tuesday 7th was a very long day with numerous highlights so it’s gonna have to be spilt up a bit. Part 1:
It was another wander up in the Chiltons. I saw basically nothing (excluding birds) along the ridgeway walk but arriving at Incombe Hole a little before 10 I found numerous Dukes already up. They’d yet to set up territories and could initially be found in loose groups in sheltered corners of the site, presumably close to where they’d roosted, but it didn’t take too long before they started to station themselves along the edge of the path and routine fisticuffs resumed. Also having an excellent season are Green Hairstreaks, which were easy to find in the usual lekking hotspots. I think I’ve seen more of these this year already than any past year since I got back into Butterflies 10 years ago, and there’s still a few weeks to go yet. I was pleased to see a few Grizzled Skippers but slightly surprised that the Dingies had yet to appear, probably the cool wet spring holding them back. Dukes, Grizzlies and GH all being pupal hibernators just have to sit and wait, whereas Dingies still have a bit of work to do after hibernation. Also about were a couple of Orange-tip and numerous Brimstone. One of the OT’s became obsessed with the Speedwell and in doing so became an easier than usual target at this point of a sunny day My first Small Heath of the year popped up too, although as usual it managed to deftly settle behind behind every blade of grass it could find . Incombe Hole gets quite busy with enthusiasts so to get away from the crowds I wandered off to explore the many more hotspots that seem to be all but ignored.

May 2024

Tuesday 7th part 2. Away from the crowds I had the Dukes to myself. On these more exposed slopes they were mostly fresh as a daisy, only just starting to emerge and a slow wander amassed a modest 15 or so. Grizzled Skippers were notable in their absence unlike the sheltered Incombe hole, and the Dukes only company were Brimstones and Peacocks, both starting to show their age now and with Dukes in fine fettle they were largely ignored! The return walk was much the same, the head count being similar however one was definitely a previously unseen one. I followed her around for a while, hoping she would stumble into one of the males territories which she did during a cloudy spell, but when she took to the air again, the daft male darted off in the opposite direction, perhaps an innocent fly had come too close? I lost her behind a Hawthorn. Back in Incombe Hole there was still plenty of action until cloud eventually built and stopped play shortly after 3, and joining the butterflies this time was a mammalian lifer, unfortunately a bit on the deceased side of things, a Water Shrew. The day still had a few more highlights left in it though…

More highlights than the cracking Duke and Duchess display Also love the Brimstone action shot I'm wondering if you saw any Brown Argus

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I agree Wurzel, That Duchess was probably the HIGHLIGHT of the many highlights of that day but no I’ve yet to see a Brown Argus this year… saw my first Common Blues on Friday though!

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May 2024

Tuesday 7th part 3. It was pretty overcast walking back to Tring along the ridgeway and I wasn’t expecting too much, certainly on the butterfly front, but halfway along I noticed a clear spell heading my way. As it got closer and the cloud thinned a few Green Hairstreak appeared, fluttering down the slope, curiously all heading in the same direction. Curiosity piqued, I gave chase and came across the motherload of Hairstreaks lekking around a Whitebeam, bundles of three, four and five jinked around. They weren’t settling anywhere useful to get shots and rarely settled for long before they were drawn into another brawl anyway, but then I something popped out in front of my eyes, hiding in plain sight, a new species to add to my in-cop list . Just a shame he wasn’t more discerning in his choice of mate! By the time I got to Aldbury Nowers Nature Reserve the cloud had broken up again and there’s one path that leads onto the road to the station that I can basically guarantee finding Orange-tip regardless of weather conditions, this afternoon three males were doing the rounds but given the time of day, pit stops were regular. A fitting end to a great day .

I read your note on Wurzel's pages about yourself also recently being a member of the GStreak In-Cop Club (GSICC) so I thought I'd check out your pages to see what photos you had taken of this very fine event.

Brilliant stuff. If you are anything like me you get exhilarated when you see mating in a butterfly species for the first time.

ernie f wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2024 7:41 am I read your note on Wurzel's pages about yourself also recently being a member of the GStreak In-Cop Club (GSICC) so I thought I'd check out your pages to see what photos you had taken of this very fine event.

Same here. Well done Paul

That is a mighty fine looking Duchess too

Cheers,

Neil.

Cracking set of images Bugboy Do we get a special pin badge now that we're in 'the club'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Well done with the mating Hairstreaks, Paul. Haven't seen that myself for a few years now.

Nice shots of the mating Hairstreaks, not so easy to get clear photos in low light levels

Thanks Ernie, any lepidopteran first is still exciting, and that still includes the first Brimstone and Orange-tips of the year. There’s still lots I haven’t seen so plenty of excitement left to be had
Thanks Neil, I reckon that Duchess might be a shoe for the favourites threads over the winter.
Thanks Wurzel, I would love a badge
Thanks David, my first mating Hairstreaks of any description
Thanks Max, not easy but being otherwise occupied, many many pictures were able to be had so at least a few were useable!

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May 2024

Saturday 11th. Time off work in May this year was pretty much restricted to rostered days off unfortunately. Added to this, the generally rubbish weather patterns which have invariably descended into rain on many of the aforementioned days off, meant I was ‘forced’ to take a risk and fork out for a trip to Wiltshire when some sun was promised on the off chance that the rumours of some early Marsh Fritillaries would come to fruition.

I arrived at Battlesbury Hillfort a little after 10 under something called a ‘blue sky’ a bit of a novelty this spring, and found the Green Hairstreaks already frolicking, here a male was found harassing a female. She escaped eventually but another ‘victim’ soon wandered through his territory and the same routine commenced. The males out of focus since the camera was focused on the static female under him, but they still clearly show his scent patch. Th central ring path of the hillfort was home to Walls, lots of Walls. None as remarkable as Maximus’s recent one from a few miles down the road but all mostly quite fresh and with a bit of patience I managed to creep up on a few. From my experience here last year, where the Fritillaries were most numerous and showed the greatest age range was on the south facing slopes, which obviously makes sense that that would be where the first would emerge so that is where I headed. A few Dingy Skippers were active, some Whites and a nice Small Copper but as I feared, no Fritillaries. I did a slow walk round to the north side where presumably any Dukes might be active but the slopes are very steep here and my aging joints didn’t fancy that! I did another circuit, the Walls now supercharged making me just a spectator to their goings on, but on reaching the southern slopes again I found a nice fresh Small Heath who was very proud of his tiny extra ocelli. It was whilst chasing him that another orange butterfly fluttered behind me and settled, the target and possibly the first on site… if not they’re very good at hiding as proved by this one who vanished after a few shots and no amount of searching could relocate the bugger! I did find a second one, much younger though and probably at a stage that most were at! Since the morning more Dingies had emerged, and I witnessed a very quick courtship of one fresh female who accepted his advances before I could grab any shots of the courtship. Mid afternoon and Orange-tips started to slow down and were tempted by a bank of Herb-robert, as was a Large White The Walls had also slowed down again and the day ended as it had started, Green Hairstreaks.

Enjoyed your trip to Wilts. In the right locations it's amazing how many
species can be found in a small area. The hills near Warminster are a great example.

Also a for your mating Greens & Dingy Skippers.

Interesting to see the open wing GH shot

Some cracking shots there Bugboy Goldie

Cracking Greenstreak shots Bugboy And sterling work on finding the single Marshie. Cotley is usually a week or so behind as Dave and I discovered the day before but that was still one of, if not the first

Have a goodun

Wurzel

bugboy wrote: ↑Thu May 23, 2024 9:55 pm...The central ring path of the hillfort was home to Walls...all mostly quite fresh and with a bit of patience I managed to creep up on a few...

Well done for getting close approaches, Paul. This is becoming my bogey species (particularly in spring).

Thanks Trevor, it is a great site and teaming with life, not just butterflies.
Thanks Katrina, they’re little buggers to get though, not like the slow flapping Brimstones.
Thanks Goldie
Thanks Wurzel, it was a little bit easier a fortnight later
Thanks David, they were strangely easy that day, two weeks later they’d reverted back to type !


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May 2024

Sunday 12th. Another stab at the Pearls at Rewell Wood. Neil was otherwise engaged giving a tour at one of the other populations, so no chance of cadging a lift, but the walk up from Arundel was nicer than I expected and takes you straight to one of the hotspots, so not long after arriving I had the target in the bag. A Green Hairstreak posed nicely here too. Given it was a Sunday, an early train to catch them waking up wasn’t really an option, so I’d left it to an afternoon visit in the hope I’d be able to catch them as they slowed down late afternoon. Thankfully the sun didn’t vanish as it often has on an otherwise sunny day this year and there was plenty of action around the Bugle on the paths as the afternoon progressed. Most of the action was centred around males pestering females who just wanted to feed. It was nice to catch one feeding on Violet for a change Later on the males also decided it was time to eat as well. My end of day total was around forty although since I didn’t need to go off piste, there were likely many more on the wing than those I saw. Also seen and distracting me occasionally were a few Grizzled Skipper and a solitary Small Copper.

Fantastic images Bugboy I tried an evening visit as well and by 5:30 they were all tucked up in bed Are the ones over that way the same or are they party animals?

Have a goodun

Wurzel