www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Loving your in tree shots - makes for a better background than the usual!

ThanksDave, he was certainly an easy target and did pose for a variety of images
Thanks for that Trevor, you can really go off people sometimes !
Thanks Wurzel, I take it you did have much luck this year then…
Thanks Katrina, it certainly does !


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June 2024

Friday 28th. After this weeks transects at work where I recorded numerous Thymelicus I popped back at lunch for a closer look to find out what species or a rough estimate of ratio’s if both were present. Turned out only male Essex were present. There were also a few Large around as well, they took an age to turn up here and ended up peaking after the Essex!

July 2024

Monday 1st. More work. The new transect week starts on a Monday this year so I took advantage of a day that wasn't raining to fit in this weeks walk. No female Essex Skippers yet but that didn’t stop the males looking for one! My first Gatekeepers also turned up today.

July 2024

Tuesday 2nd wasn’t the best day to go looking for butterflies, overcast and borderline temperatures meant even Meadow Browns weren’t keen on being active. I went to Bookham anyway where I found a few bits and pieces of interest. A few Ringlet and Meadow Brown were active, more often than not when I disturbed them first though. During a brief sunny interlude at the start of my visit a few White Admiral showed up but vanished just as quickly when the sun went back in. The only other species was a solitary Large Skipper The afore mentioned White Admirals have been busy during warmer days, several eggs were located in the usual spots. The final encounter was a little odd. Just leaving I noticed a White Admiral perched with closed wings on some Bramble blossom. A few distant shots were taken then I carefully approached to see if it would allow a closeup. It did but something wasn’t right, it hadn’t so much as twitched an antennae. I poked it with my finger, still nothing…. It had simply died in a curiously lifelike position .

How totally bizarre - given the condition of its wings it couldn’t have been old age!

Well done on finding the eggs - this species seems to have crashed at some sites this year

Cheers,

- Pete

Hi Buggy. Did you check for a lurking spider in the bramble blossom?

Guy

Thanks Pete, Bookham didn’t seem to do so bad with White Admiral this year, there was certainly plenty of larvae to be found before they got picked off by the Tits/went into hibernation. Last week I found one that had moulted to 4th instar so might a be a few to be found in October if the weather doesn’t fail.
I didn’t actually Guy. That would be the most obvious cause although when I poked it, it just fell into the undergrowth like a dead leaf. I did notice the spider below though!


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July 2024

Thursday 4th. There was a lot more life on Box Hill than there was at Bookham two days earlier. It did help that the sun was out, and it was significantly warmer. I put off the visit until mid-afternoon hoping that I wouldn’t have to wait so long for one of the targets, Dark Green Fritillaries to slow down. Whilst waiting for them there were plenty of Marbled White around. For the first time this year Small Skippers were also easy to come across. I had a go at getting some Small Heath uppers, this is the best I got, at least its recognisable! Gatekeepers were had only just started to appear with just an occasional fresh male making an appearance. A few Red Admirals had taken ownership of some clearings at the top behind the visitor centre, these two look like they’re at either end of their lives. After four I finally started to be able to grab some Dark Green Fritillary pictures, only males though. All the Skippers seemed to be Small’s except for one unfortunate Essex who was having a very bad day. Note how fat the Spider was, there’s a good reason for that, previous victims littered the turf under her chosen hunting spot!