www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Lovely, eclectic range of images as usual, Pauline.

No wonder you're so busy...you have early stages to concentrate upon as well as outings to catch up with adult butterflies.

Hope you find time to fit everything in.

Just catching up with your PD, there's a lot going on and plenty of fab pictures to illustrate. That unidentified moth in the same post as the lizards is one of the Wainscots, probably the Common Wainscot.

I have had the misfortune of encountering the occasional rude photographer you describe. They usually come out the woodwork chasing Swallowtails or Purple Emperors and have little or no interest in the butterfly itself, just the result in their camera

Also you seem to have posted a Meadow Brown picture instead of a ringlet a few posts back (Better late than never )

Cheers Buggy - it's good to hear from you and thanks for the info. As you say, better late than never but if you read the text you'll see I've covered both those issues . Guess I've just been lucky never to have encountered an inconsiderate photographer before (except one of the birders in Kent many years ago) but then I've never seen a Swallowtail either

It's kind of you to say so David - I would have used the word chaotic. With a leaking pond and a court case which has just finished, amongst other things, time has been at a premium. For a while I was reduced to evening outings - I have never seen a Barn Owl before so it was a real privilege to watch her and the Owlets. I wish my bird photography was better but at 9.30pm, under the trees in the rain this was the best I could do. In the end I gave up with the camera and just watched as she silently swooped through the trees and hunted, quartering over the land.

We've been trying to monitor the wild WLH pupa, taking turns in the short time available to both of us. Today it had darkened yet again but still no sign of the butterfly emerging. Given that it was found as a pupa on 12 June it needs to get a move on - not much time left:
Waiting is not a problem here as butterflies are numerous, especially Meadow Browns. I have never seen so many in one place and each visit have seen 2 or 3 mating pairs. I don't even take photos of them now. However, they are very photogenic when sat on the daisies:
....pretending to be a Meadow Brown:
I really, I mean REALLY, don't like spiders and as I walked past this one jumped right out at me!!! Worse still, there was a nest full of little ones just like her

It seems ages ago now but the eggs I found in my moth trap on 8 June, laid on an egg carton and belonging to the Fox moth, finally started to hatch this morning. I was getting a bit concerned as the literature suggests 21 days to hatch but now the real issues start to emerge. I have only reared a few larva at a time and I now have probably in excess of 3 dozen! I could put some on Bramble outside but I am intent on giving them the best start - and learning as I go. The first challenge is to get them eating something other than their empty eggshells (altho' I am sure they are full of nutrition):

More great shots - I really like that third Meadow Brown shot there's something pleasing to my mind about the angle of her wings They don't normally behave as well as that until they're looking past their best

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel - I think it's a numbers thing. If there are only a couple of dozen I can see the problem but when there are hundreds .......... well, getting a few open-winged shots wasn't a problem.

Best get these posted before they get forgotten about. I believe they are Common Blue, 1st instar and 2nd instar (or perhaps 3rd)?

Hi! Pauline, lovely shots of the Meadow Brown, every time I see them they seem to have their wings closed or be stuck in the grass.

You've certainly got a lot of patience when dealing with eggs, you know me, I can never find them I do like to see yours developing Goldie

Thanks Goldie - it's a real challenge for me rearing all these different insects. WRT the Fox moth larva I must thank Martin for his advice to keep me right in the very early stages.

I had a real strange experience today. I wish I had taken some pics but I was too distracted to even think of it. I have 3 Brimstone larva and 3 Orange Tip larva in the garden that I am trying to monitor. The eggs were laid there and they have been given no protection. I checked them earlier and was dismayed to see that a spider (see why I don't like them) had one of my OT larva nicely parcelled up, dangling from a thread. He was holding on to it and I swear that if I hadn't been so concerned for my cat he wouldn't still be alive. The cat was bent double, folded over on itself and tightly bound up. I know that when a spider catches a butterfly it often injects it with something to paralyse it but this looked as though it had just been efficiently wrapped and stored for the next meal. The spider wasn't too happy when I took it away. I wondered if there was any chance it could possibly still be alive, but how to hold the cat and try to 'unwrap' it was proving really difficult. I managed to get the first couple of layers off and was amazed when the cat started to try to move. However, it's legs were still tightly bound and there was still some over its head. With a fine needle I started to try to prise the 'membrane' away starting with the bits stretched over its legs. The cat was eventually freed and it is now having a meal with the two others, which are now all in a cage as the spider is still on the loose!!!

With that little drama over it was time to relax with a feast of Fritillaries up at Alice Holt. I don't have many closed wing shots of female SWF but I was able to put that right today:
Strange how the colour of the underwings changed sometimes significantly depending on the light:
There were lots of males about but I only saw this one female so made the most of her:
Whenever another insect appraoched she became defensive, adopting this posture:
For a while she managed to fend off the males but one eventually caught her and took her to the top of a nearby Oak - the best I could get:
It was time to move on to the White Admirals but time was running out and they were very active - hence only a couple of distant shots:

Who would've thought it would be so easy to get a few shots of DGF in the rain:
Still no shot of female with wings closed. The only time I saw her that way was as she crawled through the grass egg-laying. A surprising number of butterflies were on the wing, given the constant drizzle:

Just one to offer up today (so far ). I was not sure I was going to see the Dingies ever again but it seems like the heavy rain has destroyed his 'tent'. Looks like he has some repairing/rebuilding work to do tonight. Not sure what instar this is - 2nd? Maybe 3rd?

Cracking shots of that SWF Pauline, also the DGF, your a lucky so and so living so near to these lovely Butterflies, hope you see his Highness soon Goldie

Pauline wrote: ↑Sun Jul 04, 2021 9:54 am Just one to offer up today (so far ). I was not sure I was going to see the Dingies ever again but it seems like the heavy rain has destroyed his 'tent'. Looks like he has some repairing/rebuilding work to do tonight. Not sure what instar this is - 2nd? Maybe 3rd?

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is that a dingy skipper tent?

Lovely Silver-washed Pauline and I don;t think there has been a more obvious Essex Skipper shot before

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Pauline wrote: ↑Sat Jul 03, 2021 3:17 pmWho would've thought it would be so easy to get a few shots of DGF in the rain..

At times, they can be surprisingly approachable, Pauline. Good luck with your female uns quest.

I feel sorry for the poor Dingy cat. We've had some torrential downpours lately so at least he's alive to rebuild and hopefully prosper.

Love the Essex shots. The second is as 'diagnostic' as it gets!

Some lovely images and accounts of your fascinating butterfly activity at home and on your trips Pauline. In terms of keeping captive reared stock in sync with the wild population (that you mentioned a while ago), I’m sure your practice of keeping them outside is perfectly sufficient. I imagine the emergence of most species is more protracted than we think (certainly in odd weather years like this one) and so much goes unrecorded that as long as you’re not miles out, I don’t think you need to worry unduly. If you’re collecting larvae then it’s easy enough to avoid the most advanced, and ensure that even if you accelerate development somewhat it’ll only bring them in line with the early wild ones. I agree it’s a shame to release something out of sync, but if it’s unavoidable then surely it’s still a good deal better than being cooked on a fire at Noar Hill?

Cheers Goldie - I'll be happy if I see a PE at all as the combination of weather and collectors in this area makes it increasingly unlikely.

Hi Butterfly Boy - that is a Dingy Skipper in a shelter it has created. How long have you been interested in butterflies and what sparked your interest?

Cheers Wurzel - I think the female SWF is so much more attractive than the male. In fact, I think that's true across most species

Thank you David - speaking of diagnostics, have you noticed the difference in colour between male and female Small Skipper antennae?. Took this yesterday as it provides a good contrast:
Thank you Ben. You make some good points. I have been wondering if the use of a black, mesh butterfly cage speeds up the process by providing a 'micro-climate' of sorts, given black absorbs heat and provides a little more shelter than they would otherwise have? I did initially leave the Brown Hairstreak eggs just tied to my Blackthorn to try to rectify this but had to resort to the cage as so many ended up as bird food!

I always like to have a target when I go out with my camera but frequently abandon the plan depending on what I find. Today I could not locate any Purple Hairstreaks but saw this lovely female Beautiful Demoiselle:
I was distracted by 5 or 6 WA in the canopies and when I looked back she had another insect on her and didn't seem very happy about it. Some sort of parasitic wasp perhaps? Quite a colourful insect but no match for her stunning looks:
I don't think I have seen this Damselfly before but I think it MIGHT be a female White-legged Damselfly:
Only 10 species seen this morning but the weather was poor. I won't post shots of them all but this pair caught my attention - just good friends!!!

Lovely photos Pauline. And, yes, it is a White legged Damselfly. They`re ghostly, almost as if they`ve been bleached of colour. They can be found near the River Wye at Monmouth alongside Beautiful Demoiselles and the contrast in colour is startling.
Saw my first Marbled White of the year today at Newport Wetlands reserve. And the first time I`ve seen one at this site, too. The weather was overcast but from 6 p.m. on it started raining and it is now torrential ! Will we ever have a decent spell of summer weather this year ?

Jenks.

Thank you Jenks - much appreciated, and thank you too for confirmation of my ID. If you read my diary you will know that I am notoriously hopeless with ID's of anything - and I have another one in this post! I think most of us here feel the same as you do about this shocking weather but it actually wasn't too bad for a couple of hours this morning. There were quite a few butterflies on the wing including SWF, WA, RA, Comma, etc etc. I haven't seen many Commas this seaon so I took a few shots of them:
A lovely fresh Red Admiral was just begging to be photographed - how could I refuse:
and more Painted Lady larva (both dead and alive) adorned the thistles:
I think I would be right in saying that this is a Clouded Border moth:
.... but I'm not too sure (and only guessing) when I suggest this is a female Emerald Damselfly:
Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Skippers zoomed around with the odd Speckled Wood but the WA and SWF were too busy nectaring or perching in a territorial pose on the ends of branches:
Sadly, nothing purple

17 species of butterfly seen today across 2 local sites and given the weather, I don't think that was too bad. At the 2nd site I saw a very fresh Painted Lady. She was in the middle of a bramble patch so photos were difficult but I am wondering if she had just emerged as I found a thistle close by with an empty larval nest - just the one :
Some of the DGF are starting to look a little worn now - not all of them tho'. However, the strong breeze was a bit of a hindrance so just a few snapshots below:
More Whites present than I've seen all season - mostly Small I think:
Let's hope tomorrow's weather is a bit better!