www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

A great selection of species recently Pauline and some lovely photos ,impossible to choose any favourites

I remember Colin the Cuckoo from when he was all over social media the other year. There was a lot of argument over feeding him mealworms in order to get photos, a practice very much frowned upon by some.

I am curious as to your local PBF site, would that be Stansted Forest by any chance?

Cheers,

Neil.

You've really nailed Green Hairstreaks this spring, Pauline. Some (most) of those images would be worthy of illustrations in books. It's not the easiest species; frisky, overly reflective of sunlight and with a habit of twisting and turning away from the angle at which you'd like to take your photos.

Patience, perseverance and hard graft is essential...and you've had all of that this year.

Big Dipper sounds about right Otep

Thank you Allan - I am sure there will be more before the season is over

Thank you too Neil. I am curious as to why it may be frowned upon to feed Colin mealworms. I have never fed him but I do feed mealworms to my garden birds (and I take photos of them) and I do not see the difference. They are a very nutritious food source. I understand that this started as a few locals began to feed mealworms to attract and support the Redstarts and other wild birds. Colin became aware of this and exploited the situation. He is free to choose unlike many birds kept in captivity so that folk can pay to visit and photograph them - which I have aslo done. There are worse things than feeding mealworms to wild birds.

Thank you David for your very kind words. As you know Hairstreaks are my favourite and I would happily spend all day watching them - if time allowed!

Pauline wrote: ↑Tue May 10, 2022 4:47 am
Thank you too Neil. I am curious as to why it may be frowned upon to feed Colin mealworms. I have never fed him but I do feed mealworms to my garden birds (and I take photos of them) and I do not see the difference. They are a very nutritious food source. I understand that this started as a few locals began to feed mealworms to attract and support the Redstarts and other wild birds. Colin became aware of this and exploited the situation. He is free to choose unlike many birds kept in captivity so that folk can pay to visit and photograph them - which I have aslo done. There are worse things than feeding mealworms to wild birds.

Hi Pauline. I'm not sure of the specifics of why individual people frowned upon it but I do know mealworms aren't a particularly healthy livefood if used in large quantities, which I believe is what Colin was eating. In layman's terms its a bit like he was eating a plate of chocolate a day! In aviculture there is a move away from mealworms as the staple livefood given. They've always been the staple in the past simply due to their easy culture which makes them cheap to breed and buy, but the main problem with them is their calcium:phosphorus is skewed the wrong way. An ideal intake for birds should be 2:1 in favour of calcium but in Mealworms it's equal or the other way round. Too much phosphorus actually inhibits calcium absorption in the gut. Also when Mealworms are compared to other livefoods such as Crickets and Locusts, they often come out top for fat levels, too much fat can also inhibit calcium absorption. The general thinking today is they're fine as an occasional treat but not good as a staple. Just like us, variety is the spice of life!

Anyway, that's my tuppence worth on that subject. Fabulous butterfly images as always

Pauline wrote: ↑Tue May 10, 2022 4:47 am
Thank you too Neil. I am curious as to why it may be frowned upon to feed Colin mealworms. I have never fed him but I do feed mealworms to my garden birds (and I take photos of them) and I do not see the difference. They are a very nutritious food source. I understand that this started as a few locals began to feed mealworms to attract and support the Redstarts and other wild birds. Colin became aware of this and exploited the situation. He is free to choose unlike many birds kept in captivity so that folk can pay to visit and photograph them - which I have also done. There are worse things than feeding mealworms to wild birds.

Hi Pauline.

Paul gives a good reason in his reply. Mealworms are not good for birds when given in large quantities, and from what I remember Colin was getting a lot of them every Day. As I recall, this was a situation that grew worse as his popularity grew with birders and photographers turning up from some distance, many of whom were using mealworms to encourage Colin to stay in one place for photos and preventing him from behaving normally.

I am not a birder but some of the Butterfly and Moth groups and people that I follow on twitter and facebook also include a lot of birders as the interests do overlap. There appears to be a lot of birders with strong views on some things, including putting down mealworms to keep birds in positions for photos and preventing them from going about their business in a natural way. I suppose like most things, this is ok occasionally but when it becomes 'the norm' it can give rise to issues.

I too feed birds in my garden but have not used mealworms in themselves for some time although I do use fat blocks that contain mealworms occasionally.

Anyway, keep on taking the great photos

Cheers,

Neil.

Hi Paul, Neil - thank you for your comments. That is a fair point Paul but I am not sure what percentage of Colin's diet is made up of mealworms. I can only speak from personal experience but Colin doesn't show up every day and often when he does he will only stay for 15-20 mins. I believe birds have a high metabolic rate (but you will know more about that than me) and if this is the case I assume he is eating other stuff somewhere else. The feast that you say is provided for him does not seem to influence his behaviour in that respect. If he IS eating a diet largely of mealworms then it can't be causing him too many problems as he must be one of the oldest Cuckoos on record

It has been a while since I have asked for help with ID's so here goes - this was in the garden today and I don't even know whether it would be classed as a beetle or a fly or something else:
(PS. I have just found a similar image and I believe it might be a Snakefly? Definitely a female as I could see the oviposter - Xanthostigma. When it had finished preening it took off and landed about 60' up in the Oak trees which seems to fit with the description).

This wasn't in the garden - I feel I should know what it is but I don't:
Many of these micro moths flying around Bramshott Common and what attractive creatures they are. I think they might be Micropterix Calthella but happy to be corrected. Depending on the angle they are viewed from they appear anything from gold to brown as seen below:
Today, egg-laying by these 2 females was hampered by the strong winds:
The last shot has not been posted upside down. They were all clinging on as best they could.

Hi Pauline.

If it was as windy for you down there as it was up here today, you did well to get those shots.

Pauline wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 2:31 pm Many of these micro moths flying around Bramshott Common and what attractive creatures they are. I think they might be Micropterix Calthella but happy to be corrected.

Looks good to me...although I am often wrong with some of these micros

Cheers,

Neil

I enjoyed reading the mealworm debate above and thank you for my learning. I was totally unaware of this. I don't feed mealworm myself but will remember what I have read.

Cheers Neil - any guess of yours is bound to be better than mine. As you know the micros don't tend to interest me too much but seeing these en masse, glinting in the sun, well, it was really quite lovely.

As you must already know Otep there are many knowledgeable folk on this site. In fact, you are banking so much learning you must be well on your way to becoming one of them

Yup, definitely a Snakefly. Never seen one myself but fascinating creatures

Thanks for the confirmation Paul. I am guessing you don't know what the other creature is?

MHD (Hants reserve) has had the top field closed off for some time now but for very good reason. Not only are they trying to protect the nesting Skylarks but larval webs of Marsh Fritillaries were found and they have been trying to give this gorgeous butterfly a little time to get established. It was with some disappointment therefore that the sight which met me on arrival this morning was some guy with 2 young boys climbing OUT of the field, lifting the boys out first. I asked him what he was doing and whether he was allowed in there. He replied 'probably not' but he had heard there were MF in that field and he just couldn't resist. What a poor example to set to those youngsters . There really was no need to climb over the fence as I found 3 butterflies elsewhere on the site. So nice to have them so close

Pauline wrote: ↑Sat May 14, 2022 2:49 pm Thanks for the confirmation Paul. I am guessing you don't know what the other creature is?

No sorry, might be a sawfly larvae but without seeing it from other angles I wouldn't commit to it.

Bugboy beat me to the I Pauline but that is on insect I still haven't but wish that I had seen Good to see the Marshies flying and rewarding the management

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Great to see the Marsh Frits are out, Pauline. I'll have to nip down to the Common down the road from me in the next few days as I guess they won't be long round this way.

No worries Paul. Thanks anyway.

Cheers Wurzel - it'll be great if they become properly established. How are they doing at Bentley? How are the SPBF doing there? I met someone recently who told me only 1 was seen there last season?

You seem to have a fair few species round your way David and some fabulous locations if your photos are anything to go by. Fancy a house swap for a while? And if you could sort out next door's cats too that would be a bonus!

A few shots taken in recent days. This one was taken at MHD where Small Heath is in abundance and very different both in size and behaviour to the ones in my neck of the woods:
Can't compete with recent images on here (especially Millerd) but not bad for a first attempt at butterflies in flight:
......and now for the real reason for this post. Last year a small plant appeared in the cracks in the paving stones leading up to my back door. I am not great at plant ID's but it looked to me a little like a wild mallow so I decided to spare it. However, this year it has continued to grow and is now at shoulder height (my shoulder height that is! ). I shall soon need a machete to get into my house but am unwilling to destroy it until I know what it is. Anybody got any ideas????

Hi Pauline, it's definitely a Mallow of some kind, most likely the upright form of Common Mallow (and not a type of Tree Mallow as I first suggested).

Corrected reply 3rd June 2022.

Vince

Pauline wrote: ↑Sat May 14, 2022 7:02 am As you must already know Otep there are many knowledgeable folk on this site. In fact, you are banking so much learning you must be well on your way to becoming one of them

Far, far from it Pauline. I embarrass myself when I am out in the field. It is an exquisite feeling being out alone, walking along, being embarrassed in ones own company. I do it often. By the way, I reckon that's a Snakefly from earlier.

The Brimstones in flight look great.

You have been posting some really interesting images Otep. Have you ever considered starting your own diary?


Thank you Vince. No idea how it got there. Mind you, I also have 2 clumps of Hemp Agrimony (since last year) and I have no idea how they got there either. I shall leave it, hope it flowers, and perhaps all will become clear D'you remember, back in the day, when you had me dissecting a leaf bud as I had no idea whether it was Blackthorn or Hawthorn?

Yesterday I was lured to Stockbridge having seen a LT had been photographed there. Long shot but it's not that far from me. As I arrived the rain started and all I was able to see was a Painted Lady flying frantically around the car park in the rain and wind. I managed to grab a single shot which turned out to be blurred. It got me thinking - the last time I had been to Stockbridge was when I took some shots of the Black-veined Whites which were there. Can you believe that was 15 years ago!!!! As the PL was blurred I have decided to post one of the earlier images:

This morning I realised that I had not seen Stockbridge at its best so decided to make a return visit. Before I left, I noticed this Stock Dove trying to get into my avaries. It is a while since I have had these in the garden:
At Stockbridge I was rewarded with a total of 4 Painted Ladies (3 in the car park) along with many other butterflies. Green Hairstreak were flying thru the Gorse so fast that I coun't keep up and still lots of Grizzled and Dingy about.
Spot the Dingy. It kept touching down on this yellow car in the car park but didn't stay on it long enough:
A Kestrel was sitting on a telegraph wire but as I pressed the shutter he flew.
Back home in the garden with a nice cold drink and the daily crossword, I just happened to look up, only to see a Painted Lady flying round the garden. It circled around twice but didn't settle which made me feel a little better. Here's hoping this is going to be a good year for them