Maximus

[Maximus]

Noar Hill 8th September 2014



Today we made what will probably be our final visit of 2014 to Noar Hill to try our luck at finding a September Brown Hairstreak. However despite much searching across the reserve in ideal weather conditions we drew a blank! Fortunately we found good numbers of other species on the wing there, which helped to make up for the lack of BH..

Male and female Brimstone

There were many Speckled Woods

Small Whites

and Many Small Heaths

Meadow Brown female

Common Blue female

A Peacock tempted out of hibernation by the sunshine

Female Comma with a missing antenna

Small Tortoiseshell sitting on last winters Blackthorn ashes

Although there's nothing new here, it was great to see lovely butterflies in such nice condition at the beginning of September. As we set off back to the car very satisfied with what we'd seen, we had no idea that the stars of the day were about to reveal themselves to us

[Maximus]

...walking down the track on our way back to the car, I spotted the unmistakable outline of a Red Admiral nectaring on some Hemp Agrimony. Moving closer I saw that there were actually four stunning Red Admirals, in close proximity to each other, nectaring on the Hemp Agrimony. The following photos don't do them justice, their superb condition and colouration could only really be appreciated with ones eyes. We watched as they moved from flower to flower, seemingly not too bothered by our presence. Occasionally they would fly up into a nearby Hazel and spend a few minutes basking, wings fully open to the late afternoon sun, before flying down to resume nectaring. We spent an enjoyable half an hour watching them before heading down to the car, it was a great finale to our afternoon at Noar.

ab bialbata

ab bialbata

different ab bialbata

[Wurzel]

I read the previous posting and thought that I'd wait and see who the stars were - and they really are stellar - fantastic shots Mike

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Cheers Wurzel, they were real stunners


Dungeness 10th September 2014


Small Coppers, at least for us, have been a bit thin on the ground this year! This is a real shame as they are a beautiful little butterfly and have always been a particular favourite of mine. Therefore, when a visit to my sister's in Hythe was planned for 9th/10th September we had already decided that a visit to Dungeness was in order on the afternoon of 10th (it was a no-brainer), as it would seem from other PD's, Hoggers , that this is a bit of a Small Copper Mecca At midday on Thursday we parked up near the Britannia Inn, in overcast conditions with light rain falling. Fortunately the rain stopped as we left the car and headed out into the wilderness. There was a fair breeze so we made our way towards some scrub which was visible in the distance. We were expecting to see Small Coppers with every footfall , but we saw none, in fact we saw no butterflies at all! The breeze was easterly, and looking toward the East some blue sky appeared to be heading our way. We entered an area sheltered by scrub just as the sun appeared and suddenly a Small Copper flew into view, closely followed by another, which was obviously a male defending his territory. We were very happy to see these two and take some photos, and had we seen no more SC's would have driven home quite satisfied. However this was to be one of those 'red letter days' that sometimes happen, usually when you least expect it! I make no apologies for the number of photos that follow, but hopefully they will help illustrate the amazing amount of variation in the Small Coppers found at this site..

The first male we saw, most of those we saw were females

A stunning female

Another stunning female

We also found a couple of the caeruleopunctata variety..

caeruleopunctata 1

caeruleopunctata 2

..and also found this Small Copper variation..

An unusually coloured variation

..an interesting butterfly! Most of those we saw were females..

During our afternoon visit we saw a total of 25 different individuals, which more than made up for our lack of sightings of this species through the spring/summer of 2014!

[Goldie M]

Lovely Photo's Mike like always, the Small Copper is a favourite of mine as well. Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Cracking Red Admirals Mike, they are certainly having a better year this year than last, and great Small Coppers too

Cheers,

Neil.

[David M]

Indeed. Whilst Small Coppers remain thin on the ground, Red Admirals are noticeably increasing in numbers in south Wales, and given the favourable weather for the next few days, I expect to see quite a few before the first cold winds of autumn blow in.

[Maximus]

Thanks Goldie, glad the Small Coppers are your favourites too


Glad you like the Red Admirals, Neil, Small Coppers are superb, when you can find them


I agree David, that there are not that many Small Coppers around this year, the exception being Dungeness or Cornwall! A fair amount of Red Admirals about though, hopefully we should see many more now, given the current good weather!


Mike

[Hoggers]

Smashing set of Small Coppers, Maximus! What a treat to see!

I'm glad Dungeness came up trumps!

Best wishes

Hoggers

[Maximus]

Thanks for your kind comments, Hoggers.


During our visit to Dungeness on 10th September we also saw the following species.

Good numbers of Small Heath

Some very fresh Common Blues

Three Painted Ladies

And a Hummingbird Hawkmoth at rest

There were also a few Brown Argus, mostly quite worn and several Red Admirals, a great visit!

[Wurzel]

Cracking Small Coppers Mike and then more lush shots . The Hummingbird Hawk Moth is a real gem, I don't think I've ever seen one at rest

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

I love the Painted Lady Goldie

[Maximus]

Cheers Wurzel, I 've only seen one other at rest before, normally they're flying around like crazy

Thanks Goldie



Whites


We have a bed of 'sacrificial' cabbages in our garden, and although Large and Small Whites do not appear to be as plentiful as last year, there have still been reasonable numbers of eggs laid. The problem has been the same as last year's, that is, when the larvae have hatched they quickly disappear, probably due to predation from birds, wasps, spiders etc. A while ago a batch of Large White eggs were laid on a cabbage leaf, I kept watch until they hatched and then cut the leaf and brought the larvae inside. They were placed into a container with a net lid, kept well supplied with fresh cabbage and have thrived. There were also several Small Whites and one of these has already pupated.

Larvae with pound coin for size comparison

Large White larvae with one Small White larva

Small White pupa

This morning, taking my customary look into the container I noticed a dead LW larva in the bottom. On taking the cover off to remove it I noticed another larva acting strangely, and as I watched I saw that there were grubs beginning to emerge from it's body. (The following shots are not for the squeemish)

eight grubs emerging from LW

They quickly formed cocoons beside the larva

I'm not sure what parasite has caused this (wasp or fly?) or if the eggs or larvae were targeted, but I hope that no more succumb! It took roughly one and a half hours from the emergence of the grubs before they pupated beside the larva, which on inspection a little later I noticed had managed to move away from the grubs

[Nick Broomer]

Hi Mike,

Brilliant photos. I know its not very nice to see, but its nature. Its something i have never seen before and a subject i find fascinating. I have seen a few 3rd/4th instar larva with white cocoons attached to them this year, mainly Red Admirals, but never the actual grubs. Thanks for sharing.

All the best, Nick.

[kevling]

Hi,

I too found your photos interesting. I planted some 'sacrificial' Nasturtiums and struck lucky with Small & Large White larvae. A couple of the larvae crept up the front of my house and pupated under the fascia boards under the guttering. I noticed that one of them seemed de-formed and through a pair of binoculars looked a little similar to what you have photographed. Unfortunatley although I have a good camera, I didn't have a big enough set of ladders to investigate further. (On reflection, it might have raised some dubious glances from the neighbours).

Regards Kev

[Goldie M]

Your photo's are gruesome to say the least, but that's nature for you, it's awful to see though I wonder to if it's wasp's They don't seem to have done to well this year because of the wet weather earlier in the year, great shots though Goldie

[David M]

I think it's a parasitic wasp that's to blame. I noticed a Large White larva on the outside of my kitchen window a couple of weeks ago. At the time I thought it was a strange place for a caterpillar to rest. However, over the next few days precisely the same thing happened - these tiny cocoons appeared beside the prone larva's body.

[millerd]

The characteristic pile of yellow cocoons often found accompanying an expired Large White caterpillar (seemingly caught just short of pupation itself) are those of Cotesia glomerata , a species of braconid wasp.

Dave

[Maximus]

Thanks for your kind comments Nick, much appreciated, it is nature and I can understand why you find this subject fascinating. I didn't know that Red Admirals were affected in the same way too.


Hi Kev, thanks for your comments, I can just imagine what your neighbours would be thinking had they seen you up a ladder with your camera in hand!


They are a bit gruesome Goldie, but the natural world never ceases to amaze.


This must be a very common occurence David, and I agree with you that its a parasitic wasp that's to blame.


Hi Dave, possibly Cotesia glomerata but I have been informed that it is more likely to be Apanteles glomeratus

Dave, I believe that both of the above names refer to the same wasp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3xfGbloqG4

[Pauline]

Excellent observation Mike and well captured on camera. Like many others I have never actually seen the larva before so it is fascinating to see albeit quite gruesome!