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Saturday 21st May was a better day. I realised that since a visit at the start of the month, I had not been down to have a look at my other local site, Staines Moor. I therefore sandwiched a walk here between rambles on my usual patch early and late.

It was rather disappointing. There were quite a few Small Heath around, but virtually nothing else.I saw just one Small Copper, and a rather tired one at that - a real contrast to the bounty of the last couple of years.A fresh female Brown Argus was a more positive note......and then another madly flying Painted Lady plonked itself down in a sheltered hollow in front of me before tearing off downwind.Perhaps the best image was actually of a moth - a rather nice Mother Shipton on a buttercup. They seem to be having a good spring. Dave

millerd wrote: ↑Thu Jun 02, 2022 7:53 pm...Among the males was another unusual female, almost ghostly pale with only the tiniest hints of marginal markings on the forewings. I've not seen one like this before...

Me neither, Dave. That's a really unusual one.

Cracking reports Dave Good to see you got onto the Small Pearls Just a shame they don;t appear to be at Bentley any more That is a really interesting Common Blue variation - I had a similar looking one a few years ago - it almost looks someone had printed out in gray scale rather than in colour I wonder if that is related to temperature in any way?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I think I see at least one striking female Common Blue every time I go out at the moment, David. Every one is different, and all are little gems.

If there is a temperature factor in their variety, Wurzel, goodness knows what it is, as so far this year I have seen them from nearly brown to all over blue with every conceivable variation in between. There's a few more to come in the nest post... It's a real shame about the Small Pearls at Bentley - you'd think the Eastern Clearing part of the site was better suited to them than the Pearls, as it is noticeably damp. With reports of trampling damage from other places, it makes you wonder whether SPBF pupae are harmed by the folk that come to see the Pearls.

So, back to my local patch for most of 21st May. What a contrast to Staines Moor, with around a hundred butterflies seen of no fewer than 15 different species.

As the subject of Common Blue females is high on the agenda, I'll start with those.There were plenty of fresh males as well of course.Fresh Brown Argus are something special too, their deep chocolate brown is worth capturing.All the Holly Blues seen were females, and some were still in pretty good shape.Two Small Coppers appeared today, one of which is becoming familiar as individuals of the species tend to do, turning up like a bad penny (apologies for the pun...) in the same spot almost every day. He's a bit of a poser, too.The other one was a far less demonstrative insect.With only a handful of white butterflies around now, and Large Whites being infrequent round here anyway, I was surprised to be actually able to a get a shot of both a male and a female on the same day......plus a male Small White that was almost completely white.One or two of the old guard hibernators remained......and there seems to be another round of Specklies appearing, just a tad less bright than the early spring onesFinally, there were four Red Admirals, the highest number so far this year. One of these was a splendid insect, clearly newly emerged and likely the offspring of one of those that successfully overwintered here. Dave

"it makes you wonder whether SPBF pupae are harmed by the folk that come to see the Pearls."Could be Dave - they've 'mown/cleared' paths around in parts of the clearing to prevent trampling so if the Small Pearls have dived under the radar perhaps they'll make a reappearance next year? I had to go to Priddy for my Small Pearls this year and they're harder to photograph there.
That is a stunning array of blues - there must be some sort of selective pressure acting on the colour of the females but I don't have a clue what it could be - perhaps the bluer ones are more obvious so increase their chances of being found by a male but at the cost of being more obvious to predators?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

in ref to to CB/BA earlier, I'd go for a BA. The ground color looks right for them and (although difficult from the angle) for my money the abdomen looks 'male' which also fits with the amount of red on the uppers.

Cheers, Wurzel - I think we'll have to leave the origins of the blueness factor a mystery, and just enjoy them!

Thanks, Paul - I suspect you're right about that Brown Argus and that what look like blue-reflecting scales are not that at all. Everything else fits...

Sunday 22nd May promised to be another sunny warm one, so I decided to make the annual trip down to Hutchinson's Bank and the chance of a Glanville Fritillary. I usually do the journey by public transport, but discovered (just in time) that large portions of the trek would be on rail alternative buses - which did not appeal. I ended up driving, and for once the M25 was kind and it didn't take too long at all. I even managed to park in Farleigh Dean Crescent without annoying the locals...

Quite a group of folk were already there in the traditional hotspot of the Cutting when I arrived, so I headed through and did a circuit of some of the rest of the site. By doing so I encountered a selection of the other inhabitants of this chalk downland site - mainly Small Blues, which as always were to be seen everywhere.

However, the first highlight was a very approachable Green Hairstreak, which persistently returned to its dogwood perch right in front of my nose.This site also seems to hold onto its aging Brimstones longer than elsewhere, and there were quite a few still flying.I also encountered what was probably one of the very last of the year's Orange Tips - curiously in exactly the same spot I had seen my last one a few years ago.I saw several Dingy Skippers, but no Grizzlies and no Brown Argus - though there were one or two Holly Blues and a few new Common Blues too.The ubiquitous Small Blues provided a constant backdrop, but were characteristically tricky to pin down for a decent shot.Eventually I found my way back to the centre of the action, where in my absence Fritillaries had appeared - and not just Glanvilles... There were two female Marsh Fritillaries as well, not something I'd seen here before, and what must be a recent introduction as the nearest colony is a long way away.That left the Glanvilles. There were only two of these that I saw, but they provided a lot of photo opportunities for everyone there. Dave

Excellent Glanville images though, Dave. Quality over quantity perhaps...

Many thanks, Mark. Yes, those two butterflies were pretty fresh, and I was able to make the most of them.

Surprisingly the drive home on 22nd May was fairly straightforward as well, and (creature of habit that I am) I walked round my local patch again. There was nothing outstanding to report, just another nice blue female Common Blue......a very faded ex-hibernation Small Tortoiseshell......a puddling GVW......and a surprisingly amenable Burnet Companion moth that didn't disappear at high speed when approached.I also came across what appeared to be a very new Small Heath, quite bright in flight and large for the species. I amused myself for a while trying to capture in-flight images, and succeeded in getting a whole variety of not-in-focus shots. However, the freshness of the butterfly and some markings could be made out, enough to say that it was a female. It is though a bit like looking at photos of Mars taken through a small telescope from Earth, as compared with shots from orbit around the planet... It's a shame we don't really get to see the upperside of this butterfly - I shall keep trying, though its habit of keeping low to the ground makes the camera focus on the background, not the butterfly.

Dave

Good effort with those uppers! Makes you look at them in a whole new way when you can see that side of them

Cheers, Paul! There must be a better way of getting some of these elusive uppersides... It all comes down to luck for the most part, but a fresh Small Heath is quite strikingly bright yellow-orange from above so makes the effort worthwhile.

On Monday 23rd May, the sun became somewhat shy again, though it stayed quite warm - it was certainly bright enough for things to be flying locally and I saw 75 butterflies of 10 species today. One particular Brown Argus stood out from the dozen or so seen.There seems to be a never-ending supply of fresh Common Blues at the moment, perhaps not surprising given the vast amount of birds'-foot trefoil that has appeared here in the last 18 months.This obviously includes the blue females...The usual Small Copper appeared, and I noticed today that it is unusually pale underneath.Just the usual view of a Small Heath today......and the obligatory female Holly Blue. These seem to be in endless supply as well.One other interesting sight: during a bout of thunderstorms a few days earlier, I noticed while tracking them on a lightning strike website that there had been a "hit" somewhere out on my local patch. I strongly suspect this was the spot.No doubt a physicist/meteorologist/electrical engineer will utterly debunk this theory!

Dave

Pleased you caught up with the Glanvilles Dave, nice and fresh too.
Only one was seen when we went, but many of the visitors, including us, never saw it.
Have a for those Small Heath in flight shots. Superb.

Trevor.

Thank you, Trevor - a shame you missed the Glanvilles after trekking up the A22 to Croydon. I can't help thinking there haven't been many at all at Hutchinson's Bank this year. As for the Small Heath uppersides - they need some work I feel, but it's good that there is always something new to improve on.

The weather seemed to have gone into a bit of a downward trend, with Tuesday 24th May turning cooler, breezier and very showery - stormy even.I only ventured locally again, but somehow managed to avoid getting more than slightly wet. A few butterflies dodged the rain as well, though fewer were seen than on the previous day. They were mostly the same selection......but there were some others. A brand new Small Tortoiseshell appeared, apparently enjoying the gusty wind and only settling briefly to bask in the shelter of the grass.Later on in the afternoon as the storm clouds moved away, the late angled sunlight favoured the appearance of Red Admirals along the wooded paths, and sure enough one materialised.They revel in these conditions late in the day - I don't know where they go for the rest of the time!

With fewer butterflies to enjoy today, I investigated the many seeding garlic mustard plants for Orange Tip caterpillars, and found several in various stages of development.
Dave

Wednesday 25th May continued the trend - a cooler, duller day, and very few butterflies, though a burst of evening sunshine woke up a Common Blue......and of course you could almost guarantee that a Red Admiral would appear. Dave

Thursday 26th May was still not very sunny, but it did turn noticeably warmer - and there was a promise of something better on Friday. This was good, as I had a plan for the day which wouldn't work without some decent weather.

However, encouraged a little by Thursday's warmth, after a lengthy wander around my local patch again I chanced a first look at Fairmile Common near Cobham in case some Silver-studded Blues had been tempted out. A longish search of the area drew a blank, and in fact there was not much at all flying. I found a few Small Heaths......and one very ancient Small Copper that really wasn't worth a photo. There were several moths around, one of which I recognised as a Speckled Yellow.Another could have been a Yellow Shell, though the light was poor and the colour is not very true in this shot.The other one I don't know.The site itself is fringed by wild roses, which are just coming into bloom - a very attractive sight. However, my local excursion earlier had (as usual) provided some interest.

Dave

Yup, that's a Yellow Shell. Your unk one is a Treble-bar, or the near identical Lesser Treble-bar (the shape of the tip of the abdomen is apparently the best way to separate the two)

More cracking posts Dave Mind you you might want to venture to Wiltshire for Glannies next year - on the same day I had at least 8 Great shots of the Small Heath - love the way that when the light shines through those patches of colour appear I reckon you could be right about the lightning strike - it does look a little charred

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thursday 26th May: local stuff. I think I'll split the post to highlight the different elements.

The local Common Blues continued to excel themselves: I counted 36 today, many were fresh and the females displayed a variety of colour again.Their undersides however vary less, and are just shades of pale brown.The males are more silvery grey...which seems to fit with their shining blue uppersides. Dave

26th May: a few odds and sods.

Another couple of Painted Ladies appeared today, and one was becalmed by a cloudy spell.Another of the local Small Coppers turned up and attempted stalk-dancing down this daisy stem though the breeze made this difficult.A few Brown Argus could be spotted basking under the clouds - their dark colouring absorbs more heat when the sun is in and makes it wothwhile.Holly Blue females sat around waiting for brighter spells when they could carry on laying.One took the opportunity......and it was just possible to make out the egg as she prepared to take off.She then rested and warmed up before the next run. One more species completed the day...

Dave

Having been concerned for a few years now at the declining numbers of Small Tortoiseshells locally, I was very interested to see if the scrub clearance done over the winter along the banks of the River Colne would make a difference. Its purpose was to ease the choking of the river by vegetation which had been impeding the flow and causing potential flood issues (bring in some beavers!), but one side effect was that the cleared areas filled up with lush nettle growth in the spring to which hibernated Small Tortoiseshells were clearly attracted.

I had already seen a couple of new brood examples in the area, but today I counted five (and a few days later saw even more). I hardly saw any at the same time last year. They were mostly the standard version......but one pristine individual stood out.The lack of contrast between the orange and yellow areas, plus the very bright golden wing margins, made it look very pale in flight - almost yellow rather than deep orange. It was also rather larger than average, adding to its impressive presentation and making it a striking insect.

Dave