www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Cheers David and Neil - it is a weird thought and something I might look into in a bit more detail if I get round to it during the winter break - I mean how do they not freeze and if they do freeze how do they stop ice crystallisation from ripping their cells apart?
Any way I need to take a leaf out of thier book as urgency at the moment isn't my srong suit. What with seemingly ever increasing demands at work, being part way through buying a house and visits from family my posting are getting further and further behind. So without further a do...

Garston and Grandparents (22-09-12)

After the success when popping out to the garden during the morning I was hoping for more of the same at Garston Wood. As we took the low path from the car park it was looking hopeful with a two Speckled Wood in the car park and a Red Admiral flitting around the edge of the path. However as we got further in things went a lot quieter. When I did find butterflies they were always Speckled Woods and they showed an annoying tendancy for liking a loftier elevation and no matter how hard I tried to reach or how I strained I just couldn't get the camera close enough for any shots. In the end I took to just counting with a total of 8 Speckled Wood by the end of the walk. From here we headed over to my parents house where we were staying for the night. The girls get to have a sleepover at Nanny's and my old man and I can have a bit of an ale tasting session! As I was lugging the bags in I noticed a fluttering on the Buddleia and so took to a bit of a closer investigation. It was a Small White, just round the corner was a Green Veined White and scattered over the rest of the bush I counted 2 Small Tortoiseshells, a Comma and a couple of Red Admirals. The only problem as I recalled from last year is that the Buddleia is huge and florets are also out of camera range. However the Ivy clad fence running along side it was the perfect height and it was covered in Red Admirals - a grand total of 7 on an Ivy Bush that covered to a 3 metre length of fence. Up until now I'd read about some of the large groupings of Red Admirals with envy and here I was now enjoying my own small scale re-enactment Soon the tally increased with the additions of another Small Tort, anther Comma, 2 more Small White and a Large White (female). As I headed in there were 3 Red Admiral basking on the side of the house and one on the Sunflower - giving a pleasing colour contrast. Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wurzel wrote:how do they not freeze and if they do freeze how do they stop ice crystallisation from ripping their cells apart?

There was a thread about this (started by Gruditch) last year. I did a bit of reading and came up with this: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5848&start=20#p53368

Mike

Cheers Mike I'll follow the link to the link and have a proper read, all I could manage last night was a brief glance in between marking books, oh the joys of work Still soon be March 2013

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Bath

Almost a week ago I was heading from Pewsey to Bath University for a mentor meeting. As I drove the weather was mild and sunny with the occasional cloud covering the sky and whilst it was warm there was a slight nip in the breeze. As I drove along the hedgerows towards Devizes I saw a few whites fluttering around various hedges when I was passing through the villages. However once I got to Devizes it was pretty clear driving and my opportunity to look out for butterflies disappeared as I had to keep my eyes firmly on the road.
Once at the campus and safely parked I realised that my flight across country had been pretty quick so I took 10 minutes to have a quick look around before setting off for WN1 or some such building.
My first port of call was the footpath right at the eastern edge of the campus. There were some tall Ivy bushes here so I was hoping to find some Nymphalids but as I crossed the car park to reach them the sun disappeared and the temperature noticeably dropped. The sun stayed there for the whole of my foray and towards the end I had to shelter from a very brief shower.
At the top of the path is a small woodland walk and beyond that the gold course. As I strolled through the woodland area thinking how it looked good for Speckled Wood one appeared as if by magic. It didn’t hang around long and quickly hid among the foliage higher up a tree and out of camera range. I swear they can recognise camera lenses and so fly to a point just beyond their range, in fact I might test this out next year!
From there I found myself on the public footpath that hugs the edge of the golf course and so covering my head from errant balls I took a quick walk along a short length of it. The hedge looked like it could be good next spring for whites and Orange–tip so something to bear in mind. As I was about to head back something dark caught my eye fluttering for brief spells over the “rough”. At first it looked so dark that I thought it could be a Peacock. Then it looked too small, there wasn’t enough red for an Admiral and it wasn’t orangey so no Comma or Tortoiseshell. Luckily it moved towards me and two steps off the path found me almost eyeball to eyeball with it. It was a Speckled Wood that had obviously decided to flout the Trades Description Act and was impersonating a Meadow Brown. As I watched it took a few short flights of no more than a metre or two before it would fall back to ground. Perhaps it was too cold for further flight? It didn’t look worn at all but would land with its’ wings hanging down which meant getting a focused picture was tricky. I then remembered why I was here and so quickly made my way back to the car park stopping only briefly as I didn’t want to bother this little chap unduly. I will definitely have to check this area out next season as the habitat looks good and it made a nice to change to photograph something other than a Red Admiral or Comma
Have a goodun

Wurzel

The Town Path

As my in-laws were visiting I realised that chances for butterflying would be few are far between. So when I saw the weather on Saturday morning – warm and sunny with very little wind – I groaned inwardly slightly. After they’d watched the girls swim we all strolled into town from Five Rivers along the Town path that hugs the river. I was hoping that visiting my regular hotspot would pay off. It’s just after the Coach park where the path has a wall stretching along one side with wildflowers growing on the bank side. The flowers are a nectar source and the wall acts as a heat store trapped the sun and also shielding the bank side from the breeze. Also along the wall there are a few Ivy bushes which offer even more nectar.
As I approached I could see that it was certainly going to deliver with 3 Red Admirals on one small bush. Unfortunately they were too spread out to get all three in one shot. The other slightly large bush held 8 Red Admirals with 2 Comma and a Small Tortoiseshell acting very coy on the other side of the wall. The Commas were a bit of a pain to get shots of as they insisted on feeding lower down on the other side of the Harris fencing on the other side of the wall. To get any shots I had to focus through the small square gaps in the metal fencing. While we had lunch we were joined by a Robin that was obviously a teenager judging by its’ unruly hair do! The return journey with just the girls gave me another chance to have a quick look at the butterflies. By now the Small Tort had gone but had been replaced with another Comma and Red Admiral and all were intent on feeding on my side of the Ivy and within range. Once home I was straight out into the garden to see what was there...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Back to the Garden...(30-09-2012)

...And at first there wasn’t an awful lot there! I checked the Ivy arch and it was bare of butterflies, as were the Brambles and fencing at the top of the garden. So slightly discontentedly I headed under the arch back towards the house. Something caught my eye on the old, bare wooden arch quite low to the ground, almost hidden amongst the grasses missed by the mower. As I carefully flattened the grasses it turned out to be a Silver Y. This seemed to be the sign for other butterflies to appear and a small Ivy bush on the other side of the garden suddenly held a Red Admiral where before it had none. Unfortunately the afternoon sun was too strong and the shots I got were bleaching so again I thought about heading in. As I turned round back into the garden and extricated myself from the taller bushes that I’d pushed my way through to get to the left hand fence, I saw another Red Admiral on the Plum tree. I managed to skirt round spooking it only slightly so that it flew 30 cm to the fence where it rested with its’ wings wide open. After I’d taken my shots I stood back in the middle of the garden and it had moved back to the Plum tree. Only it hadn’t as this was a different individual as Red Admiral 1 (RA1) was the aberrant with a white spot in the red wing band and Red Admiral 2 didn’t have it. It seems that RA1 had moved and settled further along the fence and while I was trying to move back to the lawn so as not to disturb it RA2 had flown in from one of my neighbours gardens. Made a nice change them coming to me from over the fence rather than disappearing in that direction! I thought I should try for a few move photos of RA1 when I noticed a third Red Admiral on the fence, like the flying Mallards on Vera Duckworth living room wall. Happy that there were no more Red Admirals lurking around and with the sun disappearing for good behind the clouds I made my way indoors again. However I couldn’t resist a few final shots of RA2 as it was holding its’ wings in a pose I’m used to. So this was a week ago and I’ve been seeing butterflies this weekend too - how much longer will it continue? Who cares lets enjoy it while it lasts...
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Nice shots Wurzel, I particularly like the Silver Y Moth.
I must have seen thousands of these this year, especially when I was down in Dorset, but didn't manage to get any shots I was really happy with. They usually settle with their wings vibrating so unless you can find one properly settled they can be a s*d to photograph.

Cheers,

Neil.

I think you should be proud of that moth photo too - I've never found a Silver Y that would sit still for a minute either.

Dave

Cheers Neil and Dave I too have experienced the frustration of the Silver Y! Previously whenever I've attempted to get shots of them they have either been ridiculously difficult to approach or when you do get close enough they've buried themselves in the grass so you get shots of a blob behind some green stuff, or as you both mentioned they are busy vibrating their wings to such an extent that the hum is almost audibile I was so shocked that this one was still (possibly torpid?) that I went and checked later that it had moved to make sure it wasn't dead

Garden, my refuge

Another nice weekend has passed but it’s like a switch was flicked on Saturday night as the temperatures dropped, the wind built and the rain that had been threatening for a while finally came. Still on Saturday I was blissfully ignorant of what was to come and with the girls back from swimming and a trip to town (sarcastic yay!) in the offing I nipped out for a short while to make the most of the back garden.
As usual it didn’t disappoint with 5 Red Admirals all feeding on the smallest Ivy bush in all the surrounding gardens! At some points there was so little room that they were crawling over one another to find nectar. I decided that I’d taken more than my fair share of Red Admiral shots this year so had a poke around to see what else I could find. The top end of the garden was very quiet apart from a few Hover Flies and also an unusual looking fly. It looked like a mosquito with its’ large spindly legs but the head didn’t seem right? The Red Admirals were still feeding like crazy on the Ivy so I succumbed in the end but tried for some different shots. So rather than getting level side on views I started poking the lens between the bushes and deliberately tilting the camera a few degrees off level. However I was most happy with the shots that I took from below one Red Admiral, with the sun streaming though its’ wings it took me back to those heady days during the early summer looking for Silver Studs at Slop Bog. In another shot the Admiral is almost playing peek-a-boo with me. On the other side of the garden a Wasp was chewing the fence for paper. I managed to move in really close for a shot and then as I backed away was surprised to see a Comma fluttering up from an Ivy leaf right where I’d been standing. I was even more surprised when the dead leaf I brushed my hand against was a second Comma which stoically remained in disguise. I was about to get some shots of this when something really special caught my eye. I remember years ago when I was first getting into birding I’d flick through field guides and there was always the section with the birds I’d love to see – Hoopoe, Roller, Bee-eater. The really bright, gaudy ones that catch the eye and stand out from the rest of the LBJs. Well what I’d found was the Wasp equivalent, a type of Cuckoo Wasp probably Chrysis ignita. It was stunning with a bright purple abdomen and its’ head and thorax bejewelled with Emeralds and Sapphires. I was only sad that the view was so fleeting. I did get back to the butterflies once I tried and failed to relocate the little wasp and again tried for some different shots, this time of one of the two Commas that were hanging out in the garden. I never realised how hairy they are – insulation ready for the winter ahead. Unfortunately the trip to town couldn’t be postponed any longer so with a heavy sigh I headed back into the human world...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Wurzel, yet MORE cracking pics!

Dunno what your long-legged fly is, but check out Trichocera. Looks similar and is widespread across much of England, including in your neck of the woods. Cool pic of the Jewel Wasp too (and good luck IDing those!)

I've just bought myself a copy of Wasps of Surrey by David Baldock 2010. Am very much looking forward to putting it to use next year.

Cheers mate, catch you at the social?

Gibster.

Cheers for the kind comments Gibster I'll check out your ID suggestion. I was dead chuffed with the Cuckoo wasp asI've wanted to find for ages and to have it in the garden made it extra special. See you at the social indeed (if I can find my cheque book )!

Town Path 06-10-2012

In the end the trip to town wasn’t too bad as I took my camera just in case. As my nice and daughters fed the ducks I tried for a few close up shots of the ducks. They were hard to get, not because of any difficulty in approaching them, but because they were so active waddling here and there, ducking and diving to get to the eagerly thrown crumbs. My older daughter manages to make her slices last, ripping and throwing small pieces which she rolls into balls. My younger daughter on the other hand throws huge chunks which inevitably end up bashing the ducks on the head and they’re lucky they don’t get concussion the way she forcibly hurls it at them! My niece who is younger still just sort of drops the bread on the floor. The usual suntrap area long the town path seemed quiet as I approached it today and when I got closer I couldn’t see a single butterfly on the lager of the two bushes. The smaller one for some reason held 11 Red Admirals all jostling for feeding positions! I didn’t know which one to try and photograph first so in the end I looked for the two closest. Over the last two years I’ve noticed that I’ve taken my camera pretty much everywhere I go; to and from work, trips to town, visits out anywhere, even just down to the local corner shop and back! But now as the days get noticeably colder and wetter (another British summer?) and also shorter I’m tempted to start leaving it at home more and more. It no longer goes to work or the corner shop with me and this posting could well detail its’ last trip to town until March 2013.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lodmoor

This time last week I headed off early to Lodmoor to try my luck for the Short Billed Dowitcher that was seemingly settling in for the winter.
As I arrived and set off down the Beechdown way which transects the reserve I saw a glum looking birder heading back to the car. I gave the usual greeting of expectant birders everywhere “any sign?” to which I received a negative. Oh well perhaps it was waiting for it to warm up a bit? I carried on until I got a view of the hump and had a quick burn with no joy. A couple of Snipe hiding in the edges, Gadwall, Teal and a Common Sandpiper but no yank. I moved round further to the Magic Roundabout and no joy there either only adding Little Egret and a stunning adult Med Gull. There seemed to be a growing number of birders on the western path so I thought it wise to try my luck a cast my scope around there. However again no joy and I spent a while watching a Heron feeding and patiently stalking its’ prey before the strike, gulping it down and then I managed to capture the somewhat guilty expression as it furtively gazed around having finished its’ meal. Also around were a few Lapwings and a Buzzard sitting on the fence that demarks the marsh from the reedbeds. I listened in intently to all the other birders who seemed to have the inside track and all the gen “it likes to be with the Snipe – check those Snipe over there”, “it likes to frequent this west path”, “its’ quite shy” etc etc. I smiled inwardly as I had a growing realisation that despite all this knowledge it wasn’t there, don’t ask me how but I knew I was going to dip, I’d left it too late and (this is the single worst phrase that any birder can hear) I should have been here yesterday.
Resigned to not seeing the bird I wanted I headed back to the Magic Roundabout to enjoy the birds that were around and also the butterflies. While I‘d been searching fruitlessly for the yank the sun had been warming the reserve and as I strolled along the path there seemed to be Red Admirals on every bush. A conservative estimate would amount to 30 individuals. Most were in a feeding frenzy on the small purple daisy like flowers. Finally something else appeared - a Dunlin and no matter how hard I tried it wouldn’t elongate its’ bill, grow an eye-stripe or lengthen its’ legs to resemble the yank. Still I slowly made my way back to the car stopping briefly to get the odd shot on the way and also espying a Comma along the Beechdown way. Hopefully this won’t set a precedent for the winter birding, but with 5 lifers last winter I mustn’t grumble – I was probably due a dip! And thankfully it didn't appear after I'd gone which is something I guess.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Looks like the RAs are feasting on Michaelmas Daisy, Wurzel.

Cheers for the plant ID Dave I need to brush up on my Botany, another thing to add to the winter "to do" list!

Garden finally?

My time out in the garden on Saturday was limited to a few fleeting moments over the lunchtime. There were one or two butterflies around, but rather annoyingly they spent most of their time just out of reach in my neighbour’s garden on the large Buddleia there. While I was tidying things away in my older girls’ bedroom on Saturday I chanced a look out into the back garden. There didn’t seem to be much going on in my side but an orange leaf looked out of place on my neighbour’s Buddleia. As I watched the leaf definitely moved, and then it closed its’ wings before flying a short way further into the bush to nectar revealing itself to be a Comma. Its’ movement upset a feeding Red Admiral which in turn upset a Large White which had been hiding out of sight near the fence. The Large White fluttered around and about and then upset the Red Admiral again, so much so that it ended up on my side of the fence and within range. I was downstairs like a shot grabbing my camera and then out into the garden.
I could see it on the Ivy arch but as I got nearer the heavens opened and there was a five minute downpour. To hide from the rain I slipped into the greenhouse which also meant that I could keep an eye on my quarry. While bullet sized droplets plummeted all around, it carried on feeding regardless. As soon as the rain stopped I poked my lens out managed to get a few shots, one of an unusual perching position. While it fed it would turn, eventually completing a full 360 degrees before moving onto the next flower head and repeating the process. The relative cover of the greenhouse and its’ hide like capabilities meant I could get really close up to the butterfly and I was surprised by the length of its’ proboscis. I thought I better head back in before more rain fell but I stopped by the small Ivy half way along the fence. There was a really small fly perched on the leaf but as I leant in to focus something heavily yellow striped hiding away under the leaves caught my eye. A bee and a species I’d not encountered before – possibly a species of Colletes? Having got a few shots I turned my attention back to the miniscule fly which I still can’ identify. Again I set off back to the house this time stop short by a few steps as on the fence were two Shield Bugs eyeballing each other. Both had a copper like patch at the rear but one was green the other rusty brown. Photos taken I finally made it back into the house just before another huge storm was unleashed. So it’s got to that time of year again when I’ll point the camera at anything that moves!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hey Wurzel,

shame you left it so long for the dowitcher (I saw it though, if that helps?)

Your coupla shieldbugs are Coreus marginatus Dock Bug and Palomena prasina the Common Green Shieldbug. Check out http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/gallery.html and click on Shieldbugs and Squashbugs.

Sorry to be no use at all regards the fly and the bee - definitely not my strong area!

Cheers mate,

Seth.

could it be Colletes hederae the ivy bee?

Could bee... There's a separate thread about it on here somewhere.

Dave

Cheers for the Shieldbug ID Gibster But no thanks for the Dowitcher help

Cheers for the bee help Chris and Dave. That was the species I was thinking of but BWARS offered up a couple of alternatives and I wasn't sure because how many stripes it had and whether the stripes were continuous and uniform?
I couldn't find the thread about on the forums Dave, though I too recall seeing it recently. By the way I hope the pun was a typo

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Moth ID - 13th October

A couple of weeks back I saw this moth flitting around my longue. I was unsure what it was so I thought I’d get a shot of it. However it proved harder than I’d imagined. First of all it liked hanging around right at the edge of the ceiling. Once I’d pulled up a chair it kept moving around and there was low light which meant that I had to correctly position the camera for the flash to catch it. I then thought that turning on the main light might work better as it should be attracted to it. The attraction side worked but rather too well as the moth flew round the light in ever decreasing circles before landing on moon like shade. The energy efficient light bulb produced an orangey light which put the whole moth in silhouette. Still I persevered and hopefully have managed to salvage a couple of shots which might help others to help me get an ID. Two things which aren’t noticeable on the shots I’ve got were that in general appearance it was more black and white looking and the upper-side hind wings looked almost rosy in colour. Cheers for any ID help.

Have a goodun

Edit 29-10-2012 - I reckon now that it's Cosmiotes freyerella?

Wurzel

After the exploits the previous day with 3 species of butterfly, a new Bee and some interesting Shield Bugs I thought that the Sunday would be just as promising. So I headed out to do some tiding work on the garden taking my camera with me. While I dug over the veggie patch and prepared a fire a pair of Red Admirals teased me with rapid fly-bys but they were too high to get any proper shots. They then hung around at the very top of the garden, spiralling in combat over the Ivy covered Apple tree in my neighbours garden, again well out of range. Then while I was getting the green bin a male Brimstone hurtled towards me down the garden. I watched it for about 20 seconds as it covered the length of the garden, passed over my head and rose abruptly to fly over the house.
That was pretty much it for the afternoon so I got my head down and got the jobs done. Once finished I picked my camera up and slowly walked back to the house. It was decidedly cooler than yesterday and even the Ivy didn’t have the flies and bees that were present yesterday. Two things that did catch my eye were another Shield Bug and a larva looking very out of place as it slowly wriggled across the fence post heading towards the safety of the Ivy. Any ID help greatly received. Surely that’s it for the garden this year...?
Have a goodun

Wurzel