www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Those are BEAUTIFUL Nick!

Thank you Susie, appreciated.

All the best, Nick.

31st July...

A golden gem......

Hi Nick.

An unusual but very interesting composition. I like it ...

Good hunting.

Kindest regards. Mark

Thanks Mark. Thats exactly what i was trying to achieve, something different, unusual to what i normally photograph, something you don`t always get to witness, so i`m glad you like it.

All the best, Nick.

Absolutely cracking, a blinder if a shot Nick I have never seen a proboscis captured like that

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel. I was rather lucky in getting the photo, but you need luck now and again. Why this male was throwing his Proboscis up into the air in this manner i have no idea?, he only did it twice, so it was great to capture it on film for eternity, and also capturing the colours inbetween the wings, which is something that also does`nt happen all that often.

All the best, Nick.

31st July, continued.......After an early visit to Denbies the day before with my good friend Mark Colvin, it started to rain soon after arriving but undeterred we still had a look around for roosting butterflies. The Chalkhills were found in huge numbers, with a lot of them sitting on their sides,their wings flat, facing skywards and, even though the vegetation was soaked all around them, not one butterfly was wet, not a drop of water to be found anywhere on their tiny bodies, even after four hours of continuous rain. This really amused me, as we were both drenched.......... but the following day told a different story, with the sun showing itself, the Chalkhill Blues were putting on a fabulous display........

You're starting to tease us again Nick Looking forward to the delectable delights

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Me a tease, Wurzel? must have the wrong fellow. No, really i`m still sorting through the photos, thats how far behind i am, and i can`t make my mind up on which ones to post.

All the best, Nick.

31st July, continued..............

Nice stuff Nick, and yes you are a bit of a tease. The close-ups are brilliant and love the SS Skipper with Proboscis outstretched, lovely shot.

All the best,

Mike

Thanks for your comments Mike, appreciated. A bit of a tease, i don`t know where all this is coming from.

All the best, Nick.

31st July, continued.........

What i really wanted to find on this trip was a very fresh male Chalkhill Blue, so fresh that it`s wings were still floppy and wet, so that i could photograph it as it dries, which only takes about twenty minutes with the males once they have found a nice resting place in the sun but, a lot longer when it comes to the females, normallly over an hour. So it was a case of eyes down, looking into the grass hoping to spot one creeping up and out from the depths of the vegetation and, to my surprise found one quite quickly...........so from floppy, to nice and dry.....

2nd August...

This is a picture of the Comma`s ovum i photographed on Sat. 30th July after three days of it being laid. Now a further three days on the young caterpillar has successfully emerged as shown in the next photo with the empty membrane of the egg to the top left of the picture, a tiny hairy thing no more than 2mm in length, less than twelve hours old and still not had it`s first meal. On hatching the larva will head straight for the back of a leaf, where it uses the hairs on it`s body to attach itself to the leaf as depicted in the last photo. Even with a strong wind blowing, as it was when i was trying to capture this image, the young larva stayed put, just showing you how tough and resilient these little insects are.

Absolutely cracking shots as usual Nick - you have certainly mastered high levels of quality control and consistency The life cycle shots tell a great story and the close up detail of the wing - fantastic

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thank you for your very kind comments Wurzel, really appreciated.

All the best, Nick.

Hi Nick,

Great images of the little Comma larva, fascinating stuff

All the best,

Neil F.

Great work, Nick.

I particularly like the first shot of the Comma egg; great composition and clarity.

Undoubtedly the best I've seen ...

Kindest regards. Mark

Thank you Neil and Mark for your kind comments on the Comma egg and larva, a subject that i find fascinating.

All the best, Nick.

2nd August....
What was supposed to be a quick visit to the North Downs to hopefully photograph a female Silver-spotted Skipper, ended up being a five hour stint. The pure scale of the beauty of these hills is quite unique with tens of thousands of Chalkhill Blues flying, who would`nt want to just sit there and enjoy the spectacle. But i think i over did it a bit, nearly forgetting the reason for my visit.......but not quite......