www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

The boss decided it was a good idea to mow down most of the vegetation behind greenhouse #5 about 3 weeks ago. This simultaneously reduced the amount of seed being blown in through the quarter-open roof.....and my butterfly-spotting lunchtime fun.

Last Friday a Clouded Yellow raced past me but didn't stop (whereas one had a month before when there was more to tempt it) and earlier this week a hobby flew directly over me from the direction of our small reservoir for plant watering. Presumably it'd been eyeing up the resident dragonflies.

I've attached a hotch-potch from the last week and a bit.

Re. the moths, I'd be very interested to know the ID of the one from 21st September. I saw one of the same type flying at lunchtime today. It stopped midway up a hawthorn hedge so I could confirm it was the same species. It was a very strong flyer for its size.

For the first moth (seen last Saturday), I've said Spindle Ermine mainly based on the dot density and September being mentioned for adults still flying. But as always more than happy to be corrected.

I think I've got the Snout and hoverflies correct....but same applies !

Quite a bit of variety there Zigzag. The spider looks like Salticus scenicus, agree with Snout, the strong flying moth is actually a caddisfly & note the hoverfly is spelt Helophilus.

I had a juvenile Hobby yesterday too at Rainham RSPB Reserve, hunting darters over the water. It was almost like being in southern Europe with Great White, Cattle & Little Egrets & a Spoonbill backed by a chorus of Cetti's Warblers & Marsh Frogs.

Butterfly wise an incredible minimum of 24 Red Admirals on the Ivy (as well as many Ivy Bees & Honey Bees) & 2 Commas on it too. Otherwise a scattering of whites (Small & Green-veined with 1 Large) & a couple of Speckled Woods.

Tuesday 14th, Port Eynon, Gower coast:

Small White 20-30
Small Copper 9
Meadow Brown 6
Common Blue 5
Small Tortoiseshell 3
Painted Lady 2
Red Admiral 1
Large White 1
Speckled Wood 1

aeshna5 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 4:10 am Quite a bit of variety there Zigzag. The spider looks like Salticus scenicus, agree with Snout, the strong flying moth is actually a caddisfly & note the hoverfly is spelt Helophilus.

I had a juvenile Hobby yesterday too at Rainham RSPB Reserve, hunting darters over the water. It was almost like being in southern Europe with Great White, Cattle & Little Egrets & a Spoonbill backed by a chorus of Cetti's Warblers & Marsh Frogs.

Butterfly wise an incredible minimum of 24 Red Admirals on the Ivy (as well as many Ivy Bees & Honey Bees) & 2 Commas on it too. Otherwise a scattering of whites (Small & Green-veined with 1 Large) & a couple of Speckled Woods.

Great stuff Aeshna - really appreciated as always and helps my education into the broader world of insects (and spiders).

Very interesting re. the caddis fly. I assume the fact I'm seeing them right now means there's an emergence from our small reservoir (pic attached). I don't recall seeing one before but have probably passed them off as moths like here. The back end looks grass veneer-ish and yesterday's certainly flew in a moth-like fashion but the antennae did look a bit odd.

Unfortunately I need a kindly supervisor to unlock the gates to let me visit the reservoir area - otherwise I'd be there every day now they've mowed my lunchtime patch.

....and with the recently gained knowledge that it is actually a caddis fly, I think I'm going to go for Limnephilus lunatus.

Nature Spot tells me the dark-edged half-moon at the back is diagnostic.

Thanks again Aeshna !

My pleasure!

I'm not familiar with caddisfly species, though we had a couple of attractive ones yesterday in the moth trap.

Weds 15th - Nicholaston Burrows, south Gower coast:

Red Admiral 20-30
Small Copper 9
Speckled Wood 8
Common Blue 6
Small White 5
Comma 3
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Brown Argus 2
Large White 1
Green Veined White 1
Small Heath 1

Over the last few days on my local patch near Heathrow, Summer stuttered to an end and Autumn blew in. 25th was warm, muggy and cloudy until sunset. 26th was warmer and sunnier. 27th started wet and very windy, giving way to cooler sunshine but with the wind still blowing. Butterflies were seen on all three days, but only nine species overall and numbers declining. However, there were a couple of highlights.

The same Small Heath was seen on both 25th and 26th, notable because of the extra eye-spot on the forewing.I don't know if this is a named variation (or even, dare I suggest, an aberration... ), but I can't recall seeing one before.

After the rain had cleared on 27th, Red Admirals were soon out in the sunshine, plus a few Commas (which are having a bumper showing in the pre-hibernation brood this year round here). Though more uniform in colour and pattern than the summer hutchinsoni brood, they still show some variation.Additional broods have not appeared in any number this year (probably because of the lack of August sunshine), certainly compared with 2020. Nevertheless I managed to spot a freshly emerged male Common Blue today. Autumn may have arrived, but there is still a bit of life in the season. Here's to an October butterfly or two!

Dave

(Full reports of these days will eventually make an appearance in my PD idc.)

September has been the closest to ‘summer’ we got this year here!

I don’t recall seeing so many Peacocks in my garden. I counted 30+ on a warm afternoon a couple of days ago.

Lots of Red Admirals too, a few Small Tortoiseshell and Speckled Woods, Whites, a couple of Wall Browns, a single Comma, Small Heaths, a single Brown Argus, a couple of Small Coppers.
Not all of them posed nicely for a photo though!

At long last! After numerous sightings and photo opportunities last year I eventually saw my first, and probably last, Clouded Yellow of this year. Beacon Hill, Wiltshire

Stevieb wrote: ↑Tue Sep 28, 2021 10:34 amAt long last! After numerous sightings and photo opportunities last year I eventually saw my first, and probably last, Clouded Yellow of this year. Beacon Hill, Wiltshire

Good for you, Steve. They've certainly not been around in anything like the numbers they were in 2020. I very much doubt any will turn up in Wales, and besides, the weather looks grim for at least another week at the moment.

I should have waited a day for my brief September selection: on a blustery morning today (28th) I had two more small surprises on my local patch. First was a fresh male Holly Blue (presumably third brood) which took off for the trees the moment some sunshine fell on it.Soon afterwards I walked out into the full force of the wind and a new-looking Painted Lady bowled along past me. I managed to catch up with it settled briefly on the path before it continued at a ridiculous speed into the distance. It's been a couple of weeks since last I saw one here.Red Admirals were also enjoying the wind in surprising numbers, but I'll leave those to a future report in my PD.

Dave

21-09-2021
Mr and Mrs Medard decided to take a three day break before the onset of winter and headed off to their favorite UK location, at Stoke, Hartland, Devon , no thoughts of finding butterflies on this windswept headland,we made a pilgrimage visit to the ancient church of St Nectan, it had just hosted a marriage and was beautifully decked with flowers, we then continued around the church path, my wife spotted a freshly emerged Painted lady sunning itself on the path, disturbed it then flew on to a nearby Buddleia bush and commenced to nectar, other butterflies seen, several Small Whites and two large whites on the White Valerian next the Churchyard, several Small Whites were also seen at the car park above Hartland Quay.
For the birders, a small flock of very mobile Wheatears ,ditto Rock Pipits, two Raven and a Peregrine
This impressive coastline draws film crews for the many productions that have been filmed along the headland, one film crew had been filming a sequel to a current popular blockbuster, thankfully they had finished so we were able to enjoy a peaceful few days before the weather brought our little holiday to an end.
https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com
Video of the rocky coastline above the Hartland quay https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/p12 ... #hbe456721

15th Sept - quite a few butterflies in mine and my neighbour's gardens, including a Comma, several Red Admirals & Small Whites, a couple of Small Tortoiseshells and a Painted Lady:

Port Eynon, Gower coast on 20th Sept:

Small White 20-30
Red Admiral 9
Painted Lady 5
Small Tortoiseshell 5
Common Blue 5
Meadow Brown 4
Large White 3
Small Copper 3

Tuesday 21st - Botanic Gardens of Wales, near Cross Hands:

Small Tortoiseshell 80-100
Small White 40-60
Red Admiral 20-30
Comma 15-20
Painted Lady 6-10
Speckled Wood 3
Green Veined White 1
Large White 1
Small Copper 1

Terrific to see such high numbers of Small Tortoiseshells, David. Seeing the sedum in your photo reminded me of a clump in my parents' garden in Somerset back in the 1970s that was always covered in Torties at this time of year. These days seeing any at all in September round my way just west of London would be quite an event...

Cheers,

Dave

Thanks, Dave. I can't recall when it was that I last saw so many Small Tortoiseshells in a single day. It probably isn't this century in all honesty.

At one point there were 7 on that sedum plant, along with 2 Commas and a Red Admiral.

29th September - male Large White seen on Castle Meadows in Abergavenny: