www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Today was slightly cooler 14⁰C but still fairly warm. I saw: my first brimstone(female) of the year 5x small tortoishells 3x peacocks and 1 large white.

Felix

It must have hit 19 or 20 where I was today, scorchio I saw my first male Orange Tip and 2 male Small Whites today and the Peacocks have really woken up too...

Horsenden Hill between 12 noon and 1.30 pm:
Orange Tip (male) x 1
Small White (male) x 1
Peacock x 12
Comma x 3
Brimstone (male) x 1
Small Tortoiseshell x 1

My front garden:
Peacock x 3 - one of these stayed pretty much all afternoon!

Greenford Park Cemetery:
Small White (male) x 1
Peacock x 4
Small Tortoiseshell x 2

Brent River Park:
Peacock x 4

Phew! Photos and comments to follow in my diary.

Cheers

Lee

Amusing Peacock behaviour.

My garage/barn door was open and a Peacock had a quick look inside (thinking it was time to hibernate?!) but immediately came back out into the sunshine. It then decided that my “swallow door” (about 28 x 14 cms) was preferable and shot back in and didn't reappear for some two minutes or so.

The swallow door is of course so that the nesting birds can get in and out without the need for me to open the main door. The speed with which they dash in is amazing. I love my swallows (not back in residence yet although did see one yesterday). However, the downside is the appalling mess they make.

Jack

I saw 2x brimstones 5x peacocks 1x small white 4x commas and I saw my first speckled wood of the year in my garden.

Felix

Saw 5 small tortoiseshells. female large white and a small white today, season is defiantly getting going here. It was 20C today so no wonder things are appearing. Next to look for is Green Hairstreak and Orange Tip, Holly Blue and Speckled Wood for me.

Seen 2 so far a slow start
A peaccock in the garden and a small tort
But havent been able to get out on a good day yet, been working
Pete

Hi All

I was at Great Bookham Common on Saturday for a couple of hours. Off the pathways it was quite saturated and boggy. I saw the following :

Brimstone x3
Orange Tip x1
Peacock x3


I also went to Horsenden Hill on Sunday :

Green Veined White x4
Peacock x3
Orange Tip x2
Comma x1

Cracking image Mike! Well done!

Cheers,

- Pete

I only saw one peacock and two large whites today but there was a very cold breeze this morning.


Felix

Today's new sightingsin Devon

Male Brimstone at Jetty Marsh Newton Abbott and a male Orange Tip near Ashburton.

One Small or Green Veined White at Northolt underground station, (which perhaps somewhat obviously, is not actually underground), in Middlesex yesterday (Monday 12th) around noon.

Cheers

Lee

Hi all,
Went looking for my first white butterfly of any description a little nearer the coast and found nothing....its just too early by the looks of it despite temperatures being above average for a week now. Its a whole lot cooler today though...so...it will be some time yet. As for Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Comma...there are simply too many to count. Very good year for the Comma...looking so fresh as well.

Cheers IAC.

Hailey Wood, managed coppiced, some 18 kms to west of Cambridge, is well worth a visit at this time of year for its Oxlips, a somewhat localised flower. Single Brimstone using Oxlips for nectar (unable to photograph). Also seen 4 or 5 Peacocks, 1 Comma, and 1 male GV White. Sunny, cool at 11 degs and brisk wind so not really surprised to see so few butterflies.

My captive stock of chrysalids, mainly whites, just taken out of the fridge where they spent the winter at +4C. They should emerge early May.

Jack

The first Grizzled Skippers have now begun emerging on the Surrey Downs. I saw a solitary male at my local site, Quarry Hangers, Chaldon this afternoon. This is exactly the same date as they emerged here last year. Also good numbers of Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell to be seen together with the odd Orange Tip and Green Veined White.
Cheers,

Vince

Finally, my first non hibernating species, 1 Green-veined White, and 3 Orange-tip seen today.

Regards Gruditch

That's a stonking shot of an OT Grud,,,, i aint even seen one yet. Must get out more.

Hi All,

Visiting Isles of Skye this week, did not expect to see any butterflies at all on my trip but today we managed to spot c. 50 Peacocks, and 1 Small Tortoiseshell (first of the year for me). Been seeing Peacocks all week on Skye but was surprised to find one bush/shrub with catkins containing 10 Peacocks and the Small Tortoiseshell all sunbathing and feeding.

Great Orange Tip photo's guys.

Happy Holidays.

G

I was intrigued to hear of so many Peacocks on Skye as I hadn’t realised it would be so numerous that far north. Indeed, this distribution map:

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/distribu ... species=io

suggests it’s not all that widespread on Skye. But note the density of reports on Shetland.

Things have changed. I lived in the Dee Valley to west of Aberdeen from 1981 to 1986 and I saw no more than a handful of Peacocks in that time. Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals, yes. But no Commas. I guess they won’t be long taking up residence that far north.

Jack

I revisited Quarry Hangers, Chaldon mainly to see how the Grizzled Skipper emergence was progressing. Only one was seen today, but in a different part of the site from the one on Tuesday, but more interestingly I believe I may have witnessed the courtship behaviour of the Peacock. I have been photographing butterflies for 5 years and have never seen this before or even found it described anywhere. I saw two Peacocks, line astern on the ground with wings open and suspected that it was a courting couple. I got two long range photos and backed away to see what would happen next.
The one at the back was doing all the chasing and I assume that this was the male. The one at the front I recognised as being a female which I had seen in the same location a few days earlier. Initially the male flicked his wings open and closed while flicking the rear wings of the female with his antennae. She then closed hers and began to vibrate them. This caused greater excitement in the male who continued to flick his antennae against the rear wings of the female. She continued to move away slowly with wings closed and he followed, all the while continuing with his flicking. He then caught up and moved alongside the female. At this point he also began to use his wings to flick the closed wings of the female. Whether she was leading him on or running away was not really clear, but she did not appear to be ready to mate just yet. The male tried to manoeuvre his abdomen to mate at least twice, but she was not co-operating and continued to walk slowly away. In the end the male temporily lost contact with the female when she fell a few inches off a mound of vegetation onto the ground. At that point she flew away out of sight.

An interesting day.

Vince

Excellent observation Vince - I've never come across anything like this myself. I've seen Small Torts courting, but never Peacocks.

Cheers,

- Pete