www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Great shots of the moths Janet and the take-off Green-veined White. I think your first moth is a Small Phoenix, they often rest with their abdomens curling up

Have a goodun

Wurzel

You're clearly deriving a great deal of butterfly satisfaction right now, Janet. Nice to see that those living some distance from the southern heartlands can still witness decent returns.

I booked this holiday with the intention of getting to the IOW to see the Glanville Fritillary. Originally just me, but eventually husband, two sons and one daughter-in-law were also booked in at the youth hostel for a joint butterfly hunt/40th wedding anniversary celebration.
The first day was spent exploring Lulworth Cove and we didn't see any butterflies
The following day we drove to Lymington and took the ferry across to Yarmouth. From the car park at Compton Down we walked up to Afton Down and saw Small Heath Small Blue Small Copper a Silver Y moth A Wall Brown and a Dingy Skipper On returning to the car park we spotted some Brow-tail moth caterpillars We then went along to Ventnor and parked in the Wheelers Bay car park and walked along the prom where we saw a number of Common Blues and the object of my desire, the Glanville Fritillary which were flying freely along the bank of valerian It was early evening by this time and husband was anxious not to miss the ferry back, so we wandered back along the prom and had a delicious meal at a mussel shack where the owner was delighted to discover we were celebrating our ruby wedding on her premises.

Great that you got your Glanvilles, Janet, and in their natural environment too.

Sounds like a wonderful day.

The following day we went to Corfe Castle and walked along the ridge to Ulwell where, beyond the fallen-over trig point, there was an abundance of Common Blues which I wondered whether they were in fact Adonis Blues Suddenly I spotted a much brighter blue flitting among the legumes and realised it must be an Adonis Blue A Dingy Skipper and a Speckled Wood also posed for me. Just as we were about to head back, a Red Admiral landed by our feet. It was the first we had seen on the IOW - and in fact seem to have been scarce generally as I have seen very few this year so far.

Back at the hostel a Fox Moth clattered into the kitchen, attracted by the light

David M wrote:Great that you got your Glanvilles, Janet, and in their natural environment too.

Sounds like a wonderful day.

It was, David, thank you! Even my family began to get excited about the butterflies.

On our last day we went to Cerne Abbas to see the famous Giant in the chalk hillside. The local shop had all manner of giant-related souvenirs including a clock on which the second-hand was a penis. Amusing as it was, I didn't really feel I wanted it on the kitchen wall.
However, following the butterfly walk from the Giant's viewing point up Little Minterne Hill I was thrilled to see a Mother Shipton moth lots of Small Heath a Drinker Moth caterpillar a Burnet Companion moth and several glorious Marsh Fritillaries Just as we were about to leave, my husband spotted a tiny butterfly on the path and to my delight it was a Grizzled skipper

Wurzel wrote:Great shots of the moths Janet and the take-off Green-veined White. I think your first moth is a Small Phoenix, they often rest with their abdomens curling up

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks, Wurzel - I have only just spotted your reply having been off the website for ages whist out hunting!

No worries Janet - I can see that you've been busy and not just as a Chauffeur for Bugboy Your Blues from Ulwell are Adonis, lush Glanville and Marshies Looking forward to more reports

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Nice Fritillaries, I must plan a visit to the IoW myself soon. Your Small heath looks to have an inordinately well developed eye spot!

I'm glad you found the Glanvilles . When you mentioned visiting the IOW sometime ago,
I wasn't sure if you and they would coincide, but it worked out well .

Well done, Janet. You certainly had an eventful trip to Scotland .

Congrats on your 40th by the way.

ATB

Peter

Happy Anniversary Janet, you had a great holiday by the sound of things and what a great selection of species you got Goldie

Goldie M wrote:Happy Anniversary Janet, you had a great holiday by the sound of things and what a great selection of species you got Goldie

Thanks Goldie! I did go back to Gait Barrows but failed to find a Duke. I'm planning to go to Heysham Moss tomorrow with BC.
Janet

Good luck for tomorrow Janet, don't think the weather will be too good but you never know, I was up at Arnside Yesterday it was awful to start with then turned really nice later, if you see any Northern Brown Argus let me know. Goldie

Must have had a brainstorm to have booked this holiday right at the height of the butterfly season! However, it was wonderful and I did get to see a lot of butterflies. It was a themed week of "Walking with Nature" and the other members of our group of 7 were interested in birds and flowers as well as butterflies. Our villa overlooked a ravine which was filled with birdsong and there was a constant soft 'turring' from the Turtle Doves. Our first habitat visit was to a river valley near Orgiva, and the first butterflies I saw were a mating pair of Small Whites Nearby a goldfinch was busily picking a thistle head to pieces A very small a ragged-looking butterfly caught my eye; it turned out to be a Mallow Skipper We were all transfixed by a beautiful Wood Fairy, or Thread Veined Lacewing Nemoptera bipennis A large and powerful Emperor dragonfly, hawking round the edge of a pond, suddenly caught a smaller, red dragonfly and carried it to a perch on a reed where it proceeded to enjoy its catch I'm not sure if it's just a triumph of hope over reality, but I did wonder if I'd managed to capture a Lulworth Skipper but the Bath White seemed certain enough as did the Small White.

Looks like a Lulworth to me Janet

I'm also wondering whether your last Small White is actually a Southern Small White?

trevor wrote:I'm glad you found the Glanvilles . When you mentioned visiting the IOW sometime ago,
I wasn't sure if you and they would coincide, but it worked out well .

Thanks to you for your information, Trevor! I was thrilled to find the Glanvilles.

bugboy wrote:Looks like a Lulworth to me Janet

I'm also wondering whether your last Small White is actually a Southern Small White?

Pleased you think it's a Lulworth! But I'm afraid the difference between the Small White and the Southern SW escapes me