A sultry, mostly overcast day, but I was at last able to get out and look for butterflies!
There was talk recently about flight temperatures and the generation of body heat. I had the opportunity today to get some video of a chequered skipper preparing for flight in overcast conditions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1RbYCEE ... e=youtu.be[/video]
This kind of behaviour is more associated with moths - but then again, the skippers are quite mothlike in several respects.
Nickerl's fritillaries (
Melitaea aurelia) were as numerous as I have ever seen them. Here is a female, in context and close up:
This species is similar to the heath fritillary but instantly identifiable in the field by its darker appearance and weak flight - with no gliding at all.
Duke of Burgundies and little blues were out - it would be horrible to get through May without seeing these!
![Image](http://www.guypadfield.com/images2012/lucina1201.jpg)
(female Duke)
![Image](http://www.guypadfield.com/images2012/lucina1204.jpg)
(male Duke)
![Image](http://www.guypadfield.com/images2012/minimus1203.jpg)
(little blue)
Osiris blues were also on the wing:
But by far the commonest blue was green underside, which seemed to be everywhere:
Other blues flying were Adonis, common, Chapman's and Provençal short-tailed:
Glanville and spotted fritillaries are flying here but no heath, apparently. The other fritillary to be seen today was, unsurprisingly, Queen of Spain.
For the skippers, safflower and Oberthür's were flying and red underwing skippers were locally common. This one is at its foodplant:
Peacocks are still flying in good numbers:
The first black-veined whites are on the wing, marking the beginning of the summer season.
The day was cut short by the weather, which began to turn nasty by about 2.00pm. I feared for my life as I cycled down the hill, with rain beginning to fall and gusts of wind blowing the bike all across the road, but I got down safely. It feels like a long time since I've really been out butterfly-watching...
Guy