Bugboys mission

[Jamie Burston]

The photo of the Speckled Wood (open wing female) taken on the 19th April is superb! All the best,
Jamie

[bugboy]

I've noticed that Buggy, no Butterflies to speak of but loads of birds, hope they're not enjoying the Cat's too much. Goldie

Hi Goldie, I suspect the mild wet winter we just had has done more harm to our overwintering cats than the birds could do, it might even mean there's less food around for the chicks, it's not just butterflies that are thin on the ground at the moment, I've seen very little in the way of insect life in general on my travels.

Lovely shots of the GVW Buggy I managed to find my first today - struggling to get anywhere in the single figure temperatures Still no PBFs but I'm keeping my eyes peeled

Thanks Wurzel, I reckon we have a couple of weeks to go before the Pearls start appearing, this April will have slowed the caterpillars and pupae down a bit. Fingers crossed it doesn't have too bad an effect on numbers.

The photo of the Speckled Wood (open wing female) taken on the 19th April is superb! All the best,
Jamie

Thanks Jamie, you're very kind

So today I decided to see if any Dukes had emerged at my closest site in the Chiltons, Ivinghoe Beacon. A fresh and chilly start to the day, probably still too cold to have any activity and for the first few hours wandering through Aldbury Nowers Nature reserve and over to the Beacon I did indeed see absolutely nothing in the way of butterflies. There were plenty of Kites and Buzzards and I'm pretty sure this was a Peregrine flying with the Kite here:

No close encounters like the other week though.

The hedgerows seemed alive with Willow Warblers today and air was full of the sound of Skylarks.

I left the Beacon around 12:30, having still not seen a single butterfly, with some rather dark clouds brewing in the distance but heading in my general direction. Having said that the weather does seem to be turning a corner, the sun does seem to be winning the battle against the cold wind now.

Back at Adlbury Nowers I at last saw a few butterflies, singles of Orange-tip, Small Tort, Peacock and Brimstone all toyed with me but rudely avoided all attempts at getting even a record shot. I did manage a few shots of a Cranefly who settled at my feet though so you'll just have to make do!

Two weeks off now with the plan to fit in as much butterflying as possible... I just hope May is as good as April was rubbish, got a few more lifers to tick off in the coming weeks!

[Goldie M]

Good luck Buggy, hope you see loads of Butterflies in your 2 weeks off, looking forward to seeing lots of photos. Goldie

[bugboy]

1st May

If I’d paid closer attention to the weather forecast I might have left my visit to Ivinghoe Beacon to today. It was certainly a much nicer day, sunnier and although still a bit windy it was coming from a much warmer direction.

After getting a few chores out of the way I went for a wander on the Marshes, first Walthamstow and then along the canal to Tottenham Marshes.
Since it was past noon and sunny not much was settling but it was good to see several Orange-tip patrolling up and down. A few Peacock, Comma and Brimstone were in the usual spots, Comma’s allowing a few pictures,

but the most numerous butterfly was the Small White (it's possible a few were GVW but all that could be ID were Small). Again most of them were patrolling but I did come across an ovipositing female and this male with quite severely bent wings. They didn’t seem to have any effect on his flight though.

Over at Tottenham it was pretty much the same, all lurking in the usual sun traps.

There was also a Ruby Tiger Moth, something I’ve not seen for a fair few years.

The final species I saw today was a single Small Tortoiseshell bringing today’s total to just 6 species, both Speckled Wood and Holly Blues being very obvious in their complete absence today.

[bugboy]

3rd May, Abbots Wood

I wasn’t expecting to find huge flocks of Pearl Bordered Fritillaries here today but since I’d only been here the once, almost exactly 12 months ago, I thought it would be a good idea to reacquaint myself with the place before they emerge properly and hopefully tick off a few more species for the year whilst doing so.
The plan was to spend the whole day wandering around getting lost and generally enjoying the sights and sounds of an English woodland, which is pretty much what happened, although butterflies were still relatively thin on the ground compared to what I saw last year.

The first one I saw was also species number 12 for the year, a male Large White having a Bluebell breakfast

A little while later I came across some Speckled Wood, three in total and the only three I was to see all day!

Reduced hindwing spotting, ab.?

Green Tiger Beetles were everywhere and I spent quite a bit of time sneaking up on them, getting a fair few nice close-ups for a change.

Lurking in the undergrowth!

I narrowly missed getting an early snap of a Pearl, bumping into Trever who had only minutes before snagged a nice closeup of one before it flew of over the undergrowth. After a little chat we parted ways and I continued along paths, some of which looked vaguely familiar, searching for last year’s Pearl hotspot. I eventually found it but no Pearl to go with it and to be honest it looks decidedly more overgrown than last year so I’m not sure if it’s still suitable for them...
Whilst wandering around here I did manage a few aerial shots of a Female Large White fending off a particularly determined male

I had several Orange-tip fly bys but none were to land for me, leaving me with just a couple of snatched in flight shots.

By the afternoon Peacocks were starting to turn up with a certain regularity, normally sneaking up behind me and whizzing past causing many second glances. I thought this one looked rather forlorn in the way it held its wings upon landing, like life had just gotten too much to hold its wings out properly.

I got my first ever sighting of a Nightingale, having heard loads here last year as well as today. No chance of a photo though, he saw me lining up a shot and scarpered!

At the large clearing that’s smothered in Bluebells there were a couple of Pearls flitting around. The best thing to do was wait for one to appear, which it did just not long enough to get close so just a few distant shots for species number 13 of the year. Still its early days for them.

I had several more Tiger Beetle encounters, a Longhorn moth and a male Brimstone landed near me allowing me to sneak up on him.

Adela reaumurella

This peacock was in particularly good nick considering how late in their spring season it is and he did look more ‘happy’ with himself than the previous one!

No Kites today but there were a lot of Buzzards

And I really didn’t mind getting a bit lost on occasion when this was the scenary!

[Neil Freeman]

Great report and photos...that looks like a great place to get lost in

Cheers,

Neil

[millerd]

Yes, interesting report from somewhere I did indeed get temporarily lost in a few years back! Good to see those PBFs out.

Dave

[bugboy]

4th May, birds do it, bees do it and so do butterflies!

I spent most the morning and early afternoon getting all those things I needed to do this week to free up as much time for butterflying as possible, which still left a few hours to wander on my local patch. I expected everything to be very active now that the weather seems to have bypassed spring and gone straight into summer but I still managed a fair bit.

The first thing I found, basking on the kissing gate at the entrance, was a jumping spider having lunch

Can’t help but think there’s some sort of intelligence behind those eyes!

Next were a few Whites and a few in flight snatched pictures identified both Small and GV active.

As I followed this one he stopped off at a Cow Parsley flower head and got very excited, he’d found himself a lady to bother.

He obviously used his best chat up lines because within 30 seconds he flew off with her attached. As he looked for somewhere private to go a male Small White flew over to see what was happening but quickly lost interest.

I followed them around for a while grabbing shots here and there before leaving them alone.

A minute or so later just past a large Horse Chestnut I found a couple of male Large White flying up and down relentlessly and having the occasional tussle and a couple of Peacocks, one of whom was a great advert for the usefulness of eyespots.

A Small White stopped momentarily to bask

As I was taking his picture the mating pair of GV flew past again, they must have been following me, I’d obviously not given them enough attention before! It wasn’t until I got home that I realised it was a different pair, this male lacking the central forewing spot. They posed very well for me and I spent a few minutes getting various angles of the pairing.

Moving on, hoping to find some Specklies this little chap sat above me, Chiffchaffing away to his heart’s content. No Specklies though.

On the return trip, slowly retracing my steps, more (or more likely the same) Whites flew past, a few male Orange-tips mixed in for variety and then back where the first pair of GV were seen I watched a male Large White stumble upon a female. Just like the pair at Abbots Wood the previous day they flew up into the air but unlike then after only about 30 seconds she succumbed to his advances and landed high up on some bramble. I could just make out some frantic fluttering and then watch him take flight with his prize. They stayed up high so no close-ups this time.

Three matings in under an hour, they really were making up for lost time today!
No Orange-tip close-ups today either, wrong time of day but I always attempt a few inflight shots when they come close enough.

It may just have been a few common species but it’s always good to witness interesting behaviour.

[David M]

Some great action shots there, Bugboy. I'm almost breathless looking at them. It's comical at this time of year how testosterone-riddled Pierids patrol up and down, squabbling and scrapping with one another over available females - it's like throwing-out time after last orders on a Friday!

[millerd]

Great action shots, Buggy. I don't think I've ever seen Large Whites mating - maybe they have a preference for the trees as you observed.

Dave

[Goldie M]

Great shots Buggy, it's great to see them soaring high in the sky like that Goldie

[bugboy]

5th May, Denbies

After seeing Susies report that Green Hairstreaks were in double figures at Denbies the night before I got up early with the intention of getting there as they were warming up. Unfortunately public transport had other ideas, track side fires leading to overcrowded and evacuated stations meaning I didn’t get there until gone noon!

Not in the best of moods after this nightmare journey the sight of a Brimstone settling on a bluebell and a female Speckled Wood helped to lift my spirits somewhat but it wasn’t until I got to Denbies to find several pristine Green Hairstreaks dancing around a Hawthorn that all memory was completely erased of it! I spent the best part of an hour here, watching them, creeping up when they landed only to watch another fly past and see them both dart off in a twirling dance. Despite all this disturbance from each other I did manage plenty of images of these little green jewels.

I really wanted to improve on what I managed last year and I think I succeded! Various other butterflies tried to distract me, Brimstones, Orange-tips (including my first female of the year), a Grizzlie and species number 15 of the year, a Dingy Skipper.

Finally tearing myself away, species number 16 appeared, a Small Heath fluttered by and purposely made me work for a decent photo.

It finally decided it had had enough of my company so I moved on to bump into Millerd who had also seen Susies post and was here for the same targets. After chatting for a bit I moved further down the bank where its somewhat more sheltered from the wind. Dingies were appearing all over the place now joined by a generous smattering of Grizzlies but being mid afternoon, they were all playing hard to get.

This amorous male was left wanting...

Along the bottom of the hillside a few more Green Hairstreak looked stunning as they basked

and at the far end of the hillside I found a Brimstone laying eggs as if her life depended on it. The scrappy old Buckthorn was littered with them!

The return walk was much the same, Dingies and Grizzlies darting up and at least one more Small Heath. The Greenies however had all vanished.

It wasn’t quite over for the day, walking back to the train station a bright orange butterfly darted past and settled on the hedge next to me, species number 17 of the year. Unfortunately the auto focus failed to focus on the Small Copper who only settled long enough for a couple of record shots

Today however belonged to Green Hairstreaks

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Looks like you had a very productive day at Denbies Buggy! Some nice Green Hairstreak photos there, not to mention the sequence of the female Brimstone laying eggs.
Great to have some warm weather at last.

ATB

James

[Maximus]

I agree with James on all counts, you've had some very rewarding trips out recently, great posts and photos. You've certainly taken the right two weeks off

[Wurzel]

Cracking Greenstreak shots Buggy . Keep persisting with the OTs I always find that each time I encounter one I manage to get a little closer until eventually they're almost nectaring out of my hand Still no Bentley Pearls - starting to get a bit worried now

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Lovely shots of the GH Buggy, especially that one where you have caught the bluish sheen. They are such attractive insects. Good sequence of Brimstone egg-laying too. I've always found it takes a great deal of skill to capture behaviour such as that and I have never managed to do it quite as well as you have.

[bugboy]

Thanks B'rex & Maximus, I had a great time with those Hairstreaks and I've certainly falling on my feet with my holiday, can't believe a week ago we had snow, British weather at its crazy best!
Thanks Wurzel, I'm sure your Pearls will be out soon, looking forward to visiting your neck of the woods when the Small Pearls start to appear, I have the first week of June cleared and ready for them . Hope that fits in with their normal emergence time there.
Thanks Pauline, more luck than skill in the case of the Brimstone. Just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It seems when they're in egg laying mode very little disturbs them so its just a case of point, shoot and hope for the best. The fact that she just hung around for several minutes meant I was able to check the first few snaps and adjust settings accordingly

6th May, Hadleigh Country Park

Another day off, another day out chasing butterflies, this week is getting quite exhausting. Who’d have thought being a butterfly twitcher doubled up as a way of keeping fit! The main target today was Orange-tips and hopefully a female having had only the one fleeting glimpse of one so far. With no icy arctic wind whistling off the North Sea like last week I figured I’d see a bit more OT action and I wasn’t wrong either. It took about 10 minutes to see my first and then appearances grew until it was pretty nonstop OT action! I was early enough to catch them still having breakfast and staking out a small patch of Bluebell it wasn’t long before a passing diner stopped off and sat whilst I clicked away.

Little did I know my behaviour had attracted some attention whilst lurking and awaiting my quarry....

It warmed up pretty quickly after that which inevitably meant normal Orange-tip behaviour resumed and for the rest of the day it was constant fly bys. Green-veined Whites were also about in equal numbers and were somewhat easier to approach, especially the females who for obvious reasons, spend the day skulking around avoiding unnecessary attention.

Both Small and Large Whites were about in smaller numbers and I found just the one Specklie where there were several last week.

Since everything was rather active I decided to explore further afield, coming across a Small Tortoiseshell, a few flighty Peacock as well as several more GVW and OT.

A male kestrel seemed to be following me around. At one point I rounded a corner to find him grounded, apparently with lunch but when he flew off his talons were empty, perhaps it was small enough to eat there and then, I couldn’t find anything after he’d gone.

Small Whites were more numerous in the open fields where a cultivated crucifer had self-seeded and was blanketing the ground, only one stopped to have a break from the relentless search for a mate.

Back at the Orange-tip hotspot, they were still as active as ever, all males and checking the Garlic Mustard I found no eggs, looks like the females have yet to start emerging here. Whilst walking the paths, hoping in vein that one would stop conveniently for my benefit a small Blue butterfly flew up from my feet. He settled down quickly, obviously intoxicated by something less than pleasant to our sensibility’s, but being in the grass I only managed a few record snaps.

Moving on after he vanished over the hedge I immediately put up yet another pair of mating Green-veined Whites, based on my personal experiences they are going to be at plague proportions in a few months’ time!

A second Speckled Wood turned up, this time an egg laying female and after some chasing I just about managed a picture of her doing the deed.

Another very successful day. To finish here's a closeup of a well behaved GVW and Bee Fly

[bugboy]

7th May, Aldbury Nowers/Ivinghoe Beacon.

I’m Getting a bit behind in my reports recently but now the weather has deteriorated somewhat I can give my legs a rest and catch up on things, including everyone else’s diaries.
Anyway so last Saturday I decided to see if the Dukes had started to emerge at my closest site in the Chilton’s, they hadn’t as far as I could tell but there was plenty to point my camera at nevertheless.

Orange-tips were very numerous when I arrived at Aldbury Nowers, all males busy patrolling. I was probably in double figures within 10 minutes. You only have to see the large swathes of Garlic Mustard to understand why there’s such a healthy population here.

I only managed the one distant shot of a male feeding though, I was a little late to catch them waking up.

In the meadows Grizzled Skippers were starting to emerge with a few fresh animals buzzing around. Last year I never managed any proper underside shots so I was rather happy when this one posed for me

And just as happy when another posed on some Wild Strawberry, I like it when I get a butterfly posing with the LHP.

Close by I saw what I thought was and Oxslip, but I think it is most likely a False Oxslip, the Primrose/Cowslip hybrid. An attractive looking plant nonetheless.

On the chalk scrapes at the other end of the reserve several Brimstones were doing their thing and a few Dingy Skippers were enjoying the morning sun.

I’m not sure why the Green-veined White decided to get involved in the Brimstone courtship flight but he stayed with them for as long as they stayed in sight.

On the way to Ivinghoe Beacon I enjoyed the familiar sound of Skylarks overhead, one of whom fluttered quite low above me, they are very loud at close range!

Reaching the Beacon Brimstones were again commonplace and another pair of courting Brimstones fluttered past before flying up high.

Although all the Duke hotspots I’d discovered last year turned up none of my target, I did flush up a very fresh but flighty Red Admiral. It looked to have been a very recent emergent.

An hour later I was back at the nature reserve where Dingy Skipper numbers had increased noticeably and I watched one escape the fangs of death by the skin of its teeth! I didn’t notice at the time but you can just make out the legs of the Crab Spider as it sneaked up under the Skipper in the first picture.

It was also starting to cloud over a bit which meant that I had a better chance of snagging an Orange-tip, so I wandered the paths to see if I could find a settled one. Several were still on the wing but one eventually settled right in front of me, the problem now was that the wind had picked up so I was left to point and click away, hoping something would be in focus, luckily the photography Gods were on my side and I came away with a handful.

I was still after a female to photograph this year, having had just the one fly by so far and again the Gods looked kindly on me, a freshly emerged female flew by 10 minutes later and settled long enough for a few snaps rounding of a pleasant day.

I think the females here are only just starting to emerge since I only found 1 egg despite much searching both in the morning and afternoon, give it a week though and I’m sure the Garlic Mustard will be alive with eggs and newly hatched cats!

[David M]

Great airborne sequence, Bugboy. Seems quite a few of us on here are starting to experiment with this kind of shot and you've got a couple of pretty sharp images of those Brimstones.

[bugboy]

Great airborne sequence, Bugboy. Seems quite a few of us on here are starting to experiment with this kind of shot and you've got a couple of pretty sharp images of those Brimstones.

Thanks David. I find it helps if they are against the sky otherwise the auto focus struggles to work out what its supposed to be looking at, unless they are really close and filling the frame but I think that would take a whole new level of skill...