www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

A couple more pics from yesterday. Common twayblade and white helleborine

I can understand your concern,though Susie. Not everyone with a net is up to no good,of course, but the defensive,unfriendly behavior of these two-wonder why this was.

Susie:

For all I know they could be telling the truth and be harmless, they just didn't seem like your normal friendly butterfly enthusiasts to me.

They look like a couple of dodgy anti-conservation MPs if you ask me.

I took parallel, perhaps incriminating photos on 27th May, of a chap taking large quantities of wood at Killiechonate Forest Spean Bridge and loading into a trailer. It might be legal but dead wood on the forest floor is surely an important habitat? Another photo (not published here) shows his number plate. Incidentally, with the angled screen of my FZ150, I was able to take the photos discreetly while apparently looking in an entirely different direction.

Jack

So how is everyone enjoying the Jubilee weekend?

I've not had a chance to do any butterflying but did see my first painted lady of the year on Saturday.

The chaffinches are growing nicely. They are easy to see in the trellis at the back of the house and don't seem to be bothered by people walking past. I think there are four of them and this photo was taken a few days back.

thats fantastic Susie

This pic of my garden from a week or so ago shows some ivy and in there are a dunnocks nest and a wrens nest too.

that's a lovely full border Susie, is that fennel in the back?

CHris

Oh you should see the garden since we've had some rain, it's grown incredibly!

Yes, it is fennel. It's great for hoverflies when flowering. I've chopped half of it back hard to prolong the flowering season.

The babies are growing. The eldest is about 10 days now. [
Daddy bringing home food for his babies

they have certainly come on. little cuties.

This time last year I was watching silver washed frits, today I am dodging trees on the way to work. Meh. Poxy weather!

Today's weather wasn't great but it was better than it has been lately or is going to be so after spending some time in the garden cutting back the plants which got trashed by the wind yesterday I popped to Denbies this evening to see if I could find anything roosting. I thought that there may be the odd blue still hanging around but I was very surprised not to see a single butterfly other than a dozen or so small heath. I ended up photographing other things again.

Pyramid orchid (I think?) Ox eye daisy and friend
and a few photos from the garden today; rose sawfly laying eggs, orange tip caterpillar on garlic mustard and unidentified caterpillar eating dogwood (Chris, any ideas what it is? It's a mighty fine critter and I was rather chuffed to find it) And just an update on the chaffinch family, the babies fledged the day after I posted the photo of them above.

one of the copper underwings i'd say susie. if you send me the pics of the sawfly larvae when they appear i'll try to do those too.

Many thanks

I had planned to go to Wrecclesham today but the torrential downpours put a stop to that.

On the plus side the frogs in the pond thought it was April and were going bonkers!

Susie wrote:thought it was April and were going bonkers!

I sometimes wonder how these species that spawn just once a year keep themselves amused for the rest of the time!

Seriously, though, this extraordinary spell of poor weather in June must be disrupting the lives of many species.

Mike

Susie wrote:A couple more pics from yesterday. Common twayblade and white helleborine

Excellent reports, Sooz. Just wondering what the Holly Blue is laying on (and great shot, BTW!)?

Cheers,

- Pete

Hi Pete,

Thanks. The holly blue is laying on dogwood. Dogwood is the only thing I commonly see them laying on. Dogwood blue doesn't have quite the same ring to it...

I noticed feeling damage on my aquilegia (columbine) seed pods today, some plants had lost all of their seed pods. Some pods were partly eaten and another had tiny holes in it. When I opened it up all the seeds had been eaten and only scat was left. I couldn't find the culprit responsible, all I could find was a tiny little critter (about 7 mm top to bottom) which I think was dead.

I've had aquilegia sawfly in the garden at my previous house but they didn't look anything like this. I know how different instars can look from each other though so I haven't dismissed the possibility.

There is feeding damage on the leaves too but that could be snails.

Critter Feeding damage

The weather looked promising so I went to Iping today to get that ultimate shot of a freshly emerged male silver studded blue being attended by ants ... fat chance!

There were some blues around but very few in comparison to the numbers I have seen in recent years. I don't know if they just haven't emerged yet or if the ones that have emerged have been destroyed by the atrocious weather we've had lately. I was quite chuffed to find a patch of emperor moth eggs which had been laid on some heather. Once I got home I still had itchy feet so decided to have a look around Southwater Woods late this afternoon. Upon arrival I was greeted by a red admiral, and then three more! In the meadow there were quite a few meadow brown around but that was it - no marbled white so far as I could see. I saw a couple of speckled woods and three broad bodied chasers sitting quite closely together. A close encounter with a roe deer rounded off a very pleasant walk. From looking at the vegetation I reckon the bulk of the silver washed fritillaries and white admirals and still a good few weeks away, everything is very behind what I would expect it to be.