Wurzel wrote:Fantastic set of shots Rex, especially the glowing Adonis, they pop out of the screen
I think I'm looking forward to your QoS shot...at least I think so
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Many thanks Wurzel, Well it was practically on my doorstep, be rude not too - seeing as they came all this way.
David M wrote:First class effort, James. That first open winged Adonis is a real beauty with its array of hindwing submarginal spots.
Most kind of you David, I was lucky that the Adonis opened his wings and stayed there just long enough to get a shot. It was getting quite hot by that point and the other Adonis were extremely hyperactive!
Neil Freeman wrote:Butterflysaurus rex wrote:
...I spent the morning on my local patch with the intention of seeing my first 2nd brood Adonis...
James
Oh! to have Adonis Blues on my local patch
Beautiful photos James
Cheers,
Neil.
Living here on the south downs definitely has some advantages Neil, There are still a lot of 'UK' butterflies I need to travel quite some distance to see. I am lucky to live in one of the best counties for butterflies. And sometimes we are lucky enough to get a few visitors from across the sea, when they do it can get even more exciting.
bugboy wrote:Magnificent Adonis James
Very kind of you Paul, I really enjoyed spending some time with these gorgeous blues.
From odd to amazing!
On the 26th of August I joined Badgerbob to see if we could locate some Wartbiter crickets, although there were probably hundreds of them about they were highly elusive. We soon decided to split up so we could cover more ground when I came across a unusual looking female Adonis. I called to Bob 'who was now some distance away' that I'd found an 'interesting' ab. As he made his way over I tried to keep track of her as she flitted about feeding predominantly on Vetch.
At first look her left underside definitely resembled ab Krodeli, Bob and I had seen male (Krodeli) Adonis before and we knew they usually came with one damaged wing. Again this was the case here - but strangely the damaged side looked quite different, her right hand hind wing had a patch of bright blue scales on top, and the underside looks quite different to the opposite (Krodeli) side.
Personally I have never come across such an asymmetrical butterfly before!
Then on the 27th of August I received the amazing news (thanks Neil) that some Queen of Spain Fritillaries had been found by Dave Harris whilst on his transect! So the next morning I went over to see if I could re-locate them. When I arrived I was very surprised to see that I was completely on my own!! It was a while before I saw another enthusiast approaching, he turned up at just at the right time because I was about to spot my first (male) QOS of the day. To my bewilderment my new companion took a couple of record shots and left - so I found myself alone once again! I then spent the next hour or so chasing the QOS Fritillary around as it nectered on dandelion. It was so active that it difficult to get a decent shot, but as the heat of the day increased it settled into 'territorial mode' sticking mainly to one small area. It was then I saw the second male QOS enter the scene, he was quickly driven off and I was a delighted to witness sparring QOS Fritillaries spiralling high into the sky.
The first male QOS holding his territory.
The second male.
Then finally just as I was beginning to wonder if I'd see anyone else?! Lots of familiar faces started to arrive and things soon got very busy. As others enjoyed taking photos of the star attraction my eye was drawn to a couple of very shiny and new Small Coppers. By now I was so hungry I thought it was probably sensible to head for home.
What a terrific day!
Thanks for looking
James
If it wasn't for running out of liquids I might still be there! 
Or is that just the green eyed monster venting 
I reckon your ending the season on a high is good karma for the time missed earlier in the season 
