David M

[Jack Harrison]

Another blue female Common Blue too - I think there are more in the first brood than the second, and this may possibly be linked to cooler temperatures when in the pupa. This sort of temperature variation affects the colours of quite a few species - maybe this one too.

Not quite sure about that. Around 2009/2010 when I lived in Cambridgeshire (can’t recall which year) a significant proportion of a bumper second brood were the blue females. As a parallel, in some of the great years in the 1970s, valesina female SW Fritillaries were numerous.

My hypothesis is that blue female Common Blues, valesina SW Frits and other unusual forms are always present in the gene pool but the early stages are less robust and suffer higher mortality and only survive to adults in the most favourable conditions.

If my hypothesis has any validity then this could be tested by captive breeding where mortality of early stages should be less than in the wild. Blue female Common Blues might be in be proportionally more numerous regardless of temperature in the bred stock.

Jack

[Goldie M]

Hi! David , you've posted some lovely Butterflies recently, I love the Small Pearls also the Marsh Fritt's, have you been lucky with the weather ? it's not been good up here in the North and we only got a day and half of Sun on the break Goldie

[David M]

That certainly is a striking Small Tortoiseshell, David - the black areas are larger than normal on the forewings I think, which is what makes it stand out..

Yes, they are a bit more extensive, Dave, and I thought the ground colour was a little paler as well, so perhaps this one had a bit of a temperature shock during pupation?

have you been lucky with the weather ? it's not been good up here in the North and we only got a day and half of Sun on the break

It's not been too good, Goldie, but I've managed to get out whenever the clouds have thinned and the sun has made an appearance. All is rarely ever lost even here in Wales!

[ernie f]

David - It never ceases to amaze me the variety of female Common Blues your can get. The recent one you found is a cracker.

[David M]

David - It never ceases to amaze me the variety of female Common Blues your can get. The recent one you found is a cracker.

It's getting to the stage where I yearn for a uniformly brown specimen, ernie!

Seems like icarus females are getting bluer by the year in the UK, which is in direct contrast to those I see on the continent which are usually brown or at best brown with a smattering of blue.

[David M]

Thursday 27th June 2019 - High Brown Fritillary....

With another trip to the continent looming imminently, I didn't have a great deal of time today to devote to butterflies, so I was up extremely early and arrived at Old Castle Down, near Ewenny in Glamorgan, at 8.25am.

The beginning of the flight season for High Browns is always tricky, since it is the males that emerge first and they are all supercharged, whizzing around constantly looking for females (same with Dark Greens).

I was a little disappointed that I only saw 11 large Frits in total, and of those only 3 actually settled. Of these one was Dark Green but the other two were High Brown:

Of the remainder, I'm pretty confident four were High Browns, but sunny, warm, windy conditions like today, early in the flight season, are not the best in which to determine precise numbers.

I saw my first Ringlets of the year too:

Other species present were decent numbers of Painted Ladies & Large Skippers, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood & Small Heath.

On my way back I popped in to Glanymor Park, near Loughor, hoping to see White Letter Hairstreaks. There were a few tumbling around the top of the ash trees, but the wind was so strong that even when they settled up there it was impossible to photograph them.

How I wish I had a site where they routinely come down to ground level to nectar!

[Pauline]

Hi David

I'll swap you a WLH or 3 for that last shot of a High Brown Frit? A lovely butterfly and you certainly have done it justice. It looks so velvety I just want to stroke it

[trevor]

Well done with the High Browns, David. Enviable image too.
Lets hope your local population is at least stable and not in decline.

Apparently there was a population on Ashdown Forest up until the 70's,
Just up the road from my home.

Trevor.

[Allan.W.]

Nice High Browns David !...…………………. Hoping for one or two at Aish Tor ,the week after next , long gone from my neck of the woods (Kent ,around 1970 ) Regards Allan.W.

[essexbuzzard]

Congratulations on your High Browns, David. Let us hope you sightings are just the start, and numbers will have built up by time you get back from France

Speaking of which, good luck over there. Let us hope that thistle patch turns up a few more High Browns...

[ernie f]

Dave, your last High Brown pic is my favourite. Great stuff. Not a butterfly I have ever seen and maybe never will. I don't think there are any sites for it within a 2 hour drive of where I live (which is my limit currently).

[Goldie M]

Hi! David, lovely shots of the High Brown, I've been feeling sorry for myself lately just thinking what I'm missing, your shots make me feel better Goldie

[David M]

..I'll swap you a WLH or 3 for that last shot of a High Brown Frit? A lovely butterfly and you certainly have done it justice. It looks so velvety I just want to stroke it

Done! At least WLH are approachable! These High Browns (the males at least) are like racing cars.

I think the individual I photographed had just emerged as it was on the ground and not doing much. I spent about 10 minutes with it gradually working my way through the bracken to get reasonably close.

[kevling]

David,

Nice photos the HBF. This is a species I have seen only once in the UK (many years ago in Exmoor NP). Timings of my holidays generally mean I can't get down to the west country at this time of the year. At least I have your photos to enjoy.

Regards
Kev

[David M]

Kev, Goldie, ernie, Mark, Allan, trevor, thanks for the comments. I am indeed fortunate not to have to travel far for this extremely rare species.

The early signs are that 2019 is a decent season for them, with better numbers than last year being picked up on the transects. In fact, more were being recorded than Dark Greens!

[David M]

Sunday 14th July 2019 - High summer....

An extremely pleasant early morning saw me down at Whiteford Burrows on the Gower coast by 9.15.

It wasn't long before I saw my first UK Marbled White of the year:

Shortly afterwards I spotted my first 'home soil' Small Skipper too:

I only saw around a dozen Marbled Whites, but the dunes were thronged with Meadow Browns, whereas Ringlets were very common close to the shrub line.

One very welcome passer-by came in the shape of this beautiful female Dark Green Fritillary:

Other species seen were Small Heath, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral & Large White. No Graylings or Hedge Browns yet!

[Pauline]

Did you set out just to make me green with envy D? That female positively gleams - what a great shot

[David M]

Did you set out just to make me green with envy D? That female positively gleams - what a great shot

Thanks, Pauline....and no, I didn't set out to induce envy. In fact, I had to cheat a little to get the underside image as the butterfly was continually basking with wings fully open. It took a plucked blade of grass and a gentle 'tickle' to irritate her enough to flick her wings open and shut, whereupon I took a series of images and one of them just happened to be with her wings fully closed.

[ernie f]

Dave - Well I've heard of Horse Whisperers but Butterfly Ticklers is a new one on me.

[Pauline]

I usually wait for passing insects to perform that task for me but I'll remember that tip . The coastal shot looks just how I like it - not a soul in sight ...... but are there miles of golden sands and dunes where shelter from the winds can be sought? Sadly, I've never been to Wales