www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Initially I thought these butterflies were homing in on dog poo as there were so many little groups at the bottom of the hill at Denbies on Saturday, then I realised what they were actually up to. http://www.facebook.com/v/10151158015031972[/video]

Hi Susie,
It was lovely seeing you again on Sat., a great conclusion to my day, especially photographing the SSS.
Lovely photos, my favourite being the male Chalkhill with the proboscis showing [on this page]. So what were all those male Chalkhill Blues up to? There was`nt a poor female underneath that lot was there?
All the best, Nick.

Thanks Nick, it was great seeing you too, a really pleasant surprise.

You are right, Nick, there was a female being mated under that lot with the other males trying to break in. There were so many groups of chalkhills like this at the bottom of the hill on Saturday it was quitee amazing and something I have never seen before in such numbers. The grass was littered with them and I had to be careful whhere I put my feet.

Reminds me of a school essay which, describing a primitive hut, said: "there was rough mating all over the floor"

Mike

A family bbq/picnic today at Box Hill meant I didn't think I would be able to do any butterflying but I managed to sneak away for a while and there were good numbers of butterflies at the bottom of the slope (not on a par with Denbies though). Also in the garden this evening peacock, red admiral and gatekeeper.

Hi Susie,
So you sneaked off for a few moments, tut,tut,
Did you stick it out with the Silver-Spotted Skippers?, because the male below in your photo is trying to mate with the female above. The male aways lands very close, then bends his abdomen towards the females, he will do this over and over again until he successfully connects. If so, did you get any pics?.
All the best, Nick.

Yes,quite a bit of this behavior going on with the Skippers at Aston Rowant on Thursday,and i love to see it,this is a fascinating little species.

Hi Nick,

The male SS skipper was certainly trying but I didn't see them couple, the wind caught them in the end and I lost of track of where they went unfortunately.

Over the past week I've been up to the playing field to see if there were any brown hairstreaks about but haven't found any. Today was no different and I am now pretty certain that this site is so overgrown it cannot support the colony as it did previously. I'll be having a word with the council to see if they will trim back the hedges so that next year any passing brown hairstreaks, which must still be close by, will come back.

Tempting my 12 year old with a promise of picking some blackberries we went to Southwater Woods this afternoon. I've never been here at this time of year and was really surprised to find so many silver washed fritillary on the wing. We saw at least 8 or 9 while walking around, which is far more than I saw earlier in the year. My target species today was brown hairstreak but I didn't find any. We saw plenty of meadow brown and gatekeeper, whites, a red admiral and a holly blue too while walking around. Back in the garden the small tortoiseshell that has been hanging around is still here, small whites, gatekeeper, and a peacock.

Edit: in addition there were more butterflies along later including a painted lady, holly blue and more peacocks.

The buddleia held a grizzly tug of war when I watched a wasp and a crab spider battling over a honey bee. Eventually the wasp flew off with the abdomen and the spider had the head and thorax.

www.facebook.com/v/10151182047766972[/video]
This umbellifer at Southwater was like Piccadilly Circus with insects.

I wasn't able to get out butterflying today due to family commitments so had to rely on the butterflies coming to me. There was a pristine red admiral sitting on the washing on the line this morning and was compliant enough to take a short ride on my finger but wasn't willing to pose for photos. Also visiting the garden were more small tortoiseshells, a battered comma, peacocks and various whites. I may have seen a glimpse of a brown hairstreak but can't be sure. (the painted lady is from yesterday)
Everyone thought that today was going to be hotter than yesterday and none of the weather forecasts we saw this morning said that we would have cloud and certainly didn't mention the thunderstorm that turned up at lunchtime. I love a good thunderstorm but this one was quite weird without a drop of rain (later we were told that there was a short sharp torrential downpour quite close by).

The cloud formations were quite fascinating. Firstly it looked like cotton wool peats and then later broke up into what looked like the start of an alien invasion in a film with big holes in the clouds. Awesome stuff.

Hi Susie,

Lovely photos of the cloud formations , but i hope you`re still here in the morning as the earth seems to have opened up, and the houses are sliding into a giant crevice

All the best, Nick.

You may not be able to tell from the photo what this is but it is the egg of the tiniest common blue butterfly I have ever seen which flew into my garden at lunchtime today and laid it on the birds foot trefoil I planted three or four years ago. I am so pleased.

Also in the garden today were small tortoiseshell, peacock, comma, meadow brown and large and small whites.

Nice one Sooz - a reward for being so caring, I'm sure

Cheers,

- Pete

Susie wrote: ....... it is the egg of the tiniest common blue butterfly I have ever seen which flew into my garden at lunchtime today and laid it on the birds foot trefoil I planted three or four years ago. I am so pleased.

Excellent

It should hatch in about 10 days time. You should then hopefully be able to keep track of the larva for a bit until it goes into hibernation. See viewtopic.php?f=37&t=5625

Looking forward to updates

Vince

Thanks, chaps.

Your thread on the life fo the common blue was fantastic Vince. As some of you on this site with children will know, getting out and about during the school holidays can be difficult. I have failed to see my favourite butterfly locally and I having a window of two hours going spare this afternoon I grabbed the opportunity and zipped down to Steyning as fast as my little wheels would trundle. With travelling time I had less than an hour on site but actually didn't need all of it. I had wondered if I would be a bit late to see some brown hairstreaks but some of the kind souls on site soon found one and pointed me in the right direction. Thanks chaps.
I was really chuffed to see this little 'flame' streak (I think it's a far more fitting name!).

Susie wrote:

Egg.jpg

You may not be able to tell from the photo what this is but it is the egg of the tiniest common blue butterfly I have ever seen which flew into my garden at lunchtime today and laid it on the birds foot trefoil I planted three or four years ago. I am so pleased.

Also in the garden today were small tortoiseshell, peacock, comma, meadow brown and large and small whites.

Fantastic. It's great when butterflies choose a plant you have planted to lay on. That should give you something to keep you occupied over the winter!

Thanks, Nick, I am pleased. To be really greedy I just need some brown hairstreak eggs on the blackthorn now ... once the leaves start dropping I will be able to check.

Cracking shot Susie and I agree Flame Steak is much more appropriate and also way cooler

Have a goodun

Wurzel