www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Keep plugging away, Buggy - you may be surprised. I certainly hope so...

Your great shots of the DGF and Marbled Whites from Box Hill inspired me to head that way today. You were right, there were hundreds of Marbled Whites everywhere.

Dave

I think I have time for one more trip Dave, third time lucky ?

2nd & 3rd July

Well I’d much rather have been out chasing Black Hairstreak or Purple Emperors this weekend but sadly I was at work so had satisfied my urges by taking my camera to work and sneaking out at lunch to take a few snaps.

On Saturday I wandered over to the car park to see how many Large Skippers were about but another visitor stole the show. I don’t often see butterflies feeding on Bindweed flowers but this Painted lady was really giving it a good go, almost vanishing into the flower. It did later turn its attentions to a more usual nectar source. Today there were a fair few Small and GV Whites active. The ringlets are starting to emerge in numbers now too Looks like the weather may start to improve a bit by the end of next week, everyone keep your fingers crossed!

Great action shots Bugboy - let's hope the weather gets better for next weekend and Him, he's been sighted in several places already!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel, yes and if the weather forecast is to be believed ( ) we might just all be lucky in the coming days!

4th July Monks Wood

A third and final last ditch attempt to try and tick off Black Hairstreak for the season. I got there earlier this time and for once I had plenty of sun and blue sky to encourage some activity. The rides were alive with Speckled Woods and Ringlets today and I stopped off at every patch of bramble blossom in the hope of finding something hairstreaky. Some Whites were about and the summer generation of Small Tortoiseshells were busy fuelling up but no Hairstreak's showed themselves. Wandering down to the main ride I bumped into PhiliB doing his transect. He hadn’t seen any yet but gave me some pointers to give me the best chance of finding one. I carried on walking up and down the ride, Large Skippers whizzing up and down and Ringlets doing their best Hairstreak impressions flying along the Blackthorn hedges. My first Silver Washed Fritillary of the year showed up and was very active, bombing around at warp factor 9 after being warmed up at gas mark 10 from the looks of it, he never settled long enough for a picture.

This Hairstreak did stay still for long enough for a few pictures. Had I been here a few hours earlier I may even have found her alive! So close yet so far . Not sure if I can tick Purple Hairstreak off for the year with this one though…

I spent a bit of time with some Hoverflies and found a cute little Picture Winged Fly. But by 2 it had clouded over and activity had slowed down so I took that as my queue to make my way back home.

Oh yea, almost forgot, I got one . I was just lining up a shot of a Meadow Brown of all things shortly after bumping into Phil when she plopped down a couple of feet away from me causing me to miss a heartbeat. I carefully crept to within range but only managed a few record shots before she was off and I lost her as she flew back down the ride. I suspect it was the bumping into Phil that did the trick though, great to meet and have a chat with you. She won’t win any prizes in a Black Hairstreak beauty pageant but she’s my first so she’s special to me . Next year hopefully the weather will be better behaved.

Well done, Buggy! that thrill of seeing the first of anything can't be beat.

Dave

Well done Paul, your perseverance paid off in the end. It was a real pleasure to meet up and have a chat.
Hopefully I will see you again fairly soon.
All the best.
Phil

Surely a deceased Purple Hairstreak is worth at least 5 out of 10.
Finding a live one within reach, affording a decent shot is 10 out of 10.
Your Black Hairstreak is worth 10 just for finding it !

All the best,
Trevor.

Thanks Millerd, it was very exciting, the day was more hope than expectation!

You did a very good job there Phil getting all that webbing off her, you'd be forgiven for thinking she was still alive in your picture!

I would have much rather have found her a few hours earlier when she was still alive Trevor. Shame she didn't live long enough to at least lay a few eggs

5th July

I had to stay in this morning for a plumber to confirm that I don’t have leaky plumbing so as much as I wanted to leave early and go Emperor hunting it wasn’t to be. Instead I spent a couple of hours on my local patch to see if the Essex Skippers were out with a plan to go into deepest Essex in the afternoon to go White-letter Hairstreak hunting.

A mostly cloudy morning didn’t help but I managed to find a couple of Essex Skippers along with a few Smalls although oddly no Large Skippers. In general, it was a rather empty morning with just 2 Essex Skippers, 2 or 3 Smalls a GVW and a couple of unidentified whites, a single Speckled Wood and a beautiful Comma who couldn’t for love nor money be disturbed from a fresh poo! Getting up close to the female Essex Skipper wasn't pain free, I managed to lean on a Bumble Bee who stung me on the wrist before flying off. I've not been stung by one of them since I trod on one as a toddler (and apparently screamed the house down). I can confirm they still hurt like buggery!

5th July Essex in Essex

So after having a bite to eat I set off again to see if the White-letter Hairstreaks were out. A day shy of a year ago they were a lifer for me but it wasn’t just the Hairstreaks that impressed me, Hadleigh Country Park near Leigh-on-sea was pretty much chock full of butterflies this time last year. Whites, Commas, Smessex and Large Skippers and Satyrids were all in uncountable numbers early last July.

By contrast this year it seemed relatively barren. I arrived at around 3 and had a quick scan for Hairstreaks, none around but I wasn’t too worried, last year they didn’t come down to feed until after 4, so I wandered off to see what else was about. Essex Skippers were about in reasonable numbers with only a smattering of Smalls mixed in as far as I could tell. This Essex had a noticeably broader dark border to the wings, ab? compare to a similar posed 'normal' Essex. All three whites were seen with GVW being the most numerous although only the one Large appeared. Ringlets were the commonest Satyrid but a few Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites were mixed in for good measure. And just the one Comma showed up. During my travels I also found lots of these little brightly coloured Fungus Gnats, Sciara hemerobioides This stunning Hoverfly, Chrysotoxum festivum And a female Common Darter Getting close to 5, I returned to the Hairstreak hedge and had a good look around. Nothing much showed itself, a few Ringlets flitted and flopped around when something on a bramble blossom high up caught my eye. I couldn’t make it out so took a quick pic and zoomed in. It was head on but definitely looked like the afternoons primary quarry...

So pleased you saw a Black Hairstreak

Me too Katrina, it was a very lucky spot though!

5th July White Letters

...I hung around a while longer and finally started to see some action, all high up but definitely Hairstreaks. A couple came down a bit lower and I was able to start getting some recognisable shots. Not the close ups I was managing last year but judging by the numbers I was seeing, perhaps four at most, they’ve only just started to emerge. Like most butterflies this year they're running a bit late. I left after an hour chasing them, hopefully they’ll be coming down lower in a week or two.

Some great stuff recently Bugboy - I've had difficulty in keeping up with all you've been seeing - three different Hairstreaks (including Black ) and much more besides

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel, I've had a few hectic days recently but the rewards speak for themselves, just the Brown Hairstreak to go for all five in one season (I've just jinxed it haven't I )

6th July Bookham

And so begins my annual summer residency at Bookham Commons. I got there at 9 under a very pleasant blue sky. Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Skippers were already awake as I made my way to the top car park. There was already a couple of Emperor hunters there and a large dark butterfly was zooming and swooping around but it didn’t take long to see it was too small for an Emperor, still it got its picture taken when it settled. I wandered off after a while, I’m not one for standing around for long periods of time, to see what else had woken up. A few Silver Washed Fritillaries were now swooping around and rounding a corner I saw a White Admiral feeding. It was engrossed in the blossom and allowed me a series of shots better than any I managed last year. I stopped and chatted to a few fellow enthusiasts, one of whom had been coming here during Emperor season for ten years so he had plenty of tips for the best chance of finding one here.

As we chatted a Purple Hairstreak flew by, landing halfway up a Hazel. Only a few long distant record shots but at least it was alive this time! Several male Silver Washed Fritillaries were bombing around occasionally settling to allow me my first pictures of the year. One of the highlights of the day was watching a Silver Washed conga: it started off with two males chasing a female but as they flew around male after male joined in until she had about eight of them on her tail. She was a proper little tease, making no attempt to escape their attentions, just stringing them along up into the canopy. I guess it’s one way of sorting the wheat from the chaff!

As clouds began to appear the butterflies started to quieten down a bit and this female Silver Washed was very relaxed in my company. So after close to 6 hours I saw three butterflies supping minerals from the ground, not one with a hint of purple! Result so far ‘HIM’ 1 – Bugboy 0

Fantastic shots Bugboy, I can't get over all those Hair Streaks you've seen My count after 6 years is two Well done! Goldie

Hi,

Saw you cool pictures on Hairstreak. I got one pic similar to yours long time back but not a great one. Someone told me it Is Mackwood's hairstreak. I will post it soon as I have to go through my past files. I have two hairstreaks from Bhutan, Dull Green Hairstreak ( Esakiozephyrus icana) and Indian Purple Hairstreak (Esakiozephyrus mandara dohertyi) . Am posting it for your reference. They are commonly found in Thimphu at this time of year.


rgds,
Sonam

Wow!! Nearly gave me a heart attack!!! Started at the bottom of your diary Buggy and thought you'd seen that Hairstreak locally. What an insect Well done on the Black Hairstreak btw - way better than my attempt some years ago.

Thanks Sonam, those Hairstreaks of yours are cute little stunners

10th July Walthamstow Marshes

A weekend of camping meant very little time for butterflying (primarily due to alcohol and being on cooking duties…. (a combination that luckily resulted in no fatalities!)

But I did manage a few hours strolling locally upon my return home. The rather strong wind made photography near impossible in places but there were a few spots which were at least partially sheltered and despite conditions I managed a fair few pictures of a few of species. It seemed to be an afternoon of winners and losers, the winners being only two species, Essex Skipper and Commas. Essex Skippers were by far the commonest species today, popping up in most of the set aside grassy meadow areas with just a smattering (as far as I could tell) of Smalls and just a single Large skipper seen . The summer brood of Comma’s were also all over the place, close to a dozen probably seen. On the downside, in places where I should have been disturbing four or five Meadow Browns with every footfall they were next to absent, I don’t think I made it into double figures despite being out for a good few hours. The ones I did see were either getting blown ragged on flowers or hunkered down out of the wind. A very poor showing for a sunny afternoon in mid July This Ringlet is the first one I’ve ever seen on my local patch, hopefully more to come in the future . Others seen today were a single male Red Admiral vigorously defending a territory against all comers, Pigeons seemed to be his personal nemesis today! I found a single Small Tortoiseshell feeding on buddleja who popped down low for a nice photo shoot. All three whites were about in small numbers And the final species of the day were my first Gatekeepers of the year, three males seen. I wonder how their numbers will grow this year, I have a feeling we’ll see lots of abs with them this year with the wacky weather they’ve had to endure as youngsters.

11th July

Another morning, in conditions that was marginally better than useless, at Bookham looking for an audience with HIM. Windy, mostly cloudy weather meant there wasn’t much active for most of the morning, Ringlets and Meadow Browns the only ones that appeared in any numbers. As the morning wore on the occasional sunny patch would wake up a few Large Skippers and I came across another Gatekeeper It wasn’t until close to lunch when longer sunny spells began to appear and I began to hope something interesting might just happen. A few Silver Washed Frits woke up along with some White Admirals, both souring around the patches of sunlit brambles, occasionally settling just long enough to get in range but not long enough to get a picture.

A freshly emerged male Holly blue fluttered along the path and did a bit of puddling before doing the nicest thing any Holly Blue could do for a butterflyer. He sat on a leaf at waist height within reach, opened his wings and waited patiently whilst I took his picture . Red Admirals have started to emerge in numbers now, 3 or four seen including an egg laying female And this very fresh individual, still sporting the pinkish blush on the red bands. It was whilst taking her picture that I finally got my Purple Emperor season of and running, he did a couple of laps of the clearing and then buggered off . No pictures still but at least I know myself they are about here and active in less than ideal conditions. Maybe I should run a few laps of the place next time, get a sweat on to make myself a more tempting target for the next encounter!

Here's a nicely posed Small Skipper to finish Results 'HIM' 2 - Bugboy 0 (only a picture will count as a point to me!)

Nice to see that Holly Blue, Buggy. Just waiting for them to appear properly here.

Dave