www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Yes Bob it is deepest East Sussex. I posted an apology for the error further back in my diary.
Here is the correct image.........

Great shots of the Scarce Swallowtail Trevor - hopefully I'll see one of those in Lisbon this summer Looking to seeing some more of your foreign shots hopefully...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

THE CEVENNES Part 4.

One species on my ' must see' list was the Black Veined White, especially as they were once resident in the UK.
Fortunately most sites we visited held a population, and they proved easy prey for our cameras, going to ground
as soon as the sun went in. In flight they appeared much larger than I had imagined and a very beautiful sight.

Wow I want one!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

THE CEVENNES Part 5.

On the Tuesday of last week we were taken to the highest peak in the Cevennes region, Mont Aigoul.
Up to that moment our tour leader had been very matter of fact about the species seen, obviously
all had been seen , by him, many times before.
But as I walked ahead of the others in our party to get to three ' Black Veined Whites ' I could see
further up the road, I heard cries of pure excitement from our leader, beckoning me to come back.
This is impossible, he said. Looking into his specimen pot I could see a large white Butterfly.
He had found his very first Clouded Apollo. A very rare find for the area apparently !.
After a few bad photo's, I returned to the three ' Black Veined Whites' up the road only to discover,
on arrival, that in fact it was three more Clouded Apollo's I had been watching from afar !

Here is the evidence.....

For the first time ever, a visit to the old railway in Hailsham produced not a single Butterfly.
This time last year there were plenty of Red Admirals to be seen there.
I then moved on to Horseshoe Plantation, near Birling Gap. A stiff breeze welcomed me, but it was mostly sunny.
I was delighted to see my first male Dark Green Fritillary, nectaring on knapweed followed by several Marbled Whites.
Meadow Browns numbers are building at this site, many seen fighting the breeze.
Also good numbers of Large Skipper were present.

All I saw for my troubles today was a solitary Speckled Wood, at a site where SWF and WA should be found,
still plenty of time for those.
Here is an image of today's Speckled Wood, in comparison with an example from the Cevennes where the
cream coloured markings, on UK specimens, are quite orange on the Cevennes population. ( a sub species ?. )

trevor wrote: Here is an image of today's Speckled Wood, in comparison with an example from the Cevennes where the
cream coloured markings, on UK specimens, are quite orange on the Cevennes population. ( a sub species ?. )

The orange form is common in S France. I read that the orange form is aegeria the white form is the subspecies tircis. Source: Roger Gibbons's website butterflies of France

Nice pic btw.

We had a short break in the weather, here in the south east, today. So with blue sky all the way
( with building cloud } I headed over to Chiddingfold forest, more in hope than expectation.
No sign of H.I.M. yet, but I was entertained by five White Admirals, and in addition two male
Silver Washed Fritillaries put in an appearance. As the sun was quite strong, neither species
settled long enough for a good shot, and in the case of the White Admirals full zoom had to be used
to get any sort of image.
Other Butterflies seen were lots of Ringlets bobbing around in the grass, a few Meadow Browns
and Large Skippers.
As I was about a mile from the car I beat a hasty retreat just before a shower that threatened
in the distance.

THE CEVENNES Part 6.

At nearly all the sites we visited Fritillaries could be found, some causing great confusion when it came to identification.
Several times a butterfly identified on site would cause controversy when images were examined back at our hotel !.
I must admit that I was unable to add very much to the debate, as all except a single Pearl Bordered Fritillary,
were new to me.
However, two species every one agreed upon were the Meadow and Knapweed Fritillaries. So here are some images
of said species, which I hope are correctly named.

Trevor.

On my way out this morning I popped into my local convenience store to get some sandwiches to
sustain me while out looking for the Purple Emperor. Nothing lost, nothing gained I also purchased
a tin of their own brand of Tuna in brine. I sometimes treat the cat to a tin, so I knew the liquid
in the tin was quite potent !.
On arrival at Chiddingfold forest I punctured the tin and poured the liquid on the track, meanwhile
I met P.J.Underwood, who was also looking for Emperors, we were pretty certain of a fly past,
but it was very fleeting.
As the cloud cover increased P.J.U said cheerio, that's it for the day. About ten minutes after his
departure, another Guy and myself spotted an Emperor flying erratically nearby, he was obviously
trying to pin point where the fishy smell was coming from, and then landed right on top of my offering.
Amazingly this beautiful Emperor stayed put for over an hour, and displayed lots of purple .

A great start to your PE vigil Trevor. It certainly pays to ignore the weather sometimes - a lesson I learned whilst watching PE's fighting in a thunderstorm in 2012!

I must take a tin of tuna with me when I go to Fermyn Woods Trevor Lovely shots of the PE, hope I get to see him this year. Goldie

Many thanks Pauline and Goldie.
If you take a can of Tuna, get a can with a ring pull or take a can opener.
I also added another liquid, but we won't go into that. .

Good luck to all this Emperor season.
Trevor.

Oh dear Trevor,I should have stayed another 10 mins.I will try again tomorrow.
P.J.U.

I gazed out of the office window this morning, knowing where I should be - I was right! Lovely Emperor, and I hope you see many more. Stonking double purple pictures too!

Dave

Yes Dave you should have been there. I nearly filled a memory card with one Butterfly.
Might see you there sometime, as I intend to go every day there's a decent weather forecast.

Something I forgot to mention in my last post. There are now some Turtle Doves in the wood.
Their ' purring ' seems to carry some distance.

Trevor.

just that is all I have!

bugboy wrote:just that is all I have!

Your Large blues had the same effect on me.

When I arrived a Chiddingfold Forest yesterday, the sun was beginning to warm up, and the Ringlets were
already active. A short distance into the wood I heard my first Turtle Dove of the morning, invisible, but
quite close by. According to P.J Underwood, they have been absent in recent years.
After laying my Emperor attractant I went to look for some White Admirals, which always seem to prefer
to nectar on the other side of a ditch !, as did the only pausing Silver Washed Fritillary of the day.
So the following images were obtained with great difficulty, and this is reflected in their quality.

I have also sneaked in another Purple image, as yesterday, after years of trying I managed all wings purple.

Trevor.