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Wurzel wrote:Good luck on Friday Jack I'd recommend Bentley Wood for Pearls there were another 5 reported today and if the weather isn't brill you might be able to find them roosting.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Wurzel
Bentley is certainly a possibility, but I have still not decided where to go. However, the weather is not looking good at all

Hi Vince
I shall be keeping a close eye on the larvae and will post details of their progress

Friday 24.5.2013 Best Laid Plans..............
I was not surprised (disappointed yes) to wake up to heavy skies, cold wind and rain this morning Not only that but the weather looks set to deteriorate throughout the day None of this is a surprise of course. I have been studying the weather forecast all week, in hope. So I have decided to abandon my plans for today , bank my 'Brownie points' and try and accumulate a few more
The weather looks to be much warmer, sunnier and drier over the weekend So with a bit of luck I might be able to get out and use my accumulated 'B points' on Sunday morning

Hi Paul

I'm sorry your plans had to be abandoned due to the weather but I have been out there today and there are some butterflies around. See my post later.

Friday 24.5.2013 Beacon Hill, Warnford
Immediately after writing my previous post, I read of 'Paulines' intentions to go after Small Blues today. I imagine that we do our butterfly watching under a similar piece of sky, so I thought if others are prepared to brave the conditions then so can I I decided than rather than revert to my original plan I would stick to somewhere closer to home. Beacon Hill is only half an hour away so I thought I have nothing to loose. Strangely my previous visit to this site also started under heavy skies and was one of my best days last year, maybe this was a good omen I have only visited this site once previously, late last summer in search of Silver Spotted Skipper. I am not sure which species I am likely to find there this time of the year. I believe Dukes are present and also Small Blues, Grizzled and Dingy Skipper.
I arrived at midday but to be honest I was not very hopeful, at least it was not raining. I descended the steep slopes to the area that I found so productive last summer. Plenty of cowslips around and it was not long before a flash of orange fluttered out of the undergrowth and settled a few metres away. I went to investigate the spot but could not see anything until it took to the wing again and settled within view, a fresh Small Heath (my first of the year ) I searched around for a further half an hour before I spotted another Small Heath roosting in a different area. So just the two Small Heaths had made my visit worthwhile, increasing my species tally for the year to 13. The sky was becoming increasingly black so I decided to call it a day. On the way back to the car the rain started to fall as I spotted a couple of moths, including a longhorn moth with incredibly long antennae and what I think is a Purple Bar moth (Cosmorhoe ocellata) It was definately worth the effort to go out looking (thanks for the inspiration Pauline), but I am glad I did not go further afield and spend all day at it, which was my original intention. Early Sunday morning is my next opportunity, thankfully good weather is forecast

Jack,
if Beacon Hill is within 30 mins., have you tried Whiteley Pastures? It's the forest (not pastures!) at Whiteley, just along the M27 - park on the dead-end road, outside the NATS air traffic building; at the end of the road, follow the path through the hedge, and head North along the main track - it's < 50m. to the entrance to the pastures. See Alan Thornbury's page on it.

Regards, Jon (based in sunny Southampton

Hi Paul,

I think you'll find that your unidentified moth is the longhorn, Nematopogon swammerdamella.

Kind regards. Mark

jonhd wrote:Jack,
if Beacon Hill is within 30 mins., have you tried Whiteley Pastures? It's the forest (not pastures!) at Whiteley, just along the M27 - park on the dead-end road, outside the NATS air traffic building; at the end of the road, follow the path through the hedge, and head North along the main track - it's < 50m. to the entrance to the pastures. See Alan Thornbury's page on it.

Regards, Jon (based in sunny Southampton

Hi Jon and Mark
Thanks for the pointer on Whiteley Pastures. Its actually very close to me as I am in Hedge End, although I have not managed a proper visit yet. I have made quite a few visits to the adjoining Botley Wood but never seem to have enough time to do Whiteley as well. Hopefully soon. I heard reports of Pearl Bordered Fritillary appearing at Whiteley last year. Do you happen to know if they have appeared this year at all

Thanks for the longhorn id Mark

I didn't find PBF last weekend (weather wasn't exactly conducive, though). Made the mistake of trying this morning, and got caught-up in truly horrible shopping-frenzy-traffic (I'd been completely ignorant that some sort of Whiteley Shopping Village 'jamboree' was taking place, all weekend. Eeeeugh!) Nowhere to park at all, so gave up.
The main path, at Whiteley Pastures, is usually good for Grizzled & Dingy skippers, Comma, Peacock, Silver-Washed and (apparently!) Purple Hairstreak / Emperor. I've not seen the latter 2 there, myself (nor PBF). It's a pleasant site to have, close to Soton, though! I may go looking for SWF in 3-4 weeks.

I don't like travelling far, just to see butterflies (it doesn't seem right to me, driving 60 miles+ round trip, to see an endangered species!), and prefer to try & find stuff locally. For me, it's really great to come across a fresh Speckled Wood on Soton Common (on my doorstep)! Of course, I have seen PBF, Small PBF, Dukes, and so on (Noar Hill, Pignal Inclosure, Wooton Coppice, etc.), but don't want to keep returning to the same few sites, just to do it all over again. That said, I do appreciate that people do that stuff, and that records are kept, of course!

BTW, there must be some pretty good sites around Hedge End, I'd have thought. The patch of land on the West End road (where the new Rose Bowl exit is going to be)? Out on the Botley Road? I suppose a lot of it is farm / private land, though...

Cheers!

jonhd wrote: I don't like travelling far, just to see butterflies (it doesn't seem right to me, driving 60 miles+ round trip, to see an endangered species!), and prefer to try & find stuff locally. For me, it's really great to come across a fresh Speckled Wood on Soton Common (on my doorstep)! Of course, I have seen PBF, Small PBF, Dukes, and so on (Noar Hill, Pignal Inclosure, Wooton Coppice, etc.), but don't want to keep returning to the same few sites, just to do it all over again. That said, I do appreciate that people do that stuff, and that records are kept, of course!

BTW, there must be some pretty good sites around Hedge End, I'd have thought. The patch of land on the West End road (where the new Rose Bowl exit is going to be)? Out on the Botley Road? I suppose a lot of it is farm / private land, though...

Cheers!

Hi Jon

I agree entirely It is very satisfying to explore ones local patch and see what is about. I am quite lucky here in Hedge End being right on the edge of good countryside. I am discovering new places to go locally all the time. My biggest problem is finding the time to do it For me it is always going to be a compromise between keeping tabs on my local patch whilst also visiting specific sites. I am only in my second year of doing this, so I have still plenty to see and learn.

If you have not ventured into Botley Wood (next to Whiteley) I would recommend it. However, as well as good populations of butterflies it does seem to have a very high population of ticks

Monday 27.5.2013 My Local Patch
After returning from a family picnic at Royal Victoria Country Park,I went to check on my local Small Tortoiseshell larvae late this afternoon. Each larval group has now expanded to cover 2 or three plants. Last week each of three groups was confined to its own individual plant. I had a bit more of a look around today and I managed to find 2 more groups, they are all very close together These latest 2 groups look to be slightly less advanced, but are the wrong side of a barbed wire fence for me to get very close The largest larvae are 25-30mm long now, perhaps a third bigger than last weekend.

And did any of those survive today's torrential rain?

Jon

Sunday 26.5.2013 Rake Bottom

After having decided to abandon my plans for a 'full' butterfly day last Friday Sunday was my rescheduled attempt at a full day in beautiful sunshine Unfortunately I had some prior commitments so realistically I only had until early afternoon. Keen to make the most of my time, I dropped my two boys up at the local skate ramps at 8.30am leaving my wife in bed and set off on my way. My targets for the day were Duke of Burgundy, Green Hairstreak and Dingy Skipper. I have never seen Duke of Burgundy or Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreak is a species I have only ever seen once when I was a boy, so that would also be like a first sighting. I decided to visit Rake Bottom for the first time. Rake Bottom is a narrow, very steep sided, L shaped valley near to Butser Hill which promised all three species plus a few others hopefully I managed to find the Northerly access route without too much difficulty, arriving at about 9.15. This should have led me onto the site via the valley floor avoiding steep ascent and descent. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn along the track and ended up unnecessarily climbing the valley side A local directed me back down the slope again, but exercise never did anyone any harm did it Along the track leading to the site my first butterfly of the day was a solitary Speckled Wood closely followed by a couple of Large Whites. Whilst descending the track leading back down the valley a couple of Skippers flashed past me without stopping and I then spotted a Small Heath. I walked almost to the end of the valley before I saw my next butterfly. This one was different and it settled a little way ahead. I went over to investigate.This was my first Duke of Burgundy, a slightly worn specimen, but a beauty none the less There still did not seem to be many butterflies around at this time, but it was still fairly early. I found another Duke in the same area basking in the sun and spent a little time observing. I then thought I would climb to the top at the end of the valley. At the top I found a Peacock gliding around some nettles and a couple of Blues blew past me in the wind too quickly for id. When I went to descend the valley it was certainly much harder work than coming up and required some nifty footwork to avoid going for a tumble Once down on the valley floor again the action had started to hot up. There were more Dukes on the wing now ranging from fresh to ragged some engaging in aerial combat. Then I spotted my first Grizzled Skipper of the day closely followed by my first ever Dingy Skipper The more I looked, the more I saw but Dingy Skippers were certainly more numerous on the day. The Dingy Skippers vigorously chased off anything that came too close. At one stage I was confronted by the unusual spectacle of a Dingy Skipper chasing off a fluttery Cinnabar Moth which had flown into the area. I was also surprised at the amount of variation in markings on the Dingy Skippers. I found several 'hotspots' where Dukes, Dingy Skippers and Grizzled Skippers were sharing the habitat. This left me with just the Green Hairstreak to find.......

You may be surprised to hear that I am colourblind, with a particular difficulty with green and brown. I can not think of many other pastimes that would be as severely handicapped by colourblindness So looking for green, brown and even red butterflies, particularly at rest, is not always straightforward. Even several Commas on a Blackberry bush in late Autumn do not stand out to me as perhaps they would to somebody else. Anyway, back to the point, finding Green Hairstreaks at rest in amongst green leaves poses a difficult challenge for me. Rake Bottom has a line of shrubs on either side at the base of the valley sides which seems to be mainly Hawthorn and Elder, on which I had been advised was the best place to find Green Hairstreaks, I went to investigate. Would you believe it, as I approached the first shrub, a small green butterfly flew up and then settled back in almost the same place at about head height. Luck was certainly on my side today, this was my first Green Hairstreak and quite a fresh one . I spent quite a while watching just inches from the bush, my face at the same level as the Green Hairstreaks chosen tier. I found this species quite predictable, basking at a peculiar angle (side on) for a few minutes and then fluttering around only to return to almost the same position. With luck on my side it was not long before I found another fresh looking example. I have to be honest and say that the Hairstreaks gave me the most pleasure today I started to slowly make my way back along the valley finding several good areas on the way. In one particular area where Dukes, Dingy and Grizzled Skippers were cohabiting, I spotted some yellow fluttering looking very butterfly like about the same size as a Duke of Burgundy. On closer examination they were a couple of beautiful Speckled Yellow moths. At the other end of the valley by the gate I spotted another Duke, the only one seen at this end and a male Orange Tip also flew through. I made my way along the track back to the car feeling very satisfied and having achieved my goals for the day As always, though, I wished I could have stayed longer. Just for good measure a male Brimstone flew by as I opened the car door, just to finish off the day.

Total count for the day (conservative figures):-
Duke of Burgundy 14+
Dingy Skipper 11+
Grizzled Skipper 7+
Small Heath 2
Green Hairstreak 2
Brimstone (male) 1
Orange Tip (male) 1
Speckled Wood 1
Peacock 1
Large White 2
Cinnabar 2
Speckled Yellow 2

This brings my species tally for the year to 16

jonhd wrote:And did any of those survive today's torrential rain?

Jon

Thursday 30.5.2013 My Local Patch

Yesterday I thought I would check on my local Small Tortoiseshell Larvae. After the heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday I am pleased to report that they are thriving. I have now located several more groups including one larval web at a much earlier stage. Some of the more advanced larval groups have now dispersed over several Nettle plants, perhaps 5 or 6 larvae per plant. I noticed that some of these more advanced larvae have made 'tents' from a nettle leaf stitched together at the edge with silk. Some of these tents contain 2 larvae and from what I could see they looked close to a skin change. It will not be too much longer before the first larvae are looking to pupate. Hopefully I will be able to locate a chrysalis or two to monitor. There are a large number of larvae in this small area. I hesitate to estimate numbers but 1000+ would seem a conservative figure. One wonders how many will reach adulthood. In a few weeks I hope the area will have significant numbers of adults on the wing I am not sure how many eggs the average female would lay, could one female have produced all these larvae

They certainly are resilient little blighters, aren't they?!

Saturday 1.6.2013 Weymouth Bay
Yesterday we spent the day with family, holidaying in Weymouth. The day was subject to a fairly predetermined itinery, so no chance of a dedicated butterfly visit Our first port of call was the beach, for a picnic lunch. This was walking distance from base, the route taking us through a large, flower filled meadow (certainly worth a closer look later, I thought ) Once at the beach, the eroded cliff areas also looked good for some further exploration should the opportunity have presented itself. The weather was beautifully hot and sunny with a breeze blowing off the land toward the sea.

I took the boys off to explore. The eroded cliff area was heavily signed with warnings that it was unstable, but it looked fairly safe to me so we pushed on. There was plenty of vegetation growing, including a large amount of Vetch. I thought that there may be some blues to be found, but we were disappointed on that score What we did find surprised me, a Dingy Skipper pretty much on the beach However, we did not see another in this area and in fact saw no other butterflies here at all, just a solitary Cinnabar moth. Later, after we had left the beach, I managed to get out for an hour or so to explore on my own I headed straight for the large meadow I had seen earlier. On the way I passed through a small scrubby area where I found my first Small Copper of the year but I did not see any more. The meadow occupied a gently undulating hill behind the beach and was full of Buttercups, Pink Clover and grasses. If the wind direction had been different it would make a good stopping off point for Clouded Yellows, I thought to my self. However, I found no butterflies at all in the meadow. Just one very faded and ragged Small Tortoiseshell ( in fact barely recognisable) basking on the bare earth along the edge. Despite being ragged and faded, It had more than enough energy to thwart my attempts to photograph it After being disappointed in the meadow I turned my attention to some high cliff areas to the west. I found my way on to the coastal path which led up the cliffs. I am certainly not an expert, but I had an instinctive feeling that this area might be suitable for Wall Browns, another species that I have only ever seen once when I was about 10 or 11. Plenty of grass but also wide areas of bare rock. The cliffs here were much higher here than the ones we had explored earlier and large areas were fenced off with warnings around. There had certainly been recent subsidence, during the wetter weather earlier in the year I imagine. Between the beach and the uneroded cliff there was a large expanse of collapsed cliff which supported Rabbits, plenty of bird life and plenty of mature vegetation. I found another Dingy Skipper in this area as well as several other whites and skippers? which buzzed passed without stopping for id. Once I reached the top of the cliff I peered over the edge. There was another narrow strip of grassy area which had suffered recent subsidence about 2 metres below the cliff top. This area had buttercups growing in the fracture line. As I looked I saw a reddish brown butterfly fluttering around, I got as close as I could as it settled on a buttercup below me and opened its wings. My instincts had been spot on my first Wall brown for about 35years Despite the warning signs, I made my way down to this lower area and watched for a while. Strangely, there were several hats in this area, no doubt blown form the heads of hill walkers who thought better of venturing to retrieve them. I desperately tried to get a decent photo without success, they seemed determined to settle in the area of bare rock along the fracture line which was awkward for me to get close to without being in danger of getting a leg stuck down the crevasse Then a second Wall brown joined the party, they fluttered along this small area for a while before disappearing down the cliff to an inaccessible area. I did not see any more positive sightings but saw 2 more likely Wall browns which flew passed without stopping. So all in all, although was not a dedicated butterfly trip, I was pretty pleased with myself. Increasing my species count for the year to 18 and finding Wall Brown for the first time in thirty odd years. Later when I checked my photos I noticed the Wall Brown has a double eye spot. I have posted the photo although it is not in focus, it was the best I could do. This would seem unusual looking at other pictures, I would appreciate comments on this please

Hi Jack,

your Wall Brown is an aberration, there is a similar one in the species-specific albums on this site but, i`m afraid i don`t have a specific name for it, not my strong-point, but i`m sure someone on this forum will.

All the best, Nick.

Although there is an ab.biocellata: "Upperside of the forewings with an extra spot below the main apical eye-spot, in cell 4 and clearly separated", I think this is:

ab.alberti: "Upperside of the forewings showing the main large apical eye-spot and an extra small one above it near the apex, also another below it in cell 3, between veins 3 and 4, half the size of the main one and also pupilled with white".

Cheers,

- Pete

For your Wall Brown aberration, I'd go for ab.quadriocellata Oberthur.

This form has the double-pupilled eyespot plus additional ocelli, above and below. These extra spots are visible on your photo.

There are illustrations in Emmet & Heath Vol.7 Part 1. According to Russwurm (Aberrations of British Butterflies), aberrations are rare in the Wall Brown, with the exception of the double eyespot, which is "not uncommon"

Mike

Well-spotted (!) Mike:

ab.quadriocellata: Upperside of the forewings with the main apical eye-spot containing two white pupils and showing an extra ocellus above it near the apex, and another below it in cell 3.

Cheers,

- Pete

Pete Eeles wrote:Well-spotted (!) Mike:

It all goes to confirm my "dottiness"

I think the whole business of Ab-naming is a bit of a game - especially amongst the Victorian collectors, when everybody wanted to attach their name to any slight variation. Of course, it can be useful for distinctive forms that occur consistently.

This one is certainly a very distinctive Wall Brown, Jack

Mike

Hi Mike, Pete and Nick

Thanks for the info regarding my Wall Brown It seems like aberration is a very complicated issue I just wish I had managed to get a decent picture. Unfortunately Wall Brown are few and far between around my local patch.

Sunday 2.6.2013 My local patch and resident Small Tortoiseshell larvae

jonhd wrote:They certainly are resilient little blighters, aren't they?!

Hi Jon

Yes they do seem to be thriving and thankfully the weather conditions are now much improved. I checked on them again yesterday at around 6pm. Most of the larger larvae have now dispersed even more, perhaps 2 or 3 larvae per plant. They are surprisingly well camouflaged. I think they would escape the attention of most people walking by even though they are right next to a popular bridleway. The largest larvae I believe are now in their final instar, I found a couple that showed evidence of very recent skin change. What really surprised me was that there was still at least 2 adult Small Tortoiseshell patrolling the area, like proud parents guarding their young. These adults are worn, but certainly not the most aged specimens I have seen this year, they were still very active in the late sunshine. It will be interesting to seer how much longer they will survive