www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi Pauline, Great shots of your babies!! Keep them coming. As far as the Redpolls go there was a heavily twitched Common (Mealy) Redpoll at Warnham this winter. I'm sure that Neil H went up to see it and he has photos on his PD.

Some really interesting stuff there, Pauline. I love the birds all lined up on the feeder. You'd think they'd all be out foraging naturally given the mild weather this year so far, wouldn't you?

I was thinking about having a go at the rearing of caterpillars next year but it seems very complicated and it's hard enough trying to rear children Good luck with all your cats Pauline, I'm sure all your attention and affection will pay off

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thank you for that explanation Dave, I am very grateful for it. I had seen the image in Neil's diary Bob and I guess that led to some of the confusion as some of my visitors look quite similar. If I get anything unusual I shall definitely keep quiet about it

Thank you David. My garden is teeming with birds all year round, probably because I have 5 bird tables - you wouldn't want my bird food bill tho!!

I didn't mean for it to sound difficult Wurzel - but actually it is!

I'm glad you like the photos Bob. For various reasons I have been unable to get out recently so a few more shots below:

I am convinced that several of my PH cats are determined to pupate, despite my best efforts to stop them. I have tried to shove fresh greenery in their faces and encourage them to eat more but keep finding them on the back of dead leaves and one persists in burying itself in the soil. They are just over 2 weeks old - I am not sure how big they should be at this age and I have no idea how big they need to be before they can successfully pupate. Perhaps they're dying
Problems with the BH too . I am sure some have disappeared - even one of the plants is dying and I have had to transfer 2 tiny, tiny cats to another plant. Surely they should have grown more than this, even if they were one of the last eggs to hatch. I shall need to be more vigilant and investigate further. I have located a couple of the larger cats but as usual not easy to spot:
Only the hairs on its back give its position away:

Your PH cats may just be changing their skin. They often go off their food for a day of two when they do this. But the i'll leave it to the experts to confirm.

Nice photos showing how well camouflaged the BH cats are Pauline. I agree with EB that your PH cats are probably moulting and will remain motionless for a day or so before resuming normal activity.

I hope the others are right - imagine what it must be like when the skin gets tight - like wearing a hyper-tight corset. No wonder they don't feel like eating

(as part of my railway-modelling activity, I've been investigating Victorian fashions and the vogue for tiny waists - see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index. ... -cat-walk/)

Mike

It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it Mike - I would love to see those figures after you have 'tarted' them up a bit.

Thank you for your helpful comments Mike (Maximus) - much appreciated.

Hi Mark, I am now convinced that all my cats have gone down to pupate. They have shown no interest in staying on the branches, preferring to be in the soil and leaf litter. One thing I have noticed is the relatively large pile of frass (is that the right word?) beside each cat just before it attaches to a dead leaf. I don't know much about larva but before a tortoise hibernates it is important that it's gut is emptied to avoid food decomposing during hibernation. Could this be similar I wonder?
There definitely seems to be some disparity relating to how well the BH are doing. Many have hardly increased in size since hatching and still need a hand lens to be seen whilst others seem to be thriving:
At Christmas Philip cautioned me that I was on 'borrowed time' with my old cat whom I love dearly. At 19 years of age and with a multitude of health problems I knew he was right, but we have struggled on for several years with more than one crisis point. Sadly she is now losing weight very rapidly and despite having every test the vet could suggest it would seem that the weight loss will probably continue and remain unexplained. At her age I shall not be going down the road of invasive surgery, endoscopy, tissue sampling etc etc just for a diagnosis when the likelihood is that nothing further can be done. Naturally this has significantly curbed my ability to get out there for the time being. However, unsuspecting, unwary visitors are given a crash course on cat-sitting allowing me to occasionally escape my nursing duties for an hour. Today was one such day and despite the chilly wind and cloudy skies I decided on a quick trip to Wrecclesham combined with some food shopping. It was hardly surprising that not many butterflies were on the wing but I did manage to see 7 species, including a first for the year, the Holly Blue. It settled at the top of a steep bank and I scrambled up there just as fast as I could (great way to get fit, this butterflying!). Arriving at the top I failed to see it immediately but just as it was spotted it took off - my 2nd frustrating moment of the season but we've all been there. A few shots from today:

I'm lucky enough to be only 10 mins away from an excellent Duke site so I was able to nip over there today to witness what looks to be the start of a mass emergence of Dukes, especially given the weather forecast. There seems to be a lot of diversity in colours and markings this year but I stumbled upon what I initially thought was a Skipper chasing a Duke. It was a very dark butterfly in flight and at best about half the size of a Duke (I have witnesses ), very fast also. Certainly smaller than any Duke I have ever seen and tho I was not able to get a clear underside shot, to the eye this looked quite dark too:
I wasn't at Noar Hill long but saw a total of 7 Dukes, all male. A few more shots of 'normal' Dukes:

Well done Pauline, great Duke photos.

Great Duke photos Pauline

That first one does look dark. This is not a species that I am very familiar with, only seeing it once a year if I make a trip down to Prestbury Hill at the right time and those that I see there look like your other photos. I do not know how much normal variation there is in DoB but I have noticed in the past some examples posted from Sussex that look quite dark to me.

All the best,

Neil.

Wow! I feel I've been instantly transported forward in time by a fortnight.

Fantastic Dukes Pauline Hopefully there will be a few more around by next weekend when I'll be able to 'get at them'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Pauline
Manged to track down the "micro duke" again after you left and managed to get an estimate of the wingspan against a blade of grass and it was approx 15 mm from tip to tip making it about half the normal size of a male. As you say the insect looked noticeably darker in flight as the ground colour was very dark brown, almost black, making it look like a dingy in flight. The nearest named abberation I can find is ab. semibrunnea, perhaps Pete can shed some light?
Kind Regards
Mark

Very nice work Pauline, Duke of Burgundies on the 13th of April! Somebody fetch the smelling salts

B'saurus

Mark Tutton wrote:Hi Pauline
Manged to track down the "micro duke" again after you left and managed to get an estimate of the wingspan against a blade of grass and it was approx 15 mm from tip to tip making it about half the normal size of a male. As you say the insect looked noticeably darker in flight as the ground colour was very dark brown, almost black, making it look like a dingy in flight. The nearest named abberation I can find is ab. semibrunnea, perhaps Pete can shed some light?
Kind Regards
Mark

I think the chap is either "within the normal range of variation" or an unnamed aberration. ab. semibrunnea is quite distinctive:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/ ... ame=lucina

Cheers,

- Pete

Thank you all for such fantastic comments; they are all very much appreciated. I would have thought that the tiny Duke with the very dark markings and lack of orange was outside any normal variation, certainly the oddest one I have ever seen, but having looked at the chart Pete kindly enclosed I can see that it is certainly not a named aberration. Perhaps it should be christened ab. Paulinus

My brief time out today went even quicker in great company. The early temperatures and wind chill did not deter the Dukes from going about their business, nectaring and guarding their territories in the more sheltered spots. Still no females around but a few shots from this morning:
It was also a pleasure to see my first Green Hairstreak of the season - and not just one!!!
I can't wait to go back.

Pauline wrote:I would have thought that the tiny Duke with the very dark markings and lack of orange was outside any normal variation, certainly the oddest one I have ever seen, but having looked at the chart Pete kindly enclosed I can see that it is certainly not a named aberration.

Here's a similar critter from last year. I think I see a couple every year so I guess they're not that unusual!
Cheers,

- Pete

Ahhhhh - more stunning Dukes and Grenstreaks and I'm in West Wales where nothing is flying and with the weather looking to get bad for my return

Wurzel wrote:Ahhhhh - more stunning Dukes and Grenstreaks and I'm in West Wales where nothing is flying and with the weather looking to get bad for my return

If you stop off at Old Castle Down/Kenfig Dunes on your way back I'd be confident you might see Dingy Skipper/Small Copper.

Merthyr Mawr is a hotbed for Grizzled Skippers too, and I'm confident they're on the cusp of emergence right now.