www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Long-tailed Blue - Favourite Photo 2019

Week 10

Last week was a nightmare, nothing political but pet related so I’m really looking forward to leaving it all behind and moving onto week! So bring on your Faves – I need cheering up!

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I'm sorry to hear of your pet grief last week, Wurzel.

I looked out for UK long-tailed blues all summer, and scanned the sweet peas regularly for eggs, but to no avail. So my favourite photo must come from Spain this spring:



That was taken at a hilltopping site near Málaga on 2nd April. Hilltopping always has the feel of an all-male affair, as they strut their stuff and show off, but of course they do it for the females. These don't do any showing off - they just turn up, take their pick and collect what they came for. Then they're off to fatten up and lay.

Guy

Dordogne, September 2019.

I didn't manage to see any LTB in the UK this year but I did see many while I was in Japan during October & November.
This individual was the last one I saw. Photo was taken on November 3rd in the middle of Tokyo just before setting off for home.

It speaks volumes that this species is now in the annual 'Favourite Photo' category. Looks like we can expect it in most years.

I haven't yet seen one in the UK (although one WAS spotted at Kenfig Dunes about a half hour drive from where I live this autumn). However, I routinely see plenty on the continent, and here's one I managed to get an image of in the French Alps during July:

Here is one also from abroad, south of France on 21st of July in the west Var: Chris

For this weeks choices I asked my travel buddy/chauffeur to pick some favs, here's her choices from my 2019 catalogue:

I managed to see this increasingly less infrequent visitor at three different spots this year. The first was down at Kingsdown Leas in East Kent between Dover and Deal on a hot August Day. I started by finding several eggs, but eventually tracked dow a few adults flying around the everlasting pea on the clifftop. After the initial disappointment of my first ever LTB shot bizarrely turning out to be a Purple Hairstreak, I soon made up for it with some reasonable photos of a rather worn immigrant male.The anticipation then grew of seeing some new butterflies from a home-grown generation, and on the equinox (another hot day) I joined Bugboy down near Newhaven. Our intitial failure was rectified when we met up with B. Rex, who led us to a site where several LTB were flying. A great many photos were taken, though all the butterflies tended to spend most of their time buried in the pea flowers.The third place was after a distinct change in the weather in early October, up at Whitehawk Hill in Brighton with one of the most social gatherings of UKB folk I have enjoyed. A pristine LTB was encountered, lost track of, and then rediscovered by Essex Buzzard, and everyone went away happy. Dave