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A bit of calm weather and we may get a few continental surprises if we're lucky

September off to a decent start with lots of fresh butterflies on the hill this lunchtime. Beacon Hill

Some second brood Heath Fritillaries ,being reported in a few sections of Blean woodlands ,Kent . Allan.W.

A good start for me too. Sorry it’s an awful photo, massively enlarged - but a beautifully fresh Large Tortoiseshell up and down the lane and about the house, annoyingly refusing to settle for more than a couple of seconds. Maybe tomorrow it’ll be more amenable!

Scotch Argus here in N.Scotland just hanging on 1st September with a few elderly females.  So that makes it just short of five weeks since I first saw on 31st July (and as I had been checking daily, that was likely the date of first emergence).  Scotch Argus doesn't seem to have a very long flight season.

Small Whites in huge numbers this year.  My handful of captive larvae (rescued from garden Nasturtiums) are developing slowly.  Small White is normally quite scarce here.  Indeed, I didn't see a single individual in my first two summers here, 2015 and 2016.  I have to speculate that in many years, they might not be able to reach the hibernation pupal stage before the vegetation (presumably Nasturtium favoured) succumbs to frost.

Peacocks still around and many are quite small being only the size of Small Tortoiseshells.  Just a handful of Red Admirals but no Painted Ladies.  Nor the long hoped-for Commas.

Jack

Deborah wrote: ↑Tue Sep 01, 2020 7:39 pm...Maybe tomorrow it’ll be more amenable!

Throw a couple of over-ripe plums in your garden, Deborah. That might encourage it to stick around a little longer.

Jack Harrison wrote: ↑Wed Sep 02, 2020 2:33 am Scotch Argus here in N.Scotland just hanging on 1st September with a few elderly females.  So that makes it just short of five weeks since I first saw on 31st July (and as I had been checking daily, that was likely the date of first emergence).  Scotch Argus doesn't seem to have a very long flight season.

Probably second only to Black Hairstreak for brevity of flight period, Jack. You really only have a 10-14 day window to see them fresh. That said, it must be nice to have them locally. For many on here, seeing them would involve a 4 hour drive!

Yes a four hour drive to others see Scotch Argus but more like a four day drive for me to see Clouded Yellow

Jack

2nd September
A couple of Scotch Argus drifted from nearby grassland over this barley field.
My house is in the valley just beyond that hedge line.

Jack

Very nice location Jack.

I actually did see a Clouded Yellow today on my lunchtime stroll.

But it's fair to say I won't ever see a bottlenose dolphin on one of the wanders from my door - and I'm guessing you might ?

Jack Harrison wrote: ↑Wed Sep 02, 2020 6:13 pm...My house is in the valley just beyond that hedge line.

Nice to see a bit of context, Jack.

I reckon in 50 years or so your part of the UK will one of the major hotspots, though neither of us will live to see it.

Hummingbird hawk moth at Harlow, Essex this lunchtime. My first of the year!

second-generation Orange-tip seen on transect yesterday (not by me) on Benfleet Downs, Southend-on-Sea

second-generation Orange-tip seen on transect yesterday

I question whether that is a true second generation.  Sometimes with captive breeding, emergence has been delayed, in one case (four or five pupae) for two years.

In my N.Scottish garden I have just found Large White larvae on nasturtiums even though I can't recall seeing a single adult butterfly this year.  Large Whites are not common up here.  I make the same speculation as I did about Small Whites.  As these species are very dependent on nasturtiums nowadays (brassica crops sprayed) they can't readily reach the crucial pupal hibernation stage before frosts kill off the leaves and thus only a few make it through each year.

Jack

'Second-gen'/autumn Orange-tip- it would be interesting to know the reason for their delayed emergence. Although this spring's days were very warm and sunny, the clear nights were cold

Today we made a visit to a Garden over the border in Sussex ,about an hour from home ,and an area we know fairly well ,ie;
Herstmonceux ,when our boys were small we took them to the Science centre ,next door to the castle,several times ,and last week we decided to go through,and finally visit the castle and gardens on Wednesday ,something came up ,and we ended up there today . I believe that Trevor was there a couple of days back ,and found a nice AB; Oblitera Small Copper ...........................I kept my eyes open ,but no joy ,but as he has said there were very high numbers on the wing ,reck0n we saw 25+ ,but we found many fresh individuals ,and very few worn. I don,t generally take too many shots of butterflies on garden flowers ,but these Coppers posed so nicely .....................it was a shame not to !
Along with the Coppers ,there were numerous Whites (3 sp;) and 4 Red Admirals on the white Buddlias .
As we strolled back towards the exit ,we disturbed a pair of Coppers ,that seemed to be avoiding the grass cutting robots ,that were zig-zagging
across the lawns , Regards Allan.W.

Sorry the AB; Oblitera mentioned in the above post ,shoul read AB;Obsoleta (almost!)...................my mistake !
Allan.W.

Lots of red admirals, peacock and tortoiseshell in my Aberdeen garden this evening but alas no painted ladies this year!!

Allan.W. wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 4:22 pm Today we made a visit to a Garden over the border in Sussex ,about an hour from home ,and an area we know fairly well ,ie;
Herstmonceux ,when our boys were small we took them to the Science centre ,next door to the castle.........

I can thoroughly recommend the Comets and Curry nights at Herstmonceux Observatory (assuming they can hold them again at some point). Unfortunately was a bit cloudy on our night but still great to see some of the largest telescopes in the UK in action.

Not much on the wing today at Drum Castle near Aberdeen. Weather was overcast. No idea what the dragonfly is!!!