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Small Tortoiseshell - Favourite Photo of 2022

Week 17

Where has the time gone! It seems like only yesterday that I was starting out with the 2022 Favourite threads and nowhere we are into February with the end in sight! I know it's a bit early this week but I'm out over the usual time

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 saw the Small Tortoiseshell at Seasalter on the 22nd of May , I didn't expect to find many Small Torts here in the South, so it was a lovely surprise
Goldie

I found a spot fairly close to home ,in the car park of the local "footie" team and although the car park is also a popular fly-tipping site it has several large Buddlia bushes ,and on two days and two visits it held up to 15 Small Torts ,a fair bit of variation on those present.
If i had to plump for just one individual ................it would be the last pale individual ,it was very unusual when on the wing.
Allan.W.

In the winter of 2021/22 a lot of clearance work had been done on part of my local patch (the area which forms part of the Heathrow Conservation Area) to reduce the choking of the River Colne by brambles and other scrub. In the spring the cleared areas were immediately colonised by nettles, and it became clear that the local Small Tortoiseshells had taken advantage. During late May and early June, I saw more fresh examples of the species than I had seen here for several years, and there was a fair bit of variety in colouration among them.

Firstly, a couple or normal-looking ones (though the first has large and bright marginal blue spots)......then a very deep orange one with no yellow on the hindwings.These last two in particular almost look like two different species.The last one is the one that sticks most in the memory - large in size, pale, with prominent wing borders. It looked absolutely striking in flight.

Dave

I didn't manage to get any photos of an adult Small Tortoiseshell last year for some reason, but did get a nice egg batch.
Vince

Never seen as many small tortoiseshell in 2022 as I have seen in previous years. Mostly seen in my garden early August and while out walking in Clackmannanshire in September.

This one from work posed perfectly for a nice crisp underside shot but of course I can't not mention the hundreds present in Norfolk, numerous freshly minted females were encountered being courted by eager males by the afternoon.

Some super shots so far of this strikingly variable butterfly! Hard to pick a favourite but I think I most wish I’d seen that Bertl blue - wow!

Bertl wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 12:24 amNever seen as many small tortoiseshell in 2022 as I have seen in previous years. Mostly seen in my garden early August and while out walking in Clackmannanshire in September.

Good to hear, Bertl. By the way, that third one down in an absolute peach of a specimen.

Benjamin/David......Thanks for your comments. I never tire of seeing this butterfly.

Once again I saw plenty of Small Tortoiseshells come out of hibernation in the spring of 2022, easily being the most numerous of the ex-hibernators flying around here.

One of the earliest I saw was this nice pale individual.
Lots of pairs were seen with males chasing females about.
By the end of March the blackthorn blossom was out providing plenty of opportunity for some of my favourite 'butterfly on blossom' poses.
Later in the summer, whilst there were still plenty of Small Tortoiseshells about, numbers seemed lower than in th eprevious few years and they disappeared quickly into hibernation, possibly influenced by the hot and dry weather we having at that time. Those I saw were usually flying about at high speed in the heat which led to limited opportunities for photos.
Cheers,

Neil.

Small Tortoiseshell

I had a really good year with Small Torts witnessing plenty of action; courtship, scrapping, egg laying, numerous vibrant and fresh individuals crawling all over Buddleia in North Wales and finishing up the year with a two or three hibernating at Mottisfont. Of all of these however one photo and one individual sticks out in my memory. It came from one of my lunchtime walks early in the year. As I set off down the narrow track oft’ frequented by Small Torts I wasn’t surprised to see a brace of them involved in a bit of argy bargy. After a bit more chasing around they came down to the deck and it was only then that I saw that one was much paler than the other. It looked like it had been bleached by the sun and the overall ground colour was almost the same as the gaps between the dark markings on the leading edge of the fore wing. At first I thought it might be showing signs of wear however the margins were all intact and the change was all over not just in isolated spots as it might be in the case of water damage or rubbing/abrading. All of this of course I thought about later at the time I just enjoyed the splendour of the variation.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

This is an attractive butterfly, so usually one needs it to pose in such a way as to elevate that beauty.

During a trip to search for Brown Hairstreak ova in Pembrokeshire on 19th September, one individual did precisely that:

My first garden butterfly of 2022, on 17 January. Nectaring on flowering hebe.

Small Tortoiseshell numbers were decimated during the summer and autumn broods here in Lincolnshire, hopefully they will make a swift recovery. These two shots I took have become personal favourites. What a fantastic way to start the season! A glorious colour contrast on the mauve dame's-violet. Both shots taken in our butterfly garden.