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Adonis Blue - Favourite Photo of 2023

Week 1

Well then let’s get started and before we know it we’ll be into the 2024 season!

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.

Here we go!

Have a goodun

Wurzel
P.S. Just a suggestion but you might want to select your Favourite first so you can save it for the grand finale in 20 weeks time…

Adonis Blue

This was taken at Martin Down at the tail end of the season and whilst it’s not a pristine individual I can’t get over the colours. There seems to be a whole range of light blues from the sky blue of the hairy body right the way through to the lurid electric blue of the furthest reaches of the hind wings. It was those hind wings in fact which drew me, almost magnetically, towards this individual when I was out in the field. I still can’t get over how artificial it looks, like it’s been spray painted on by a fan of the Fast and Furious franchise!
Have a goodun

Wurzel

My favourite was a surprise encounter a mile or so from a known site in Cambridgeshire back in May, whilst looking for Green Hairstreak. A lovely fresh male basking in the early morning sunshine showing its outstanding blue very well.

A few first brood Adonis Blues were a nice surprise during a visit to Prestbury Hill near Cheltenham, as although I was aware that they do fly here, my previous visits here to see Duke of Burgundy here have usually been before the Adonis Blues were on the wing.
They were very active in the warm sun and the few photos that I managed of them were not that good but I like the shot below as a reminder of my first day this year seeing really good numbers of butterflies.
A visit to see our daughter in Emsworth in late August gave me the opportunity to pop up to Old Winchester Hill to catch up with the second brood. Good numbers of males were in all sorts of condition from well past it to practically fresh,
The females were less obvious but the more I looked, the more I found with most of them being nice and fresh looking.
Cheers,

Neil.

The females of this species can be really striking, and my favourite one of 2023 was seen back on 24th May down at Lulworth.Though I came across good numbers of males in both broods at both Aston Rowant and Denbies, none can really compete with this female.

Dave

I Managed the Adonis at Temple Ewell , (from a distance ) the grass was too high for me, the 16th of August Goldie

This species gets increasingly restricted to the banks of hill-forts the further south-west you go. Here is one in such a habitat at White Sheet Hill in early September.

Nice to see a couple of females getting in on the 'favourites' hit parade.

Both sexes are highly attractive in this species.

Good numbers of both males and females on a visit to Denbies for the first generation, but it was one of those days when they were all rather hyperactive so photos tended to be a bit snatched. This male paused for a while on the warm path.
while this female took time out to nectar.
Another visit in the second week of August didn't promise much, as it was heavily overcast and at one point started raining a bit. However, later on some brightness and warmth persuaded what must have been the very beginnings of the second generation to make some brief appearances. Gratifyingly intense colour in these fresh individuals, of which the following was the most co-operative.

I watched Adonis Blues at 4 Kent sites this year Wye Downs NNR , The downs above Folkestone ,and Kingsdown Leas ,near Deal
and Temple Ewell /Lydden where they were about in good numbers ,although possibly slightly down on last year . I took very few pictures ,but quite like this one. Allan.W.

Only saw one in the UK this year, and that was an unexpected appearance during my visit to Rodborough Common to look for Large Blue on 16th June.

There was a solitary bellargus male flying on the same slope as arion:

Time to start catching up with these threads now I've finally finished going through a rather large backlog of images!

These had a good year on their Surrey sites...apparently. Unfortunately the main glut slipped through the net with me but I manged to catch up with both broods at various sites throughout the year:

A nice ab. obsoleta at Denbies in the spring A second brood male posed well as it was warming up one morning on Box Hill and this nice female was one of very few I saw whilst wandering the hills of Wiltshire in May.