Holly blue male
Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 8:57 pm
I visited Bannerdown near Batheaston today and got caught in a downpour, having snapped just a single small skipper. Fortunately I took an umbrella. There were plenty of marbled whites, ringlets and meadow browns between the showers. I then trawled Hazelbury common, again seeing marbled white, ringlet, meadow brown, small skipper and six spot burnet. I had a brief glimpse of a dark green fritillary plus my first male gatekeeper of the year. A small copper completed the set.
Back to my local patch at Willsbridge I did a transect for the AWT finding red admiral (3), comma (4), green veined white (1), small white (1), speckled wood (1), holly blue (1), ringlet (1), meadow brown (2), beautiful demoiselle (3), southern hawker (1), common darter (1).
Then on my way home I spotted a holly blue flitting around a bare patch of earth. They often take nutrients this way when the ground is wet. I watched it for a minute or so then it flew up onto a leaf, opened its wings and basked! And here it is, a male, and I'm pleased as punch. Another nice local spot.![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Image](http://upload9.postimage.org/114565/hollyblue800x600.jpg)
Back to my local patch at Willsbridge I did a transect for the AWT finding red admiral (3), comma (4), green veined white (1), small white (1), speckled wood (1), holly blue (1), ringlet (1), meadow brown (2), beautiful demoiselle (3), southern hawker (1), common darter (1).
Then on my way home I spotted a holly blue flitting around a bare patch of earth. They often take nutrients this way when the ground is wet. I watched it for a minute or so then it flew up onto a leaf, opened its wings and basked! And here it is, a male, and I'm pleased as punch. Another nice local spot.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Image](http://upload9.postimage.org/114565/hollyblue800x600.jpg)