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Large Whites have been laying on re-growth of Hedge Garlic that had been consigned to the compost bin. They hatched 26 July and are now, 1st August, second instar larvae. Some old skins can be seen.Intriguingly, despite numerous large White females in the garden, they have totally ignored the nasturtiums growing in pots this year; they usually ruin the plants. Last autumn in Malta – where I saw several Large White adults – the huge patches of nasturtiums used as garden ground cover, were totally ignored.

Jack

What’s going on here?Jack

It might just have landed there - sometimes small insects do land on butterflies.

This is a dusky large blue (Maculinea nausithous) with a passenger:



Nothing interesting happened while I watched this! They both just flew off again.

Guy

Hi Jack and Guy,
Here's a cheeky fly taking a lift on a female DGF.
Neil

Guy, I take it the fly isn't the butterfly's specialist parasite Neotypus pusillus?

Hi,

I have observed several times some diptera on butterflies and burnets. For example, here:

is a passenger on the Eastern Bath White's (P. edusa) pterygium similar to Padfield's one on the M. nausithous.

But these ones:



are definitely Simuliidae (Black Flies) sucking haemolymph on the Zygaena minos burnet. Here is the Black Fly flying and here, too (attacking the Z. loti).

Photos upperside were snapped on June 17th 09. First I have noted possible ectoparasite attack to the Large Copper here (see 1:36 - 1:46): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xls_6L7p-Nc but I'm not sure if it is really a parasite or only an impudent bee.

Compare to (probably another species of) Black Fly sucking blood on the human skin:


traplican