www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Who's going to be at the AES bash at Kempton Park on the 2nd October? Just so I know who I might expect to be able to say "hello" to...

Felix.

Yeah - please drop by the UK Butterflies stand - which will be bigger than ever! Expect to also find Gary, Lisa and myself there. Come and get your 2011 calendars!

Cheers,

- Pete

Hi Felix and Pete,
It was only the Queen of Spain that prevented me from attending last year - so unless she turns up again, I'll be there!
Neil

I'll be there and will certainly stop by the BC Stall to browse the goodies on display.

I'll be having a coffee in the cafe bit upstairs at about 12.30 if anyone wants to come along and say hi.

Hi Susie,
"I'll be having a coffee in the cafe bit upstairs at about 12.30 if anyone wants to come along and say hi". This level of planning and organisation is well beyond the abilities and even comprehension of a man.
See you there....... at some point.
Neil

I plan to go along. I'm easily recognisable, I'll be the one asking the most stupid questions.

We could have a stupid question competition then, reckon I'd win.

I hope to be along as well. I'll be the one who's not allowed to spend any money

Just got back from an enjoyable few hours at the AES Exhibition. It was nice to meet the UKB team of Pete, Gary, Lisa and Piers as well as bumping into my Sussex chums, Neil and Susie (see you both at the AGM next week).

It was my first visit to the event and I was not expecting such a wide variety of exhibits or the size of the crowd. I easily resisted the temptation to buy live spiders, millipedes or any type of mollusc, but was lingering for a long time at Richard Lewington's stand, marvelling at his selection of originals and prints.

A definate note in the diary for next year.

Vince

Well I thoroughly enjoyed that! I

Well done UKButts for once again having an excellent stall. I don't know what time in the morning you folks must have got up to set up the stand but I expect it was at sparrow's fart. It was lovely seeing Pete, Gary, and Lisa again. Silly me brought my camera to take some photos of you all and then forgot about it. Twit. I hope to see you all in the not too distant future if I am lucky.

It's always good to see Kipper and the very patient Hannah, and I wonder if she managed to get him round the exhibition before it closed.
It was great also to see Vince and I was extremely impressed with the contents of his back pack. Were you a boy scout, Vince? Definitely a person to have around for any emergency. I'm looking forward to seeing you next week at the AGM, which are always more entertaining than I would expect them to be. I am expecting great things, Kipper, so no pressure!

After Vince's recommendation I visited Lewington's stand and with the week's house keeping money burning a hole in my pocket was so sorely tempted to get myself something; those pictures really are beautiful, but I resisted the temptation as I had already bought a UK Butts calendar, a book on spiders and some bling. I also resisted the temptation to get some caterpillars and will suffice myself with my garden BH.

And poor me, I sat in the cafe area with my drink but no one said hello to me. Mind you, if I had spent less time texting and more time paying attention to the people around me it might have been a different story! A belated hello to Felix and partner from me.

It was a good and successful day, nice to see so many UK Butterflies members. In between customers, we familiarised ourselves with a few notorious rogue butterfly traders. Their faces are now burnt into my brain.

Regards Gruditch

susie wrote:And poor me, I sat in the cafe area with my drink but no one said hello to me. Mind you, if I had spent less time texting and more time paying attention to the people around me it might have been a different story!

Yes, two lonely souls sitting together at the same table for half an hour not knowing who each other was and thus not saying a word to each other! My fault for not introducing myself; the trouble is that if it had turned out not to have been you (but who else would have looked so glamorous at a bug fair?!) I would have looked like the lame old shmooz trying to chat up fit-looking-woman-on-her-own.
Again!

Gruditch wrote:In between customers, we familiarised ourselves with a few notorious rogue butterfly traders. Their faces are now burnt into my brain.

Indeed. We're watching you...!

It was great to see you all again (and to meet Vince, Neil, and Hannah), it really is a good day out so more UKB folk next year please; if for no other reason than to support Gary & Lisa who do such a great job on the stall, working hard all day long while Pete buys expensive books and then blames me for it..!!

Felix.

Felix wrote:

susie wrote:And poor me, I sat in the cafe area with my drink but no one said hello to me. Mind you, if I had spent less time texting and more time paying attention to the people around me it might have been a different story!

Yes, two lonely souls sitting together at the same table for half an hour not knowing who each other was and thus not saying a word to each other! My fault for not introducing myself; the trouble is that if it had turned out not to have been you (but who else would have looked so glamorous at a bug fair?!) I would have looked like the lame old shmooz trying to chat up fit-looking-woman-on-her-own.
Again!

Gruditch wrote:In between customers, we familiarised ourselves with a few notorious rogue butterfly traders. Their faces are now burnt into my brain.

Indeed. We're watching you...!

It was great to see you all again (and to meet Vince, Neil, and Hannah), it really is a good day out so more UKB folk next year please; if for no other reason than to support Gary & Lisa who do such a great job on the stall, working hard all day long while Pete buys expensive books and then blames me for it..!!

Felix.

Were the people selling pupae dodgy then? Glad I didn't buy any after all. I bumped into an acquaintance of mine today and he was after buying some Green Hairstreaks but they didn't have any. They want to reintroduce them at the country park where he works. Does anyone know a reputable source I can recommend on to him?


You flatter me, Felix, and you are far too kind to an old woman. I must admit I probably would have thought it a tad odd if the handsome young man opposite had started talking to me, especially after his pretty girlfriend had gone off, so it was probably just as well you didn't. And you make a habit of that sort of thing, do you? Shame on you. And I was only there for 15 minutes before the lure of the UK Butterflies stall got too much for me ...

It is funny how I frequently form ideas of what people look like before I meet them, and I am seldom right. Everyone seems to be so much younger than I expect. I imagine it is a sign of getting old!

Felix wrote:... if for no other reason than to support Gary & Lisa who do such a great job on the stall, working hard all day long ...

Couldn't agree more. The UKB stand is all down to them. When I feel superfluous, I know things are in good shape

Felix wrote:... while Pete buys expensive books and then blames me for it..!!

Too bl**dy right! There's no way on this planet that I would ever have bought Tremewan's "Ecology, Phenotypes and the Mendelian Genetics of Burnet Moths" if you hadn't pointed it out! Seriously - getting stuck into the basis of variation (and genetics) has added another dimension to my obsession in our Lepidoptera. No longer do I view a valesina Silver-washed Fritillary simply as a rare form of the female, but the sex-limited expression of a dominant gene that is only found in a small percentage of the population that's at a disadvantage in its environment when compared with the normal female form And that's all your fault and you should go hang your head in shame

But absolutely brill to meet old and new UKBers, especially partners - Lizzie with Piers (Felix) and Hannah with Neil (Kipper) - really rather wonderful. I must say, it felt like a family get-together! Especially pleased to see Susie again and meet Vince, properly, for the first time (we bumped into each other at Botany Bay while photographing Wood White, but didn't know of each other at the time - doh!).

I also met with an "ancient entomologist" that I last met when I must have been about 12 years old and he was quite influential - I used to travel to the AES exhibition with him (and many others) from our Gloucestershire base. His enthusiasm is still there - awesome! In those days, collecting was the norm. In 2010, conservation is the norm. I hope those youngsters that took an interest in buying dead insects with a pin through their body take note. It was good to see that the proportion of "deadstock" that has no scientific value whatsover is diminishing.

Great to chat with old friends too - Tim Norriss, Dave Green, Sue Clarke, Richard Lewington, David Dunbar, Max Whitby and Fiona Barclay from Birdguides, etc. etc. The exhibition is definitely a highlight of the year! All in all, a most enjoyable day!

Cheers,

- Pete

Susie wrote:Everyone seems to be so much younger than I expect

Who, Pete..???

Pete Eeles wrote:Too bl**dy right! There's no way on this planet that I would ever have bought Tremewan's "Ecology, Phenotypes and the Mendelian Genetics of Burnet Moths" if you hadn't pointed it out!

It's a cracking read Pete, it will become part of the 'bathroom reading matter' before you know where you are.

Felix.

Felix wrote:

Susie wrote:Everyone seems to be so much younger than I expect

Who, Pete..???

Of course

Felix wrote:

Pete Eeles wrote:Too bl**dy right! There's no way on this planet that I would ever have bought Tremewan's "Ecology, Phenotypes and the Mendelian Genetics of Burnet Moths" if you hadn't pointed it out!

It's a cracking read Pete, it will become part of the 'bathroom reading matter' before you know where you are.

Absolutely - working out where the perforations belong as we speak

Cheers,

- Pete

It was my first experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially meeting Pete and Gruditch and upstairs on the Surrey Butterfly Conservation stand where I spoke to the chap who actually uses my sightings report! I was a bit disconcerted by the amount of dead and half-dead stock until I realised that the mounted butterflies might be the only way that I actually see some of the British species so I spent half an hour regarding them as one might museum species, until some undertaker asked me to move out of the way of his cadavers. Bought some more wild flower seeds and a few plants and headed home in the rain.

Great day out and good to catch up with you all - some for the first time. UKB stall excellent as always. Unfortunately the mugshots/UKB stall photo didn't come out very well (wrong setting )..... you were right Pete, I can't take photos of people! I would write more about the event, but I've got committee meeting and AGM agendas to put together before 6pm (help!) .
Neil

Felix wrote:

Susie wrote:Everyone seems to be so much younger than I expect

Who, Pete..???

Actually, yes!! Pete turned out to be younger than I expected the first time I met him too.

Pete Eeles wrote: Seriously - getting stuck into the basis of variation (and genetics) has added another dimension to my obsession in our Lepidoptera. No longer do I view a valesina Silver-washed Fritillary simply as a rare form of the female, but the sex-limited expression of a dominant gene that is only found in a small percentage of the population that's at a disadvantage in its environment when compared with the normal female form And that's all your fault and you should go hang your head in shame

BTW, thank you for your explanation of how a bilateral gyandromorph is formed. Fascinating stuff.