www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Can anybody help tell me what i've seen?
Out taking pictures of Chalkhill Blues and found this smaller blue but not sure what it is. I've checked on line but remain unsure.

Hi Brian,
It's a Chalkhill Blue.... just a bit battered!
Neil

I thought it looked like that too but i'm new to this game and it was so much smaller than the other Chalkhills it had me thinking it must be something else. Thanks for the reply though

Hi Brian,
Butterflies can be surprisingly variable in size. Last week I saw a Gatekeeper no larger than a Small Heath. Small Blues can be so tiny that they will amaze you .... others are the size of a Common Blue. But most individuals will fall within the average size range cited in textbooks.
Neil

Hi. Not had much time to visit the site lately - I've been spending much of my free time out photographing butterflies! July 24th was a great day in my back garden - I saw more species in an hour or so than in the whole of 2010. Red Admirals seem to be astonishingly high in number this year! Anyhow, I need help with a few things (sorry, I'm not sure how to start a fresh thread) at least one of which dates back to late June. Thank you to everyone in advance!

Max.

Hi Max

Female Brown Argus by the looks of it. I'm almost certain. An underside shot confirming whether it has a cell spot or not would be 100%.

Looks like a very worn Meadow Brown. Only other possibility would be Gatekeeper as there is a hint of a sex brand showing but Meadow Brown most likely given its age.

The skipper looks like a female Small Skipper as there is a hint off buff to the underside of the antennae and females are slkightly larger than males.

Not sure on the moth or caterpillar.

I'd guess Scotopteryx chenopodiata for the moth. It doesn't look quite typical, but I can't think of anything else either.

The caterpillar looks a bit like a sawfly larva to me - there's a suspicion of some "extra" false legs there.

Dave

It definitely wasn't Sawfly larvae - they tend to be much smaller and greener in colour. This caterpillar was at least an inch long, maybe longer. But thank you to everyone who has responded so far!

Max.