www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Here is the opportunity to post your favourite photo(s) of a particular species taken in 2012 (or the last time you saw one!).

This is part of a series of topics which will grow over 20 weeks throughout the winter until all 59 UK species have been covered. The intention is to showcase three species per week (in alphabetical order), so please wait until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos. Our overseas friends are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants.

Details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome and please feel free to contribute observations of behaviour, stories of personal encounters, anecdotes or other interesting points.

Vince

Hogwood, 19 June 2012

Decisions ...

A female at rest ...
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=5432&start=440#p61210

Large Skipper
This is my favourite shot of Large Skipper and was taken down in the rings of Old Sarum. I’d dropped my older daughter off at Rainbows and so had about an hour and a half to spend wandering round the site before she’d be ready to go home so I made my way down to the bottom of the rings to avoid the wind. There were huge numbers of Scarlet Tigers around and very few butterflies until the Skipper appeared out of the gloom.
It was one of many Large Skippers that I saw this year but I didn’t get many photos of this species so next year I need to remind myself take time for the commoner species too. Have a goodun
Wurzel

The Large Skipper, a great butterfly that looks as though it is wearing a pair of headphones!! My shots are both from Friston Forest in June this year.

This is my favourite Large Skipper photograph of the year, taken at the beginning of August in the Parc de la Brague using a Canon PowerShot S100 compact camera.
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Colin

One of only two Large Skippers I photographed this year - a brightly marked male:
Mike

CFB wrote:This is my favourite Large Skipper photograph of the year, taken at the beginning of August in the Parc de la Brague using a Canon PowerShot S100 compact camera.

That looks a lot like a silver-spotted skipper. Did you see the underside?

Guy

padfield wrote:That looks a lot like a silver-spotted skipper. Did you see the underside?

Oh dear, I do have problems with my skippers don't I. I have no photos of the under-side. I thought it was a Large Skipper because the spots near the apex are orange rather than nearly white as in this (I hope) Silver-spotted Skipper:
Please feel free to delete these inappropriate posts if you think they are out of place.
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Colin

CFB wrote:

padfield wrote:That looks a lot like a silver-spotted skipper. Did you see the underside?

Oh dear, I do have problems with my skippers don't I. I have no photos of the under-side. I thought it was a Large Skipper because the spots near the apex are orange rather than nearly white as in this (I hope) Silver-spotted Skipper:

IMG_0495.JPG

Please feel free to delete these inappropriate posts if you think they are out of place.
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Colin

Those wings look far too 'pointy' for Large Skipper.

I think SSSk is probably the right call.

I took this photo in East Blean Woods 4th of July, I was lucky that day I managed to get shots of Heath Fritilary, (couldn't miss them there were so many) and White Admiral, so I was surprised to see this LS with so many large trees around. They seem to like open spaces with lots of grass usually Goldie

Not a species i saw in great numbers this year. This one was photographed at Twywell in Northamptonshire whilst looking for Marbled Whites in July.

Goldie M wrote:I took this photo in East Blean Woods 4th of July, I was lucky that day I managed to get shots of Heath Fritilary, (couldn't miss them there were so many) and White Admiral, so I was surprised to see this LS with so many large trees around. They seem to like open spaces with lots of grass usually Goldie

Lovely shot that, Goldie. Looks to be a really fresh specimen.

This is a species that pops up all over the place, but there is a particular patch of brambles on my local patch where I always seek it out and watch the males for ages as they intercept everything in sight. They seem to have a particular liking for chasing off the newly emerged hutchinsoni Commas that favour the same vantage points. It's always the skippers that return to the perch... However, the male below was seen at Wrecclesham on 14th June when I was seeking out the Glanvilles. The female is from home turf, though, seen on 28th June.

Dave

My favourite for 2012 was this little chap perched on a fern at Southwater woods on 20th June 2012:

This is my favourite, only seen for a second (and such beautiful colours). Taken in Shropshire.

Debbie

I did not see that many Large Skippers this year although they did appear at most local sites eventually if a bit late.

The first ones that I saw were at Salcey Forest when I went there looking for Wood Whites in late June. I photographed a few more at other sites over the next few weeks but these first ones are my favourites from this year.
Cheers,

Neil F.

Large Skipper, Alice Holt Forest, July 2012, one of my favorite butterflies

welcome to UKB maximus.

Large Skippers are a favourite of mine too.almost velvet.

Thanks for the welcome Chris, I thought it was about time I posted some images on UKB.
Mike