www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Week 10.

Here is the opportunity to post your favourite photo(s) of a particular species taken in 2013 (or the last time you saw one!).

This is part of a series of topics which will grow over 20 weeks throughout the winter, eventually covering all 59 species which are regularly found in the British Isles. 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 members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants.

This week the Long-tailed Blue appears as a special guest species because of the extraordinary influx of migrants to the southern and south-easterly shores of England this year. Many eggs were laid and the progeny of these pioneers started to appear in September. This prompted many people to make long journeys to Kent and Sussex in the hope of seeing examples of this very rare migrant species.

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

An upper-side in September and an under-side in October in the Alpes-Maritimes on the only two days that I saw Long-tailed Blues this year:
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Colin

Very nice photos Colin, great quality. My contribution will be coming up soon.
Chris

Plenty of happy memories here, and little chance of picking a single favourite. The influx of migrant Long-tailed Blues and their British born progeny provided the icing on the cake to a generally great year for butterflies. I chased them hard through the Sussex and Kent countryside, and enjoyed every moment of it. Here is a selection of female (first four images) and male (last two images) butterflies, from Beeding Cement Works (West Sussex), Kingsdown Leas (Kent) and Seaford (East Sussex).

Someone has to follow that!, so it may as well be me . The first photo of Neil's is my favourite image of the year and finally prompted me to get down to Beeding Cement Works on 6th October to try my luck. I arrived at 10.45 and kept watch against the fence near the parking area. I would have been satisfied with just a fly-by, but at 11.35 a male Long-tailed Blue appeared from inside the site and landed beside me on a large clump of flowing Ivy, staying until 11.45 when it flew eastwards back over the fence.
With the mission accomplished, it was then onto Lancing seafront for ice creams and Clouded Yellows

Vince

25th Sept. Phil and I set off for what we thought was going to be our first visit to Kingsdown Leas, sadly it was also the last as the weather didn't live up to it's promise. In the company of Iain Leach, Essex Buzzard and a fair few others we spotted at least 5 from early morn till dusk. Shall we see the like again? I should like to know what bit me too I still have the scars

Some superb images here of UK-based Long Tailed Blues.

I've only seen this species once and that was in the Pyrenees last year, when I saw a small number in scrubland on an unfinished highway near Ax-les-Thermes:

Male:
Female:

Some great photos above. I have one uncropped photo which shows the Mediterranean scrub as a backdrop in Vitrolles, and one other from Marseilles.
Chris

Whilst I'm not averse to joining the crowds on rare special occasions, I much prefer to wander alone (or with a friend) to seek out butterflies. With the first reports of Long-tailed Blue during July/August, I started to keep a close eye on a patch of everlasting pea that I was aware of near Birling Gap in East Sussex. October was well into its first week and I was finally rewarded by a freshly emerged male flying past and settling in the grass. Although not the first Sussex Long-tailed Blue that I had seen, it was the most satisfying one.

This photo is particularly treasured by me as we had spent the whole of the previous day wandering round Kingsdown Leas with no success. My sister spotted this one on the way back from the tearoom on 29th September.

Hello Katrina,

That's a lovely photo. I particularly like the size and brightness of the bigger orange spot compared to the other photos above. Fantastic!!!
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Colin

I too went to the Upper Beeding cement works on the morning of October 6th and stayed long enough to see one Long tailed blue - which must have been the same one as Vince posted pictures of above. An amazing end to an amazing season!
Cheers
John

CFB wrote:Hello Katrina,

That's a lovely photo. I particularly like the size and brightness of the bigger orange spot compared to the other photos above. Fantastic!!!
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Colin

Thanks for your positive comments. I think I was very lucky to get the shot on a dubious weather day.

A bit of a novelty one for you This is my grandaughter Imogen Rose as a Long-tailed Blue fairy

To say that I was thrilled with my LTB encounters would be an understatement. Some golden memories were forged that will last till the end of my days.
It didn't come easy I made countless failed trips before I finally struck gold, it was all more than worth it though.

Forgive me it was just too difficult to just choose 1 favourite photo.
B'saurus