www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Week 15.

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.

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

Silver Spotted Skipper

On the 10th of August I finally managed to head over to Stockbridge Down. I was worried that I’d left it too late to see these cracking little butterflies but luckily my trip yielded good numbers of both slightly worn and fresh individuals. This is my favourite because I find it has lots of interesting features. It shows some habitat and nectar source – useful for future reference. I could add that I like the way the light catches the sex brands giving them an almost metallic appearance like bands of silver. Also that I like the way the proboscis is held so it looks like a fishing reel. But really it’s my favourite for too many reasons the main one being that I just like it. It’s one of those shots that I look at and it just seems to “fit”, it feels right and I could spend hours trying to reason why when to my mind it just is. Have a goodun

Wurzel

For some reason, I find I only have one picture of this species for 2013. It is a common butterfly in the Alps but always a joy and I don't know why I seem to have ignored it last year!

I took this photo in an alpine meadow on 20th July, on the way down from photographing Warren's skipper near Zermatt, in the high Alps.



Guy

Reputed to be the ugliest of our caterpillars, I just had to see for myself. Well, they may be ugly, but absolutely fascinating, weaving together a tube of grass blades in which they spend all their time (and eventually pupate).
Cheers,

- Pete

I am always blessed with a choice when seeking out this little gem - Aston Rowant, Box Hill and Denbies all call out and in the end I inevitably visit all three. The first provides the most and the easiest sightings. On a day with sunny intervals, they bask on the sheep paths across the steep hillside and as you creep slowly along, spotting the orangey-olive dots against the chalky soil suddenly becomes easy. If it's not too breezy (and it almost always is!), they will perform the classic pose on a scabious flower. They are not difficult to find at Box Hill either, but at Denbies, they seem much more widespread across the expanse of the hillside and I have very few photos of them from there over the years. Here are two from Aston Rowant. The first is a female, taken immediately after laying with the egg still in shot (23rd August). The second is the aforementioned classic pose atop a scabious (26th July). The last is from Box Hill on a very hot day indeed (1st August). Dave

That first shot is excellent, Dave!

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks, Pete! One of those lucky ones - I didn't see the egg till later on.

I've just noticed that by chance, across our two posts above, you can see all four stages of the SSS life cycle in just three photos.

Not often that happens...

Dave

Nice to see the larvae and Pupae Pete, must try to find some this year along with most of the other butterfly early stages

Here is an adult from Old Winchester Hill

Cheers

Andy

The first of these 2 pictures was from my local patch of Frog Firle with the other picture from the outskirts of Friston Forest.
http://bobsbutterflies.blogspot.com

This one really looks to be enjoying itself on the Scabious at Aston Rowant NNR, Oxon:
Mike

A bit like badgerbob's first photo.

Photo taken August 12 at one of my favourite sites near the D204 between Valbonne and Roquefort-les-Pins.
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Colin

My one and only time with Silver-spotted Skippers in 2013 was a drive down the M40 to Aston Rowant on 2nd August specifically to see these. I arrived at the north side of the reserve at mid-morning under an overcast sky with a light drizzle that soon cleared to turn into a warm sunny day albeit one with a steady breeze across the hillsides. There were loads of SSKs across the hillsides and the warmer it got, the more seemed to appear until there must have been hundreds of them sharing the slopes with hundreds of Chalkhill Blues
For the sheer cuteness factor, the shot below of a pair looking like they are cuddling up together is amongst my favourites
Cheers,

Neil.

Lovely photo's every body, I'm afraid I was in too much of an hurry with my photo's, I was so excited at having found them
My pictures were taken on the 20th August at Temple Ewell Kent Goldie

8th August 2013 was a memorable day as my visit to Aston Rowant probably resulted in the greatest number of butterflies I've ever seen at a single site in the UK.

Chalkhill Blues were about in the low thousands and Silver Spotted Skippers into three figures!

I like this image because it shows the extraordinary length of proboscis in this engaging species:

I do not normally post on this type of thread as my pictures are not really up to it, my camera is pretty rubbish At the moment I am happy if I get the subject in focus without cutting the antennae off However, I was very pleased to get this cheeky 'up close and personal' shot on a fantastic day at Oxenbourne Down on 4th August this year Thankfully the blade of grass in the foreground is barely noticeable