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Week 19.

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

Speckled Wood

Over the few years that I’ve been photographing butterflies I’ve seen plenty of Speckled Woods. In fact pretty much every site I’ve visited has had at least one and at some sites they are everywhere. However I have never seen more than one occupying the same leaf hence the reason for this being my favourite shot. While mooching around the lower field at The Devenish in the last week of June I espied a couple of Specklies having a scrap so I stood watched as they spiralled upwards locked in battle. At the top of the spiral one made a break and swiftly flew up the hill while the second fluttered and glided down landing on a Bramble leaf. Having watched the titanic struggle I wanted to get a shot of the victor so I leant stealthily over. It was then that I saw what the scrap was about as a female was resting on the same leaf.
After getting a few shots including the one below. I was hoping that I could add a few ‘in cop’ shots but despite the best efforts of the male his amorous advances were declined. He gave up eventually and flew off, probably muttering something like “she wasn’t my type anyway”. Have a goodun

Wurzel

After a late start I saw loads of Specklies last year with at least one or two showing up at most places that I went to. There were good numbers at some places, most notably around North Devon in June and Dorset in early September and also around my local spots including my back garden.
I took loads of photos in my garden and rather than clutter up this thread I have dedicated a post to these along with some thoughts on them in my personal diary...

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=5424&p=80642#p80642

...and just posting a few shots here taken elsewhere during my travels.

First off, a nice bright male taken at Marsland on the North Devon/Cornwall border in June…
…a couple taken around Osmington in Dorset in early September…
…and an underside from Castle Hills near Solihull later in September,
Cheers,

Neil.

2 pics here of Speckled Wood, one of them was my last Speckled Wood of the year. No prizes for guessing which one!!!!
http://bobsbutterflies.blogspot.com

These Speckled Woods are from near Marseilles and I believe are ssp. aegeria. Cheers, Chris

A particularly hairy Speckled Wood from around mid-October at 200 metres altitude in the Alpes-Maritimes:
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Colin

I didn't think I'd seen or photographed that many this year - looking back now, I was wrong! Here are several, one from each of May, June, July and August:plus an underside from the last of these months.It does show how fresh examples are around almost constantly throughout the summer.
Dave

Although I managed to take quite a few photos of this species last year (some of which reside in my personal diary) the experience I remember most fondly, was not of an individual Spekled Wood photo that I took but more of an experience that I shall never forget. Bearing in mind that this is a "favourite photo" thread I hope no one will mind if I post up a little sequence of images instead.

The events I saw are described on page 2 of my diary but I didn't show the whole sequence of courtship photos that I took on the 5th of September 2013.

To be accurate this was a failed courtship, it was fascinating how the "uninterested" female was forced to play every trick in the book in her attempts to dissuade her very persistent and unwanted suitor. I did feel a bit sorry for the Male, he had worked so hard to win her over but it was totally obvious to any casual observer that she already had a boyfriend

The highly unusual thing about this courtship was how protracted it was, I've seen Spekie courtship before but it has always been a relatively quick affair. On this occasion they had me running all over the scarp until they finally ended up on the path shown in these photos. At the end when the male 'finally got the message' the female lay motionless for at least 10 seconds, to my mind she did this for one of two reasons, either she wanted to make sure that he didn't come back for yet another go or perhaps she was simply exhausted by the fanatical persistence of the male! Whatever the reason it was rather strange to see a butterfly lying there on it's side so motionless for such a long time before coming back to life.

When it all began I thought I might finally get that mating pair photo I've been after for my Speckled Wood folder, I didn't get it but I think I was rewarded with something far more interesting
B'saurus

Basking in a sun-spot as usual! My photo was taken on Otmoor, Oxon during August.
Mike

These are my favourite Speckled Wood photos, which also show the differences in appearance between broods and sub-species.

My faourite pic's of the Speckled Wood were both taken in my back garden September 24th, has for the third one I can't remember where I took it MM I can't recall at all I know it was the 2ist of September but not even the flower's have given me a clue, I'm just going to have to start putting more details into my discriptions Goldie M

This Speckled Wood was spotted just before the clouds engulfed the sun. The temperature difference was more than enough to ground the butterfly as it nectared on the Ramson bed on the banks of the Ale near Eyemouth in Berwickshire. Speckled Wood are doing quite well reestablishing themselves after decades of absence from the Scottish Borders. Most of the coastal woodlands have a colony or two, and some of the inland policy woodlands have scattered ones and twos. I recorded just over 50 butterflies last season within Berwickshire.


Iain.

This species is particularly attractive when fresh, as this male was on 19th June at Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea: