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Week 9

Another week comes and goes soon be Christmas! Here continues the sequence of posts giving one and all the opportunity to showcase their favourite shots of 2014 (or the last time you saw one)!

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As like last year details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

...no takers? Well here's one then. I always find this species to be particularly skittish... lots of photos where the critter is disappearing out of frame. Quite a dull day, and this one was in deep shade - not a good recipe for my FZ200, so focus not as crisp as I'd've liked.

I'm not a devotee of peat bogs - flies, stench, hazardous footing, etc....however, I am very interested in the Large Heath, probably because so few people ever get out to record this species.

I made ONE visit in 2014 to the southernmost UK site for tullia, i.e. Cors Caron reserve near Tregaron in mid-Wales.

On this day conditions were as good as you could ideally expect. Blue skies, light winds and 23c.

Large Heaths weren't about in stratospheric numbers, but nor were they particularly difficult to find either.

In all, I saw a couple of dozen of the polydama form during the hour and a half I was there.

Here's a male I encountered within 5 minutes of entering the reserve:
I tried to hunt down the more attractive females but grass blades kept getting in the way:

My only time with Large Heaths in 2014 was during a brief visit to Meathop Moss just before heading back to the midlands after stopping at Arnside for a few days in mid June. The truth is that I hadn't really aimed to see this species whilst up there and it was only on the off chance that they would be out that I decided to have a quick look at Meathop Moss.
During no more than an hour here I saw a fair few flying, mostly out on the moss where I wasn't going to try and follow, but a couple did come close enough to get a few shots, mostly with loads of grass in the way as is often the case with this species.
The photo below is my best effort from this all too short session.
Cheers,

Neil.

That's a really nicely marked individual, Neil.

Love the photo Neil, I'll have to go to Meathop next year I've not taken a photo of this Butterfly yet Goldie

Thanks David and Goldie I think they had only been out a few days when I saw them so most were still in good condition.

Cheers,

Neil.

There's even a hint of lanceloata which makes it even more interesting!