www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

New year is almost upon us and I'm sure, like me, the rest of you have goals that you are determined to achieve vis-à-vis our winged friends over the next 12 months.

It'd be interesting to know what everyone's aims are, so I'll put down my top three and will welcome anybody else's:

1. See Northern Brown Argus artaxerxes form

2. Visit Fermyn Wood and hopefully encounter a fair number of Purple Emperors (including, maybe, a female because I'm still yet to see one)

3. Finally nail down a 'rare migrant', be it Continental Swallowtail, Long-Tailed Blue, QoS or (preferably) Monarch!

David M. said:

See Northern Brown Argus artaxerxes form

.

No need to go to Scotland - try Bishop Middleham Quarry near Durham. A wonderful small site with both forms of NBA. Also Wall and rare orchids.

Resolutions and hopes:

1. Get a good photograph of Spanish Fritillary.
2. See Scarce and Freyer's Frits in Bulgaria.
3. Live long enough to go to the Winter Get-together...

Tony M.

Well mine will be to continue with my mission!

Heath Fritillaries

Dingy & Grizzled Skippers

Meet some fellow UKButterflyers.

bugboy wrote:Well mine will be to continue with my mission!

Heath Fritillaries

Dingy & Grizzled Skippers

Meet some fellow UKButterflyers.

At least you won't have to travel too far to find the Heath Fritillary (Hockley Woods, e.g.) and the skippers. Good luck

Peter

Try and see all 59 in 2015 - no wimping out on getting the ferry for Real's Wood White!
And catch up with something rare...after last years pathetic efforts

Resolutions and hopes:

1. Get a good photograph of Spanish Fritillary.
2. See Scarce and Freyer's Frits in Bulgaria.
3. Live long enough to go to the Winter Get-together...

Tony M.[/quote]

Can you survive until early spring?

Not if Jack keeps making remarks like: 'The writing's on the Wall'. AAAAARRRrrrrggghhh!!

T.

My top three resolutions are;

1. Duke Of Burgundy -My nearest site is the Dunstable Downs (still 90 miles away!). Any other good sites welcomed please
2. Purple Emperors at Fermyn Wood
3. Marsh Fritillary

On the subs bench are Wall Browns on the Suffolk coast (after drawing a blank there in 2014) and Swallowtails in Norfolk.

Have great 2015 everyone

Regards Kev

Good thread thanks for starting.
Mine are
1. See Chequered Skipper and Mountain Ringlet to take me to 58
2. Find a Purple Emperor larvae - not for want of trying
3. Track down one of the IoW Large Tortoiseshells
4. See ab. Iole Iris - fat chance but I will be at Fermyn just in case
Kind Regards
Mark

I hope 2015 is the year I get to see large blue but apart from that, nothing.

My top aims for 2015:

To learn more

To spend more time out in the field (my wife will like that )

To make an interesting discovery

Oh and to find White Letter Hairstreak as I have yet to see one

Good luck to everyone in fulfilling their 2015

Susie wrote:I hope 2015 is the year I get to see large blue but apart from that, nothing.

Daneway Banks, Susie.

Beautiful site.

Hmmm... My letter to Santa:

1. I'd like to see a Swallowtail again - 2004 was the last time

2. A bit of effort and I would also like to see one (or even two) of the five missing from my list. Large Heath and NBA are realistically the most likely

3. An open-wing Purple Hairstreak would be nice...

Dave

Dear Santa,

I've been a very good boy this year, and although I realise that greed is a sin, next year I'd like to see:

1) A Scarce Tortoiseshell

2) A Pale Clouded Yellow

3) A spring brood Map butterfly (even though a naughty boy threw them out of his pram)

Many thanks to you and Rudolph.

Neil

see some more lovely butterflies in the South of France

Neil Hulme wrote:...next year I'd like to see:

1) A Scarce Tortoiseshell

2) A Pale Clouded Yellow

3) A spring brood Map butterfly

In the UK?

Even for the 'Mighty Kipper', that's surely mission impossible?

Hi David,
It's a wish list rather than an expectation, but it's always sensible to start high and negotiate downwards. Just one of those would be great - two, and I've won the Lottery.
BWs, Neil

Surely Continental Swallowtail should be on Neil's list? Is it possible that offspring from those that overwintered 2013-14 might have adopted the [usual] British tradition and been single brooded? So could some emerge next May a year after their parents?

My own much more pragmatic target in Orange Tip in Ireland.

Jack

Hi Jack,

As the gorganus specimens which Channel-hopped in 2013 are double brooded, I can't see why they'd suddenly become so conservative, following a relatively small shift northwards. britannicus is now usually double brooded. Although I've often speculated that far more species than we realise might hold over a small percentage of their pupae until the following year, if this was applied to the very low number of gorganus which will have flown here since late summer 2013, the chance of such an event must be close to zero.

Sadly, I suspect too few emerged in the late summer of 2014 for sufficient to find mates. Perhaps the odd pairing occurred here and there, but I think we'll be lucky to see any this coming spring. I'll be delighted if we do, but I think another few attempts might be necessary yet, before a real foothold is gained. However, fingers will be crossed.

BWs, Neil

Neil Hulme wrote:Hi David,
It's a wish list rather than an expectation, but it's always sensible to start high and negotiate downwards. Just one of those would be great - two, and I've won the Lottery.
BWs, Neil

I'd rate no.1 as a distinct possibility and no.3 as a slight possibility but you really WILL have hit the jackpot if you nail no.2.

That said, given the unpredictable immigrations lately, who's to say that you won't stumble upon something no-one would even dream of?

I mean, who'd have risked their neck by including Yellow Legged/Scarce Tortoiseshell in a 2014 wish list? Nobody could have foreseen that and I'm confident we'll be in for another surprise or two in 2015.