www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Week 13 - Welcome to 2015!

So continues 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

Wurzel:

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos?

I haven't in fact posted anything on this topic but I cannot understand what you are getting at there Wurzel. Is this some insidious control/censorship? Hope not.

Jack

Here is one on my toe whilst wearing my Purple Emperor flip flops - my own version of Niels mole skins - had one land on them every year for the last five years
Mark

I didn't get any photos at all this year of this species so am doubly jealous of your very personal encounter Tuts

Jack - the "waiting for me to post this thread first" was first mentioned in 2011 on the Lulworth Skipper post and has since then featured pretty much every single year, on every single 'Favourite' post since. I actually got it by cutting and posting it from what Vince put when he was running it. As he asked me to run it this year I merely followed suit.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I took far, far more photos of purple emperors than of any other species in 2014 - though almost all of early stages. Choosing a favourite is therefore very difficult and I am going to indulge myself by selecting three. I think number one has to be of the moment I caught a caterpillar, in the wild, at the precise moment it poked its head out of the egg. It's a rubbish photo but a cosmic moment:



That was Sarasvatī. Favourite no. 2 is Brahmā, about half an hour after changing from 1st instar to 2nd instar. His 1st instar head is on his left and his discarded skin (moist and gelatinous with rain) is at his tail. His horns are still soft and pale. They were curved when he first emerged and hardened to a dark colour later.



For favourite no. 3 I have to choose this shot of Minnie, obediently sitting absolutely still while I photographed the emperor:



It was a pristine individual:



Whoops! That was four.

Guy

One from this year,and one from last year.

Sadly, I can't compete with the preceding images; in fact, I only saw ONE grounded Emperor in 2014 at Bentley Woods, near Salisbury on 2nd July:

Jack Harrison wrote:Wurzel:

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos?

I haven't in fact posted anything on this topic but I cannot understand what you are getting at there Wurzel. Is this some insidious control/censorship? Hope not.Jack

Hi Jack,

In answer to your question, the Favourite Photos topics run for 20 weeks over the winter, covering approximately 60 species. Apart from sharing fond memories from the previous season, they are also a means of getting everyone through the winter. This has to be done in an orderly manner, so that we can evenly fill the period between between the middle of October and end of February. As such, three topics are opened a week for three different species (in alphabetical order). In past years (mainly 2011 and 2012) some people started opening topics and posting photos out of sequence which not only caused confusion, but also risked completing the project in less that 20 weeks, thereby leaving nothing to look forward to in January and February. In the circumstances it was decided to remind people of this protocol and this is why it remains in the introduction to each species topic. Established members are aware of this advice and there have been no problems this year, but it is felt that this statement is still necessary in order to inform new members.

Thanks go to Wurzel for running the project this year

Vince

On 29th June, I headed down to Botany Bay, probably my nearest reliable spot to see HIM on the ground. I saw two individuals, one discovered by someone else, and a second which was good enough to grant me solitary audience for a short while. Unfortunately, this second individual chose to alight on perhaps the most unpleasant source of vital minerals available, daring to ignore some of Neil's best aromatic enticements to do so. Dave

Hi Dave
- nice shots, 1&2 seem to be the same individual and the specimen seems to be slightly aberrant with an unusual amount of russet colour on the inner margin of the hind wing?
Kind Regards
Mark

I think this is "interesting"........
I don't think I will ever get another shot like this one. Photographically it is not very good but I will call it "art". I don't think I have shown this picture before.

By posting no pictures, "Jack stole my thunder" so I thought I better post something.

Best Wishes.