December 2015

[David M]

Good luck with this one, folks!

I'm sure someone will spot something though given the mild outlook.

[Nickkor]

One Peacock sunning itself on south facing wall of my house yesterday,

Regards, Nick

[selbypaul]

It's been unusually warm here in Sheffield these last few days so I wouldn't have been surprised to see a butterfly in the garden. Sadly been at work though, so no chance to observe

[David M]

One Peacock sunning itself on south facing wall of my house yesterday

Ten out of ten!!

I knew someone would do it!

[Philzoid]

Red Admiral, Painshill Park, Surrey, today .

Phil

[Pete Eeles]

Not a butterfly, but the buds on my sallows are starting to burst into life. I don't think the incredibly mild weather (down south, at least) is going to help with overwintering at all.

Cheers,

- Pete

[David M]

I don't think the incredibly mild weather (down south, at least) is going to help with overwintering at all.

It's getting ridiculous, isn't it? 13-15 degrees in early December with no sign of any cold weather to come.

At this rate the daffs will be out by mid-January!

[Jack Harrison]

On your telly right now:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/35010708

Jack

[Brian Arnold]

I saw it on the TV news early this morning and the news person said it was a Tortoiseshell - Whoops! - Hope it managed to score a 147 break!

[Jack Harrison]

...the news person said it was a Tortoiseshell - Whoops!

And there I was thinking it was a Cabbage White

Jack

[peterc]

Oh dear - the BBC needs to brush up on our natural history

On Thursday just before noon on the BBC News Channel when news of the National Lottery Grant was announced clips of endangered species were shown including a Painted Lady then the newsreader said that's 'a Duke of Burgundy by the way' . Probably not the poor lady's fault

ATB

Peter

[Jack Harrison]

Painted Lady.....the newsreader said that's 'a Duke of Burgundy by the way' .
Probably not the poor lady's fault

Quite.

But many of us I suspect - including me - if shown a photo of a pop singer called Abelle might easily be confused and say 'that's Bookham's wife isn't it?'

Each to his/her own interests.

Jack

[Pete Eeles]

On your telly right now:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/35010708

Jack

Snooker has never been more interesting

Cheers,

- Pete

[P.J.Underwood]

We are approaching Christmas now and my family have been asking about presents.So ,with this in mind I have to ask if there is any possibility of Butterflies of Europe becoming available for we Android users.I love my phone and pad,but all I can get is a vision of this App.Even if I pay the money,I can't download it.
I could not possibly manage with two types of pads,and my PC is all geared to Android.
Can someone up there help?
P.J.Underwood

[Pete Eeles]

Hi P.J.,

I'm afraid it's not going to happen ... when the app was created, it was supported by funding from a Welsh agency who were looking to encourage business ventures in south Wales (where Chris Manley now lives). Unfortunately, the funding only covered the creation of an app for a single platform and we chose iOS (Apple). I was hoping to be able to pick up the code myself and port it, but I just don't have the time. Chris did look into funding an Android version, but the quote(s) were, I believe, prohibitively expensive.

If anyone out there has the skills to do this (we have the images, database and iOS code in Objective C) then please let me know and perhaps we could work something out.

In the meantime, Tristan Lafranchis' "Butterflies of Europe" is available to purchase as a PDF, which can be viewed on any tablet device. See http://diatheo.weebly.com/butterflies-of-europe.html

Cheers,

- Pete

[richardjackie]

Tuesday 8/12, energetic Red Admiral in the large greenhouse, I work in a Garden Centre.

Wednesday 9/12, torpid tatty Peacock awoken by the mechanic servicing our van, it had been in the engine bay tucked down by the air filter. I put in on some Ivy in the sun and poured a little sugar water there. It twitched away and within half an hour it had disappeared.

This exercise has bought back the moth of a memory, a Haiku* I did years ago.

Still night lays on grass at noon.
Bowed buddleia, faded butterfly. Last this year?
The question is buried by winter.

Looking at it now it seems to have too many syllables, I must have mis remebered it.
Anyway, these days we have the wonder full WWW. ukbutterflies which can keep the winter away.

*Not my favorite form I am really a Keats, Hardy, Larkin kind of guy, mainly.

[Jack Harrison]

Tortoiseshell in fridge

It's still happy in its container at a temperature of around 4 degrees C. It occasionally moves around (tossing and turning!) and even sometimes opens its wings and stays like that for several hours.

Target date for release end of April (later here in north Scotland than it would be in the south).

Jack

[Testudo Man]

I cant believe that there has not been many December sightings reported on this forum?! especially since the weather has been so mild!!

Today, i visited a Nature Reserve in Kent, which over looks the Swale Sea Channel, its known as Oare Marshes, its an important wetland Reserve for Birds.
The sun did shine through the clouds several times today, which made it feel all the warmer(despite the brisk wind!). At approx lunchtime, a butterfly flew up in front of me, but was carried away across the reserve by the strong winds, before i could be sure what species it was.
If i didnt know any better, i would have said this butterfly was a "tatty" Painted Lady???!!!
Have there ever been any December sightings of Painted Ladies in the UK?

A short time later, i entered a "bird hide", where i asked if anyone had seen a butterfly whizz by! Both the bird watchers had seen a butterfly fly past their view, one of them thought it could have been a Small Tortoiseshell?

I doubt my sighting was that of a Small Tortoiseshell...perhaps there were more than 1 butterfly species on the wing today??

Cheers Paul.

[David M]

I cant believe that there has not been many December sightings reported on this forum?! especially since the weather has been so mild!!

The problem in south Wales has been that we haven't seen the sun since a week last Thursday.....not even for a minute!

Apparently, it's due to reveal itself briefly tomorrow morning, but in spite of 13/14c temperatures, 25mph winds and regular heavy showers will keep butterflies hunkered down.

[Jack Harrison]

The Tortoiseshell in my fridge continues to be happy.



Normally it keeps its wings closed but every so often it has a "stretch". It seems perfectly healthy at temperature 4C.

Jack