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White-letter Hairstreak - Favourite Photo of 2015

Week 19

The penultimate week! I always approach this part of the series with mixed emotions - sad that the looking back and reminiscing is soon to be over but excited as the new season is in the offing The final set next week will feature the remaining species, 'Vagrant' (for all those lucky LTB sightings ) and finally your overall Favourite Photo from the season that was 2015.

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

Here are a couple of my shots

A lava on the Wych Elm at the entrance to Chapel Bank Nature Reserve, part of the Hutchinsons Bank complex of reserves. 25th May 2015
and an adult at High Elms Country Park in Bromley/Farnborough Kent 6th August so they were at the end of their flight period.

Sad to say I 'ducked out' on this species both at home and abroad in 2015. I must resolve to track it down during 2016.

White-letter hairstreaks have been thin on the ground on my local patch in recent years. I photographed this female on my daily dog-walk in July last year. I hope she will have contributed to a more vibrant population in 2016.



Guy

For several years I have tried to capture a close-up shot of a White Letter so I was really thrilled when I finally managed it last year - about a metre above ground. A fresh specimen which might have emerged that morning.

Peter

I have never managed to photograph the adult but did find this larva, on elm seeds blown to the ground, and reared it to adulthood (it flew whilst I was away at work).

Great images, Guy/peterc/Matsukaze, and for wholly different reasons.

This is probably the UK species I have neglected most, and I rarely see it abroad either, so these photographs let me know what I'm missing!

Another of the 12 lifers I ended the year with and one I wasn't sure I would be able to find, at least close enough to photograph. I reccied a few places over the winter but I finally managed to come up trumps from a tip through this very forum. I trip out to Essex and a 7 hour walk finally rewarded me with what seemed like a whole colony all feeding low down on bramble. I never dreamed I would be spoilt for choice over which one to photograph. I went back the following week and was overjoyed to find it wasn't a fluke either, it would seem it was a regular thing, at least for last season . I'm not even going to try and narrow it down to just one picture, I filled my boots with them! and I'm guessing it's not often you get two in the same picture Sorry to gloat