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Gatekeeper - Favourite Photo of 2016

Week 5

Week five time to showcase your favourite shots of 2016! Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos - just to make it easier to organise and keep everything on track so that we can enjoy this throughout the winter months? 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

This was a virtual rarity in most of my local haunts this year! However on my northern escapade to Arnside I found them by the bucket load. I had a great few days searching for and ticking off a couple of lifers so here's three pics that bring back memories from a few months back, all abs

A female with an enlarged forewing ocelli, She did open her wings occasionally and looked spectacular but never allowed an upperside shot! This male had much reduced orange colouration and in the field looked like a small female Meadow Brown And finally one of many Ab Excessa's, so numerous in fact that one would hesitate to refer to them as aberrations in this part of the world!

We saw our Gate Keepers this year at Hall-Lee-Brook on the 26th July and the 4th/5th of August the weather was wet at times and cloudy and the Gate Keepers seemed to age quickly and didn't seem to last very long. Goldie

Shady underside from a visit to Bedford Purlieus (mainly to see Silver-washed Frits) in late July.
Couple 'doin' it' at dusk in an agricultural field boundary near Screveton in Notts. Butterfly Kama Sutra position no. 24: the Hanging Dangle

Poor July weather coincided with the Gatekeeper season and they had a poor showing near me. My favourite shot (a bright new female) was actually taken up at Allerthorpe near Pocklington in Yorkshire on 23rd. A close second was this fresh male from my local patch on 10th, which had reduced forewing spots. Dave

A male and a female,Gatekeeper , from Bourne wood ,Hamstreet Kent,although down in numbers this year,i did manage to see more variation
than usual,and found ABS; Excessa, Post Excessa,and others with spots (hind and fore wings) much reduced or missing.


Regards Allan.W

Another species that did not seem to have a very good season around my patch although numbers did increase later in their flight period. There were plenty flying at Arnside Knot when I visited in early August where many of them, especially males, where noticeably smaller than those I see locally.

A male from Ryton Wood,
A large female who's size doesn't really come across in the photo from my local spot at Shadowbrook Meadows,
and a slightly worn but nicely marked male ab. excessa from my garden,
Cheers,

Neil

Grim season for this species in south Wales too. They were practically over before they began. This female at Whiteford Burrows, Gower on 30th July is one of only a handful of images I got:

Hedge Brown

This was taken during one of my bi-annual trips to visit my Outlaws in Wales. Hedgies were a bit thin on the ground back home but not so here (Ffos-y-ffin) when a five minute wander up the Lane or down to the Post Box threw up all manner of Hedgies with spots ranging from 2 to 7 on the underside, all kinds of wear and tear and ‘excessa’ more often than not. This was my favourite of all of them because she was so fresh and beautiful and wonderfully marked.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

My photo is from Aston Rowant NNR. I found that a great many butterflies were carrying red mite parasites this year.
Mike