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Silver-spotted Skipper - Favourite Photo 2016

Week 15

Only 5-6 weeks remaining now for this series of Posts - hopefully by the time these have finished we might be start seeing the first of the early hibernators.

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

Yet another species who's numbers seemed significantly down on 2015. Nevertheless they were still relatively easy to find at the usual spots and this year I found my first ever mating pair on Malling Down. When they separated the female proceeded to allow some very close studies as she extended and curled her tongue for several minutes. And a third one I'm particularly proud off

I found good numbers of Silver-spotted Skippers at Aston Rowant NNR. I chose this photo because I like the juxtaposition of the butterfly with a blade of Quaking Grass, which I knew in childhood as 'wiggle-woggle grass".
Mike

I saw the SPS's at Temple Ewell Kent between the 12th and 16th Of August, it was Dave Brown who led me to the first Skipper on the 12th Aug and together we found a pair of them deep in the grass so we'd to pull back some of the grass to get a shot
On the 16th I was lucky to get this shot and it's a big favourite because the Skipper looks like he's thinking and "what do you want", Goldie

I count myself lucky to have three sites within easy reach, including Aston Rowant on the Chilterns which has to be one of the best anywhere. (The other two are Box Hill and Denbies Hillside, separated by the Mole Valley.) They can generally be found from mid-July until mid-September, with Aston Rowant perhaps the earliest of the three. The best days to see them seem to be the warm bright ones (rather than brilliant sunshine, which sends them rocketing madly about, too fast for my eyes to follow). They settle and bask on the paths and scrapes and as long as you keep your eyes peeled for little orange-olive dots against the chalky background you will start to see them before they see you. In brighter spells they will also flit from scabious to thistle to scabious, and pose beautifully. A small selection from a visit on 30th July: Dave

Silver-spotted Skipper

This was taken at Broughton Down on my only visit for Silver Spots this year. For several years I’ve been working on collecting photos of butterflies ‘in cop’ and so this pair of Silver Spots were a welcome addition to the collection.

I also like it as the butterflies are so fresh and the margins of the wings are intact. This to my eyes shows the lime with white margins of the female with the male appearing more buff…Is this my imagination or a recognised diagnostic feature that can be used to sex this species? I’ll have to keep my eye out for it next year.
Have a goodun

Wurzel