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Adonis Blue - Favourite Photo of 2018

Starting this week the first opportunity to showcase your favourite shots of 2018! Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years 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.
Here we got then!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

As ever, spoilt for choice... I managed to see this species at six different locations over both broods and it seemed to do very well in all these spots.

To start off, here is a male from my visit to Aston Rowant on 3rd June:Secondly, but even better in my book, were the beautiful dark "starry night" females both from Denbies seen on 28th August and 4th September:As a postscript, there is the ab. krodeli also from 28th August, the freshest example of this striking ab. I've seen to date: Dave

My expectations weren't high when I paid a late-season visit to Aston Rowant on 25th August. The sky was clouding over and it was rather cool, with a few spots of rain, so I was not surprised that there weren’t many butterflies to be seen.

I first searched the earthwork around the lower slopes of Beacon Hill, with no success, but then saw a few flashes of the unmistakeable brilliant blue, as I climbed the slope towards the upper path.

Most examples were well-worn. with the chequered fringes almost completely removed, but I eventually found this rather better individual, sitting with wings tightly closed in the 'butterfly on stick' position. It's not a great shot but I was pleased to have found my target species in the unpromising conditions.
Mike

Didn't see this species in the UK this year, but it was present in the French Pyrenees, French Alps and Spanish Montes Universales, although in smaller numbers than I've seen previously.

This one caught my eye in the Alps because of the row of hindwing spots:

A visit to Yoesden Bank in Buckinghamshire on May 31st yielded high numbers of Adonis Blues including several copulating pairs. As I took hundreds of photos it's very hard to choose just one, so here's a small selection from a very enjoyable morning. Included is a very sorry looking individual who seemed to have not fully developed on emergence and was unable to inflate his wings, though happily I did see him feeding on scabious.

As it had been such a successful first brood, I visited the site again on August 11th in search of the second brood. I wasn't to be disappointed and again found large numbers including these two basking males.

Impossible for me to choose between my two favourite Adonis photos this year, so I'm going to justify posting both as my favourite male and favourite female!

First, the male. Tuesday morning (Aug 14th), and my partner and I were travelling back north from Devon where the day before I'd given a eulogy at the funeral of my dearly beloved Grandad. It had been such an emotional weekend and I was totally drained. The weather when we left Devon was grey and gloomy - a bit of a pathetic fallacy for our mood. But just as we neared the M5 exit for Stroud, the clouds parted... I suggested a detour, L agreed to it, and we parked up on the edge of Minchinhampton Common, at Pinfarthings Banks. Walked 10 m from the car and into a literal cloud of Adonis Blues dancing around above the short grass. After a difficult few days it put a smile back on my face. I took plenty of pictures, including a notable sequence of a male wing-rolling whilst in cop, but my favourite was this...
And the female. Not such a dramatic story, but perhaps a better photo! I found her on Denbies Hillside on the morning of Weds 22nd, minutes after recording my first Chalkhill Blue of the year (and thereby reaching 50 species in a calendar year for the first time). I love how the browns of the underside and the browns of the dry grass complement each other.

I found these on several sites during my travels, the warm wet spring in particular seemed to suit their larvae to provide a superb show on many of their best sites during May. As is often the case with such a photogenic species I can't pick a single fav image. However the best looking female was this beauty at Mill Hill in May: Also in May, this time at Denbies, I found this attractive male ab. striata and then at the end of July over at Malling down I managed to capture this particularly sparkly male

That female really IS quite extraordinary, BB.

On 30 August the females were easy to find on the bank at Amberley (Glos), but the males had gone.

2018 seemed to be a really good year for Adonis Blues!

Here's one from the Spring brood. Shame about the grass stem shadow but I like the Van Gogh effect of the out-of-focus yellow flowers!
Mill Hill, 20th May 2018

And one from the Summer brood:
Mill Hill, 12th August 2018

Cheers
John W

A modest but attractive aberration, seen in the Rhône Valley in May:



Guy

I don't usually get to see the first brood of Adonis Blues but the second brood are one of my main targets during our regular trips/holidays in Dorset at the end of August and early September which usually coincides with their numbers peaking down there.
I found loads again down there this year at all the usual sites and am spoiled for choice for a favourite photo but have settled on the nice fresh male below, taken at Durdle Door on 5th September.
Cheers,

Neil

Adonis Blue

This was taken at Laverstock Down during the last week of August. It’s my favourite because it placed itself perfectly for the photograph on a plain yet contrasting background with no obstructions in the way and it was taken in the afternoon when the light has that wonderful golden tinge to it. As it’s a second brood individual it also has that electric blue look that makes them glint like sapphires among the grass. I always find the first brood to be a more pastel colour if that makes sense, probably because of the more diffuse light that we get in the spring.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Padfield wrote:A modest but attractive aberration, seen in the Rhône Valley in May...

"Modest" perhaps due to its initial impact, but quite extraordinary upon closer inspection, Guy.

Some very nice aberrations above.

My contribution is from the south of France.
A mating pair from early September: Male on the right.
This photo is slightly over-exposed and is a good example of why the FZ1000 needs a -2/3rds exposure setting rather than the -1/3rd here.
Chris

I didnt know about this part of the forum?!

A great year for me, sighting both 1st and 2nd brood Adonis Blues. No large numbers, but enough of both sexes, to keep me busy chasing them around Kent! I also liked observing the 2nd brood variations in size(i found 3 different sizes for the males!).
3 locations in Kent that i visited, those being - Darland Banks, Queensdown Warren, an Bluebell Hill.

Male and female Adonis Blues, Darland Banks, 26/5/18. Images are not cropped.

Then for the Adonis Blue 2nd brood, i found several fresh Males at Bluebell Hill on 31/8/18. (this was the 1st time i had sighted Adonis Blues at this location, so well pleased). The following week, a small number of Females were sighted at Bluebell Hill too.

Male Adonis Blue, Bluebell Hill, 31/8/18. Image is not cropped. Female Adonis Blue, Queens Down Warren, 8/9/18. Image is not cropped.

Just a couple of other Adonis Blue images here.
Both from a session at Queensdown Warren, Kent...Although a week apart!
Cheers Paul.

Male Adonis Blue. The last shot of the day, the sun was almost gone, just a hint of low light catching this butterfly.
Image is not cropped. 1/9/18.
Female Adonis Blue. Image is not cropped. 8/9/18.