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Brimstone - 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

I always enjoy my first visits of the year to my local Dry Sandford Pit reserve in Cothill, near Abingdon. Finding Brimstones was especially welcome, this year, after such a cold non-Spring!

The early emergers always seem very intent on almost burying themselves inside the Primrose flowers, as they seek nectar. They are also such a remarkably good match for the colours of the flowers.
Mike

Aah! Few things as joyous as an early spring Brimstone!

On 13th March I went for a walk during lunch at work and saw two males in flight. My third, however, was a female, which is quite unusual so early in the year in my experience.

She was only too willing to pose:

Brimstones seemed (at least to me) to have a really good year up here in Yorkshire. I also recorded one in Devon that was a strong challenger for the earliest emerger of the summer brood nationally (I've heard of no earlier record this year)! Nevertheless, I only got close enough to photograph one on a single occasion. This individual was nectaring enthusiastically on a thistle on the Pocklington Canal, just a mile from home, on July 15th. When we walked back past 15 minutes later, it was still on the exact same flower!

An average year for Brimstone's this year for me but my fav comes in the form of this male on Chobham Common back in July, I'm a sucker for a nice backlit shot

My most memorable encounter with this butterfly was up at Denbies back on 14th May, where there was lots of courtship activity and many males were being rebuffed. I managed one shot of a pair on the ground, and another of a couple in flight.I also remember this shot of a freshly hatched male and female from Chiddingfold on 16th July - how different the behaviour is... Dave

First of the year, one in the middle, and last of the year. The one on the Choisiya was my first butterfly of any kind in 2018. 29 September is a very late date for Brimstones around here.

My photo was taken on 21st Of July in Bleen Woods Goldie

I saw plenty of Brimstones flying around in 2018 but not many sitting in photogenic poses, perhaps because of the hot weather. My best photo of this species was in the spring, of an ovipositing female. If you zoom in on the photo you can see a couple of eggs just below the tip of the abdomen. I have to admit, I didn't realise she was egg-laying at the time, I was too busy lining up the photo!
Park Corner Heath, East Sussex, 14/04/2018

Cheers
John W

Fabulous, John. I see what you mean regarding the eggs she'd just laid when expanding the image.

This year I was pleased to get another load of Brimstone eggs on the potted Alder Buckthorn in my Crawley garden. As I monitored their progress I got this image of a 3rd instar larva sitting on a wet leaf and looking like the infamous hoax photo of the Loch Ness monster.
Vince

Some early eggs on still furled, April leaves:



Guy

I am going for a couple of shots of a female that I saw egg laying on one of the buckthorns in my garden back in early May.
Cheers,

Neil

Brimstone

First set of posts and already I’m breaking the rules WINK. When I thought about which Brimstone photos to include as my favourite two images sprang immediately to mind and I just couldn’t decide between the two…

The first was taken in the second week of May at Martin Down. The day before had been what I now refer to as a BBC weather day. That is supposedly brilliant (sunny, gentle breeze, double digits temperature wise) yet in actual fact so bad weather wise that it would be summed up by my keystage 3 pupils as “Pants” (dull with no breaks in the cloud, strong gusts atop a strong breeze and single digit temperatures). However the Sunday which was supposed to be the worse day had the decent weather predicted for the Saturday. This was my favourite shot partly because fortune favoured me and instead of the chores etc. I supposed to be doing I was let of the leash for the morning and so was able to take advantage of the decent weather. A second reason for choosing it was because as I was taking some shots a fly landed on its wing and started to clean itself and it just sat there, stock still even as I made to leave. It played its part as a dead leaf to perfection!
My second fave came from Bentley Wood a week later. Philzoid and I had gotten onto Pearls at opposite ends of the Clearing, met up and found a few more and were heading back to the car park to move onto my Duke site. On the way we stopped in one of the smaller, more recently cleared sections and Philzoid followed a Argent and Sable while I held back so he could go for his shots. As I did I noticed a pair of Brimstone fluttering about agitatedly and so set my camera to Sports mode and clicked a few times in their general direction. Despite the shot being a bit bleached I was really happy with the result as I love the way that the female appears to just be hanging in mid-air.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Dordogne in late June. The Brimstones loved the lavender banks.

A courting couple that couldn't make up their minds. 29-06-2018 Departement de la Dordogne, France
From the same location. 11-07-2018
https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com

Seems like we're all getting into the habit of Brimstone 'open wing' shots!! Long may it continue!

From Rochester Forest, Halling, July 13th.