Wurzel

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Wurzel,

Lovely composition of the Mayfly and you've really captured the colours in the Demoiselles.

Your moth is definitely a male Nemophora degeerella. I was watching them earlier today dancing in the sun.

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

[Wurzel]

Cheers for your kind comments Mark - I thought the Moth was one and the same but the Collins guide confused me slightly but that's been the only time it's let istself down in the 6 weeks I've had it out form the library.

On Sunday I managed to sneak some time at Five Rivers (I said I’d get try to get back at the weekend) while my wife took the girls swimming. It was a bit breezy and at times it would cool rapidly when the sun disappeared behind a cloud but I knew it was going to be good when a found a Red Admiral in the front garden while I was packing the kids into the car.

First up I checked the grasslands in the middle of the reserve and there were plenty of Mayflies still around, yo-yoing up from the grass as you’d walk by or the breeze would catch the seed heads. There wasn’t an awful lot around here apart from a couple of Small Heaths.

I then moved onto the banks, the more sheltered side had more of the Mayflies but no butterflies so I worked round to the other side where the grass is up above my waist now on either side of the track. A couple of Speckies flitted along the edge of the hedge and male Common Blue also did a fly by. There were also the squadrons of Banded Demoiselles one of which seemed to be struggling as it was carrying it’s afternoon tea. You see these ethereal beings, waive like and flitting like little jewels in the sunlight and you forget that they’re ferocious predators.

Something small and silvery caught my attention. Judging by the size and the silver flash of the wings I immediately thought Brown Argus. When I got a view of the settled butterfly I wasn’t exactly sure as something about the underside seemed wrong plus it’s also been a number of months since I’ve last had to try and differentiate female Common Blues and Brown Argus. What made it tricky was that the first two spots seemed more vertical than horizontal, but the slivery appearance when in flight and the lack of the cell spot on the under wing reinforced that it was a Brown Argus. It should be as simple as just determining the sex of the individual but I’m out of practice and can’t remember how thin the abdomen has to be to make it a male and can’t decide whether the abdomen extends lower than the wing tips far enough either? So for now my first Brown Argus...man I’m rusty!

I retraced my footsteps back and bumped into a definite Common Blue.

That was it for butterflies today but I did find a rather nice Volucella bombylans (hoverfly bee mimic) which was mimicking a Bombus lucorum.

On my last couple of trips I have been surprised to see small Small Heaths that would take off from the grass and then land in the shrubbery or small trees dotted across the reserve. I managed to follow one and found this small moth – which I believe is a Yellow Shell – Camptogramma bilineata so now I can use this behaviour to prevent futile attempts at getting Small Heath photos.

Not a bad hour and half and I’m glad that I managed to get out as now the weather has taken a real turn for the worse for the foreseeable future. Oh well there’s always hope that the weathermen have got it wrong...
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Wurzel, some cracking photos there, I particularly like the shot of the Small Heath

Cheers,

Neil F.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Neil that shot is one of the few that I've actually thought about getting/planned to get!

Yesterday morning we visited the girls cousin in the Chalke Valley. It gave me an opportunity to check out Ebble Valley, a small field jam packed with wildflowers, privately owned but with public access allowed. As I hopped over the stile it was cool but warming as the sun had put in an appearance and within two strides along the path I was soaked from the waist down! Still as I couldn’t get any wetter I pressed on hopefully.
There were bugs a plenty with some easier to identify than others. The bloated form of a female Gastrophysa viridula carrying it’s eggs is very different to the shots I managed to get of the same species a few months back while copulating!

Then there was the Scorpion Fly, but a female with her abdomen “fading” away to nothing rather than the “poison tipped barb” of the male.

Then there were some new species a colourful marked Sawfly Rhogogaster, a large beetle which I tentatively named Necrodes littolalis and an unknown fly. The beetle looked very strange while I was photographing it and with it’s large orange eyes I thought it should have been easy to identify. When I looked at it at home and zoomed in I found that the eyes weren’t eyes at all but actually a mite grimly hanging onto the carapace

I'd walked to the end of the path now and turned round to make my way back. It was warming nicely and a flash of green whizzed by and headed off and up the hill – another Greenstreak, but as always very camera shy of me! Tutting I carried on but soon had to shelter under a Hawthorn myself as the heavens opened and the sun disappeared. Now drenched from the waist down from last nights rain still sticking to the grasses and drenched form the waist up from the rain storms I called it a day and headed back to get the girls...

In the afternoon the rain passed and the sun came out but I was doing the proper family thing so didn’t get to go out. Instead I headed out to Martin Down as soon as the girls were down for the night!
Once there I headed straight up and along the large hedge at Sillens Lane. Despite it feeling warm and there being sun the wind was pretty strong so finding butterflies was very difficult. I finally found some at Borkerley clinging to the grass stems and doing their best to roost. A single Small Blue and 3 Common Blues, they were a bugger to get shots of. Just as you’d focus the wind would start up and the grass would swing back and forth manically. The I’d wait for the wind to die down a little, refocus and just as I’d be about to click...the wind would start again! I finally gave up here and just went for an evening walk instead.
Whilst Butterflies were hard to find birds were everywhere and I almost trod on a Badger at one point!

best shot I've got of a Badger - I'm always so surprised I forget to shoot

There were Skylarks, Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats, I also saw and heard Cuckoos and Turtle Doves (a couple of each) and a Grey Partridge. In the middle of the down is a large island of Shrubbery and in this sheltered area I Cuckoo did a fly by while I was getting shots of my second Small Blue of the evening and simultaneously being serenaded by a Turrrrring Turtle Dove.

Realising that I was on a hiding to nothing I worked my way back to the car and while I was getting a shot of a leaf hopper, Cercopis vulnerata, I heard an unusual noise from low down in the vegetation. It was a kind of whistle/warble “wet yer lips”. A Quail no less so I tried imitating it and for the next few minutes we had a bit of a conversation going but it wouldn’t show itself so I headed home.

Hopefully I can get out on Saturday as that looks to be the only good day in the next few...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Debbie]

What fabulous pictures

Debbie

[Wurzel]

Thanks Debbie !

Kitty and I went on a bit of an expedition yesterday, journeying further than ever before for a butterfly. We arrived at Wrecclesham before lunch and headed straight across the cricket pitch to the site. From the gate it looked pretty intact, with a good coverage of Ox Eyes and other wildflowers. The ditch was a simple hop over and almost as soon as we were over the fence we came across a pair of Glanvilles, then a Common Blue and also a Green Hairstreak!

Walking along side the fence we headed down into the quarry and met up with Philzoid, Izzy and also Tuts. Over the next hour we walked about 200 metres and saw numerous, very fresh Glanvilles including a mating pair tucked away in some Brambles. They were there for a fair old while so I reeled off a load of shots relishing the views of the gorgeous undersides.

While we were stopping every three paces or so for another Glanville we noticed a slightly paler, less heavily marked individual. I managed to get both upper and under wing shots and it appears that the third line in is missing (is this the “post discal”?) – a bit like the individual from Sand Point that David M found. Tuts has already suggested a couple of names for it as a possible named aberration.

There were other butterflies around – Common Blues (males and females), Small Heath and a bright Peacock but by far the most numerous were the Glanvilles – all of which appeared very fresh – I suspect that we saw at least 12 in this one little area of the site. An absolutely cracking butterfly! It was very pleasant to be in June and actually have some sun and more pleasant to enjoy some great butterflies with like minded people. It was all very orderly and polite, with people waiting for their turn at shots not like some twitches I’ve been on where people seem to be trampling over each other to set up their scopes!

Having had our fill we headed back to the edge of the site to visit the play park for lunch. As we left we noticed some great Bee Orchids and we were wished a fond farewell by Mr Osso Speckie (I think that’s what he was called). He appeared to be winking me a goodbye?

This site has everything – similar habitat to the Isle of Wight without the expense of getting there, great butterflies, easy parking and most importantly a play park with which to bribe your young apprentices with! As the girls swung and we ate lunch we decided to head over to Chiddingfold, Botany Bay to see what was there...
Have a goodun
Wurzel

[Pauline]

Really pleased that you saw some Glanvilles Wurzel and it's great to know that there are more about than the paltry 4 I saw tho still less than the many hundreds of last year. I was hoping one of the group might spot a Heath but will just have to make do with an aberration . It is a shame we missed you at Botany Bay but you definitely picked the right day!

[David M]

Excellent images, Wurzel. Sounds like a great day (with even a Green Hairstreak thrown in!)

Yes, your weakly marked Glanville is similar to the one I saw at Sand Point, though if anything I think yours is even more bereft.

I'm pleased to see the site is still relatively undisturbed. When I read P.J. Underwood's post on here last month I feared the worst.

I wonder whether it's worth looking for Heaths there in a week or two?

[Goldie M]

Lovely Pictures wurzel a pleasure to the eye, Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Pauline - if you hear about any Heaths make sure you let me know - SATNAV can get me there in an hour and 8 minutes

Cheers David for your kind comments - the site looks in fine fettle - although saying that this is the first time I've ever been there!

Cheers Goldie for your kind comment - I'd sawp all of them for one of your Small Pearls!

Botany Bay...

...so after a quick 30 minute drive through some lovely villages we found ourselves at Botany Bay. As we set off down the path the sun came out to greet us as did a very dark Speckie. Is it just me or is it always a slight relief when you’ve seen the first butterfly when visiting a site?

We wove our way along the path and over the bridge and just as Philzoid was saying “if they’re still out we’ll definitely see them along here” when something small and white caught my eye. My first Wood White. I leant over and took a few shots – probably my easiest ever new butterfly – no trawling of the internet trying to work out where to see them, no hiking up hills or down coombes, no frustration because after plenty of stalking it won’t settle and definitely no sitting and waiting for hours before heading home and seeing nowt! Just look over, focus and click!

Once one had appeared two or three joined it along the path as we continued up the hill towards the fork. As we were walking Kitty spotted an unusual bee and called me over. I’ve obviously been training her well as it was something I’ve been hoping to find for a while now – a long horned bee with antennae longer than it’s body – Eucera longicornis.

I got slightly distracted when a small brownish thrush with a noticeable red tail and rump flitted across the path – possibly a female Redstart but more likely a Nightingale? But just before we reached the clearing I stumbled on three Wood Whites on the same flower head. Two were in mid copulation and I don’t know what the interloper was doing, watching and waiting for its turn perhaps?

Once in the clearing the sun really came on strong and butterflies seemed to be putting on a show for us as species after species would suddenly appear, pose and then make way for the next act. First up we had more Wood Whites and I apologise now for the number of shots but this was my first encounter with this species and I was slightly enchanted by them. Their small stature and delicate almost hopeless flight as well as their ethereal and translucent appearance mesmerised me. Then a Brimstone showed up; not wanting to miss out on any attention. This was followed by the Skippers Dingy, Grizzled and finally a Large. Next on the billing were Blues with a small patch of longer tussocks offering us “Blue on a stick” shots of male and a very fresh and blue female. An Orange Moth turned up, must have got confused and the wrong date! Before the grand finale of more of those Wood Whites finally nearing properly, getting their whole head in sometimes and taking on the hue of the flower they were feeding on.

Looks like a horse head?

An absolutely fantastic day – with a species I didn’t think I’d get to see this year, an aberrant, a lifer bee and a lifer Butterfly! Also I still have to remind myself that this was only two days ago – but with the weather we’ve just had it feels like another lifetime! As it’s set to continue I’m glad I got out when I did!
Have a goodun
Wurzel

[CJB]

Hi Wurzel,
I am chuffed for you that you finally snapped yourself a GHS!!!
Good for you! I can only imagine how pleased you were/are.
Flutter on.
CJB

[CJB]

Oh, and also for the Wood Whites, which is another absentee on my mobile!
Flutter on!
CJB

[Rosalyn]

We arrived at Wrecclesham before lunch

Greens everywhere! You just needed to get up earlier . I always think of Wood Whites as Woodland Faeries too. Nice pics

[Goldie M]

I bet you wouldn't swop them all now Worzel Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Wurzel,

Excellent reports and photos, I really enjoyed reading those

Cheers,

Neil F.

[Nick Broomer]

Hi Wurzel,

Glad to see you made it to Chiddingfold Wood to see and photograph the Wood Whites. That Long-Horned Bee was an excellent find, i`ve only ever seen them there once before a couple of years ago. Your bird with the rustic tail was definitely a Nightingale, its not really the right habitat for the Redstart. Next time you are planning a visit let me know, and i will pop over.

All the best,

Nick.

[Wurzel]

CJB - Cheers for your continued support with my Greenstreak Quest WRT Wood Whites check out Chiddingfold for the second brood it was as easy as shooting fish in a barrel!

Rosalyn thank you for your kind comment. When I started butterflying I always arrived far too early and so by the time the butterflies were up and about I'd have drunk my coffee and was thinking about heading off. It seems that with Greenstreaks I need to revert to my less tardy ways - always difficult with small children

Cheers for your kind comments Neil - I hope I didn't go overboard with the Wood Whites!

Nick I can't take any credit for the E.longicornis as Kitty found it - Philzoid and I are training our daughters up to act like sniffer dogs but for butterflies/other mini beasts WRT the Redstart/Nightingale my ID was based on birding in the New Forest where a ruddy bummed bird would be a Redstart but I'm more than happy to count it as a Nightingale - that looks better on my year list

Yesterday I had to go to Bath Uni to finish up this years PGCE business. I left just after break but having had a few cups of coffee prior to leaving felt an urgent need to "turn me bike round". So I found somewhere to pull in and did a bit of communing with nature during which I noticed a Common Blue. So I nipped back to the car grabbed my camera and reeled off a few shots. He looked pretty batered with the wing margins rubbed down almost to the blue on the fore wing and I asked myself how much of his dishevelled appearance was down to the recent deluges we've recieved? Still back on the road...

Once home I completed my usual Wednesday night ritual - drop Kitty at Rainbows and fly over to Five Rivers for a mid week relax! The first butterfly I saw was a pristine Common Blue, absolutely flawless and a total contrast to my Blue earlier in the day.

I worked my way down the bank and round to the other side but had no luck finding any Brown Argus. So I worked my way along the narrow path, no Mayflies took off and only one or two Banded Demoiselles...but as I was brushing the longer grass away from my armpits something dark flitted by. I followed trying my best to lean over and not disturb the grasses until eventually it landed in an area that had either been blown over by the recent strong winds or had been crushed by dogs not on leads so I could get in a bit closer (so dogs do have a use then ). It was a very dark male Meadow Brown, my first of the year and the orange was really bright and very contrasting.

At the top of the site I couldn't find any more butterflies no matter how hard I peered at grass stems. I thought at one point that I'd found a white but it actually turned out to be a delicately marked White Ermine. This was followed by a Burnet Companion Moth revealing it's orangey, golden hind wings.

On the way back to the car another Meadow Brown (or possibly the same?) was about, this time posing in shorter grass for the cloased wing shot. I also found a male Scorpion Fly - looking all deadly and threatening.

So in the usual 55 minutes I found 2, possibly 3 butterflies...this time last year at this site I couldn't move for butterflies. It seems that butterflies are still emerging - just in very small numbers. Is this something we should be worried about or will it be all right if we actually get some warm and dry weather soon? Have I turned in the stereotypical old man - "I remember when this was all butterflies..." My wife would probably say yes after listening to me moaning on about the weather for the last fortnight

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Your new Common Blue is beautiful, Wurzel. He seems unusually furry - just the job for keeping out the wind.

Cheers,

Dave

[Debbie]

Rain

Your photos

[NickMorgan]

Fantastic collection of pictures on this page. I am very envious of many of the species you have seen.