Bugboys mission

[Wurzel]

It's easier to write "ab" than "variation" Bugboy That really is a lovely female Adonis, that blue scaling is beautiful

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Great series of shots Bugboy, it's good to see that you've had a great season so far, I hope some more foreign Butterflies show up for you to target before the years out. Goldie

[David M]

I love that last Adonis female, Bugboy. She's definitely a candidate for the insect edition of 'Vogue'.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, Goldie and David. It seems like an age ago since I saw that Adonis, she's probably looking a little haggard by now if she's still around at all!

12th September, Bookham

10 days without butterflying is a long time for me so I was very glad the weather behaved itself on this week’s day off. With it being a few days the wrong side of payday one of my regular Surrey destinations would have to do, but then Bookham always has something to offer.

At this time of year most things have a lie in so arriving at just after 9 I was in time to find the first signs of butterfly life, a fair few Coppers looking resplendent in the early morning sun.

Speckled Woods were also awaking, some fresh, some not so…

Obviously, I was keeping an eye for the resident Autumn stars of Bookham but no Brown Hairstreaks seemed to be active this morning despite the warming sun. Further afield a single Green-veined White stopped by and the odd Small Heath and Meadow Brown fluttered around but it was definitely a Small Copper day.

I wandered back to Banks Common to find the familiar figure of Millerd searching the hedgerow up ahead. We wandered some more but even the extra pair of expert Hairstreak hunting eyes didn’t turn up any so we settled for the ever-increasing numbers of Coppers.

A single Small white dropped by, briefly breaking up the orange monopoly

Approaching lunchtime something small and orangey brown flew up from under our feet, over our heads and off over the hedge. We both concluded it was most likely a Hairstreak… oh well

Shortly after we found a freshly emerged Comma.

I parted company with Dave at Noon to go and see if I could find my White Admiral cats. Of the two left from ten days ago I managed to locate the older one, now a 4th instar, so it’s definitely trying to go all the way this year. Hopefully I can keep an eye on him and more importantly, I hope we get an Indian summer for him to enjoy!

I wandered back with just the occasional Specklie for company when something fluttered over my head and down into the scrub at the edge of the path. It looked exactly like the earlier possible Hairstreak and upon landing she confirmed our earlier suspicions. She was in egg laying mode so I only managed the one record shot before I lost her further into the undergrowth. This brings my years tally here up to a very respectable 15 at Bookham .

5 minutes later I found Dave again, just about ready to leave for the day so I pointed him in the direction of where my Hairstreak had appeared before making one final circuit myself.

No more Hairstreaks were seen but the Coppers, it would seem, were still emerging, as this sparsely spotted female proved.

I did see a few Red Admirals throughout the day, although they had invariably seen me first, so no more than the odd distant record shot was obtained. Still not a bad day all things considered, Bookham rarely fails!

[Goldie M]

Hi! Bugboy, I love to see Butterflies on Blackberries, your Copper shot is great Goldie

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Fresh Small Coppers are without doubt one of the jewels in early autumns crown. Hopefully we'll see a bumper 3rd brood as they seem to have had a very good year. At least around these parts. Lovely photos btw.

[millerd]

Bookham certainly is a great place, Buggy, and the Coppers really shine here - your shot of the one on the blackberries is a corker. I also missed that last gem of a new female, unless it was the "one that got away" from the amorous male I saw...

Dave

[Wurzel]

Some lovely fresh and glowing Coppers there Bugboy Nice to see the Brostreaks are still about, there was one reported over my way yesterday

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Maybe your Brown Hairstreak was a late emerger, Bugboy, as she looks to be in decent condition given the time of year.

Nice Small Coppers too. They seem to be encouragingly widespread this autumn.

[bugboy]

16th September

I went to Bookham again today, this time accompanied by padawan who’s never been here. It wasn’t the best choice weather-wise, and trains did their best to further ruin the day but we managed to get there in the end!
Cool and grey conditions greeted us, not too promising but within a couple of minutes we spooked a fresh Red Admiral who fluttered lazily off.

Cloud cover thinned occasionally but no more butterflies showed themselves for a while until off in the distance a White was seen fluttering round a patch of Devil’s-bit. Funny how even the commonest butterfly can get you a bit excited on drab days.

After getting a few snaps we made our way back to the path only to disturb a fresh third gen Common Blue. He tried basking but finally decided it was a lost cause and went back to sleep so we left him and wandered off.

Over the next hour or two the weather improved ever so slightly, just enough to encourage some Speckled Woods and Meadow Browns to pose for us, and a fresh Comma to escape our lens’s.

It was also warm enough for a single Small Copper to risk some activity. Only barely though, after feeding he shut up shop again.

With just the occasional Speckled Wood active we moved on to check on my one surviving White Admiral caterpillar. Sods law struck and as we wandered the woodland paths things brightened up considerably, had we stayed in the open areas we would surely have had dozens of Small Coppers, Blues and perhaps a wandering Brown Hairstreak to point our cameras at. As it was the woodlands were bereft of butterflies and sadly my WA cat was also missing. It’s possible he could just be well hidden but my gut feeling is he made a meal for one of the hundreds of Tits that are active. Whilst searching I did however find hibernaculum (I’m not sure if it’s occupied or an old one from last year) and a small Geomatrid larvae.

Hoping to catch some activity on Banks Common before things clouded over again we scurried of back through the woods, stopping to creep up on a Comma guzzling away on some over ripe Blackberries.

This was the last butterfly we were to see though since as we neared Banks Common sods law reared its head again and the heavens opened, essentially ending the day for us . Given the forecast though I saw more than I expected so I can’t really complain.

[millerd]

Glad to see there are Common Blues appearing for another round down there - you were unlucky with the weather, Buggy, as not that many miles to the north we were dry all day (though not really very sunny). Shame about the WA caterpillar - it may just have moved somewhere else of course (here's hoping!)

Dave

[Wurzel]

Lovely Copper shots Buggy I've not seen a Meadow Brown for a while now, I think they're pretty much done for the season over this way so it was interesting to see such a fresh looking one I know what you mean about a sighting on a drab day, it fair lifts the heart

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

..Funny how even the commonest butterfly can get you a bit excited on drab days.

Absolutely agree, Bugboy, and perhaps never more so than at the end or the beginning of the season.

Still, you ended up seeing a fair range, so you did right to venture out.

[bugboy]

Thanks guys, here's some more common species to brighten up a mediocre day weather wise including some nice Meadow Browns just for you Wurzel

18th September, local patches

The forecast wasn’t particularly wonderful today but there seemed to be enough of a chance of sun to venture out so I spent the day exploring a couple of East London patches, Walthamstow and Tottenham Marshes, dodging showers and trying to be in the right place at the right time when the sun did shine.

It was predictably quiet, with just a handful of Whites flitting around when the sun warmed the air.

The first surprise happened when I was closing in on a female Small White when I spotted a female Small Copper right under my nose. She was quite docile since it was the start of an extended cloudy spell and sat well, fluttering of only a short distance when my attention got too much only to alight on some nearby Michealmas Daisy.

It took a while for the next sunny spell to appear but an hour later I returned to this sheltered corner, hoping to catch her in the sun. Instead I found a male, tripling my yearly total for this site!

Small and Green-veined Whites were active here, enjoying the daisies but the end of the sunny period prompted me to move on.

My next calling point was the set aside corner of Hackney Marshes just over the river Lea that has a small but reliable population of Common Blues and Brown Argus amongst other things. I timed my arrival to perfection, a large patch of blue sky arriving at the same time. It took a while for the warmth to awaken anything up and in the end no Blues or Argus seemed to be present, must be in-between broods or perhaps settling down for hibernation. There were a few Meadow Browns active though, some surprisingly fresh .

I followed one around for a bit and managed to capture some egg laying. The behaviour was almost identical to that I witnessed of the Grayling last month. Some jerky shuffling until she finds a suitable stem, then the abdomen is curled forward and the egg is laid underneath the chosen stem. Like the Grayling she a dead stem was chosen. I suspect the chosen location, in this case a small exposed hollow at the base of a clump of grass, was to give the developing egg a bit of warmth. At this time of year I’m guessing they need to be laid in slightly more exposed areas with warmer micro climates to aid development than in high summer.

The egg itself is a pale yellow when freshly laid.

I was quite surprised not to have seen any Specklies yet, having been through all their usual haunts, but on the return, I spied one perched on the undergrowth by the side of the path.

At the other end of the path is a big clump of Ivy growing over a now dead tree which I’d seen several Holly Blue flying around a month or so ago, so I stopped to investigate the now fully developed flower buds. I didn’t find any caterpillars but I did find a couple of holes which could have been made by some.

Nearby flying around a Buddleja was a single Large White.

The sky was darkening quite significantly now so I decided to use the time to wander along the canal to Tottenham Marshes. As I made my way to the canal a Cetti’s Warbler announced his presence nearby and I managed some relatively decent views of him as well as a grainy, soft focus head shot!

An hour later it had stopped raining and I was exploring a quiet, sheltered corner of Tottenham Marshes that usually comes up with the goods and today was no different. A fresh Comma plonked itself down next to me, looking resplendent in the hazy afternoon sun.

Elsewhere a Small white was busy making the most of the sunny spell but my attention was fully taken by a gorgeous little female Common blue. I had to wait a good 15 minutes for the sun to become warm enough to awaken her but it was definitely worth the wait.

A good finish to a pleasant and interesting day

[millerd]

That was a lovely female blue to finish off with, Buggy. The Meadow Brown shots were interesting - I've yet to find an egg - and the open-wing female looks pretty fresh too.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Thanks for the extra Meadow Browns Bugboy, funnily enough I found my own at Larkhill yesterday That is a lush female Blue, often nicer than the 'bluer' ones as the dark background really offsets the blue colour

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That's a really nice female Common Blue, Bugboy. That slightly reduced pattern of blue seems to make the effect more appealing.

[bugboy]

Thanks guys, it's always nice to find a little gem like her at this time of year

19th September, High and Over

This place seems to be a bit of a Mecca for south eastern butterfliers at this time of year (Trevor seems to have taken root there !) so I figured it was about time I ventured out to see what all the fuss is about. Directions were helpfully provided by B’rex and Trevor and so with a crack of dawn start it was off to Sussex once again. Walls were predictably the main attraction and target for the day but wandering close to the car park I couldn’t resist stopping and watching the several fresh Red Admirals gorging on the Ivy.

The next resident I bumped into was B’rex who was able to point out a few hotspots for me as well as giving me a guided tour of the general area throughout the day. Male Walls were rather active in their own frustrating way. If anything there were too many, constantly disturbing each other just as you got in range for a snap! Not that I’m complaining, it’s great to see this declining species doing so well here, even if I do have to travel so far these days.

Shortly after bumping into James, the familiar figure of Badgerbob popped over the horizon and offered to point out an egg he’s keeping an eye on making it 3 species of Brown eggs I’ve seen in the past few weeks... the start of a new mission perhaps... .

It was only a flying visit from bob but James and I persisted with the energetic males, and with the temperature increasing they began closing their wings to prevent overheating which, after several failed attempts, enabled me to get my best underside shot to date.

VERY happy with this shot, especially as I initially thought I'd overexposed it!

Exploring further afield we found several Peacock gorging themselves silly for hibernation.

Back to the Walls we began searching for the illusive females, in the end finding around half a dozen and with the sun becoming somewhat hazy a few proved to be good sitters and very fresh looking as well. We even managed to see one lay an egg although we were too far away to get a picture and couldn't actually locate the egg in the end.

Other species seen were Common Blues, Brown Argus, Small Copper, Large White and a few Meadow Brown.

A very boldly marked female we followed for some time whilst she was looking for Sorrel to lay on.

A thoroughly satisfying day in good company with beautiful scenary, thanks for the guided tour James and nice to see you again Bob

[Art Frames]

Bugboy, delightful pictures and lovely colours on show there. And so many fresh looking insects especially the Copper.

Can I ask do you deliberately expose for a dark looking background? It works well on some images with vibrant colours. Just wondered if you take them like it or tweak later?

Maybe it is the way my computer sees them and everyone wonders why my pictures are too light?

[millerd]

Glad you got down there to see the Walls, Buggy - it's a great spot and you got some lovely shots too (the underside one in particular - you can almost feel the breeze blowing around it! ). I'd have joined you, but had to be back up here by half two so it would have been a bit of a fleeting visit...

Dave