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Hi! Janet, really enjoying your posts, I'm no expert but I think you Fritillary is a Dark Green Fritillary Goldie

Yes it will be, Goldie - the DGF is known to be in this area and it was just too early for a HBF. Janet

[quote="bugboy"
Your unknown caterpillar is a sawfly larvae.[/quote]

Thanks Bugboy - but which caterpillar - the big fat white one?

The weather has definitely turned but it looked kile there might be a little bit of sun so I took the Metrolink to St Werbergh's station and from there walked east along the Fallowfield Loop. From the Athol Road bridge it is possible to walk along the top of the bank along the brook and I found it rich with wildflowers. There were Meadow Browns, Skippers Large and Small, a fresh-looking Red Admiral perching and apparently guarding his territory and hundreds of Five-Spot Burnets engaging in mass orgies.

Janet Turnbull wrote:[quote="bugboy"
Your unknown caterpillar is a sawfly larvae.

Thanks Bugboy - but which caterpillar - the big fat white one?[/quote]

I was referring to the one under the mayfly but yes the big fat white one is also a sawfly

Hi Janet,

I really enjoyed reading about your adventures looking for Chequered Skippers in Scotland. I was up there last year to see them for the first time myself and your report brought back some great memories
I have to say that I thought that Glen Loy was easily the best site we visited, I wasn't that impressed with Alt Mhuic and didn't really think it was worth going the extra bit of distance to visit, although having said that there is some beautiful scenery around Loch Arkaig.
We also visited Glasdrum Wood which is a far more compact site but it is also an earlier site and when we were there the skippers had been on the wing longer and were well past their best.

Your Fritillary at Fossdene Meadow would have to be a Dark Green...there are no High Browns to be found in Warwickshire these days.

Cheers,

Neil.

Thank you Neil I didn't think there would be a High Brown at Fossedene but it's nice to know. Have you any idea if the Skipper I found was actually an Essex, or is it not possible to tell from the photo?
Janet

Hi Janet,

Your photo of the skipper at Fossdene looks like a Small Skipper, Essex's don't have the little pointed extension on the antennae. Also Essex Skippers antennae have a more clearly defined black tip, like the end has been dipped in black paint.
Although I am not very familiar with the site, I would imagine that Essex Skippers could easily be found at Fossdene as they have spread all over Warwickshire and at some sites have been outnumbering Small Skippers in the past couple of years.

Cheers,

Neil.

Thanks Neil - that's a disappointment - I'll continue my search for one!
Cheers, Janet

I don't think it will take you long to track down an Essex Skipper Janet, they are spreading north rapidly. They are already regularly sighted in North Shropshire and Staffordshire, so much so that West Midlands BC is asking people in the region to check all small golden Skippers...it can no longer be taken for granted that they will all be 'Smalls'

Cheers,

Neil.

1st July 2017 Fallowfield Loop
I can see this is going to become a favourite local hotspot! The sun shone this afternoon and G and I caught the tram from Sale Water Park to St Werbergh's and walked along the platform. This lovely female Common Blue was nectaring on the bird'sfoot trefoil, but sadly the photo is not up to my usual standard
There was also a Latticed Heath moth in a poor state of repair and a smallish moth that Pauline identifies as a Straw Dot. (Thanks, Pauline!) Also out were skippers large and small, whites large, small and green-veined; at least two red admirals; meadow browns; speckled woods and commas

Straw Dot I believe.

Great H.Comma sot Janet They seem to be having a great time at the moment

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman wrote:Hi Janet,

Your photo of the skipper at Fossdene looks like a Small Skipper, Essex's don't have the little pointed extension on the antennae. Also Essex Skippers antennae have a more clearly defined black tip, like the end has been dipped in black paint.
Although I am not very familiar with the site, I would imagine that Essex Skippers could easily be found at Fossdene as they have spread all over Warwickshire and at some sites have been outnumbering Small Skippers in the past couple of years.

Cheers,

Neil.

Surely those pointy extensions to the antennae make it a Large Skipper

Pauline wrote:Straw Dot I believe.

Thanks Pauline! Yes, that certainly looks like it.

bugboy wrote:

Neil Freeman wrote:Hi Janet,

Your photo of the skipper at Fossdene looks like a Small Skipper, Essex's don't have the little pointed extension on the antennae. Also Essex Skippers antennae have a more clearly defined black tip, like the end has been dipped in black paint.
Although I am not very familiar with the site, I would imagine that Essex Skippers could easily be found at Fossdene as they have spread all over Warwickshire and at some sites have been outnumbering Small Skippers in the past couple of years.

Cheers,

Neil.

Surely those pointy extensions to the antennae make it a Large Skipper

I thought it was a Small Skipper when I took the photo, Bugboy, but I can't prove anything now as I didn't photograph the whole insect at the time.

There seems to be some confusion over your recent photos of Large and Small Skippers!

IMG_4808 is definitely a Large Skipper, whereas IMG_4806 is a male Small Skipper, identifiable by the long slanting scent mark (sex brand) as well as by the pale colouration, which is just visible at the extreme tip of the nearer antenna.

Small Skipper antennae tips are often more pointy and less rounded than Essex S, which are always well-rounded and black all over but, in the case of males, the shape of the sex brand is conclusive. With females, it is more difficult and the antennae can be very deceptive in the field. A good photo, with a clear view of the underside of the antenna tip, is needed to be sure

I drove around the Motorway jungle in your part of the world, a couple of days ago - made the M25 seem like a piece of cake in comparison

Mike

MikeOxon wrote:There seems to be some confusion over your recent photos of Large and Small Skippers!

IMG_4808 is definitely a Large Skipper, whereas IMG_4806 is a male Small Skipper, identifiable by the long slanting scent mark (sex brand) as well as by the pale colouration, which is just visible at the extreme tip of the nearer antenna.

Small Skipper antennae tips are often more pointy and less rounded than Essex S, which are always well-rounded and black all over but, in the case of males, the shape of the sex brand is conclusive. With females, it is more difficult and the antennae can be very deceptive in the field. A good photo, with a clear view of the underside of the antenna tip, is needed to be sure

I drove around the Motorway jungle in your part of the world, a couple of days ago - made the M25 seem like a piece of cake in comparison

Mike

It's not those ones that are in question Mike, it's the headon shot of the last post on the previous page.

Quite right, Paul. Definitely a Large Skipper (in this case, a female) viewtopic.php?f=37&t=5300#p46763
Some of us (including me) were looking at the wrong image.

Vince

Vince Massimo wrote:Quite right, Paul. Definitely a Large Skipper (in this case, a female) viewtopic.php?f=37&t=5300#p46763
Some of us (including me) were looking at the wrong image.

Vince

Phew, glad we got that cleared up! Sorry for all the confusion taking over your diary Janet