Thanks all! Paul - I'm using a 365nm UV torch. It's pretty powerful, which is helpful for finding things at a further distance now and again. If you don't already have a torch, I'm sure a decent 365nm UV torch with good reviews online will do the job and help to confirm if the WLH are in your Huntin...

White-letter Hairstreaks Since discovering this species for the first time in my local town in East Devon last year, I’ve been quite busy. Last July, I saw some adults on a young Wych Elm in the local park, and crucially, I spotted a female laying eggs. In the early winter, I counted 11 eggs after ...

Small Copper Late last year, the back garden became an incredibly useful place for me to become more familiar with Small Copper. They had occupied a south-facing slope into which I had plug planted some Sorrel. There were at least 4 adults present, and I had a constant supply of eggs and caterpilla...

Black Hairstreak continued… As well as my trip to Sussex in January, I squeezed in a visit to Bernwood Forest on the Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire border on 10th May for some BC volunteers to do some UV surveys for Black Hairstreak caterpillars. We tallied an impressive 83 caterpillars in about 1.5 h...

Black Hairstreak Despite living in Devon, I managed to grab a few opportunities to spend some time with Black Hairstreaks this year, starting with a visit to Sussex in January. Although I’ve already made it very clear that looking for pruni eggs can be an extremely difficult and largely insane task...

Holly Blue Following on from the observations I made on Holly Blues during May/June last year, I continued my efforts in September 2023, by monitoring them and the Ivy by my house. The caterpillars are quite conspicuous while feeding on the Ivy buds, as they stand out against the round heads of the...

Large Blue There's a certain charm about arion that I can't quite shake off. This post is nothing more than an indulgance - I hopped over the border to spend some time with the Large Blue in their peak. Plenty of adults on the wing and a great afternoon spent with the camera. These in-flight shots ...

Silver-studded Blues Here in East Devon, adults began to emerge on or around 6th or 7th June, and by the 15th, multiple females were out on the wing and mating pairs were popping up around every corner. A 30 minute walk through the few areas of suitable habitat yielded 18 males, 9 females and 6 mat...

Thanks all - glad to know that my reports can proivde some value! Guy - Yes, i think it might be worth trying a 365nm torch if you don't already have one. Pauline - Don't dispair, it takes a lot of time to get your eye in on SSB larvae. I was fortunate to have a head start thanks to the excellent gu...

Marsh Fritillary A week or so ago, I was invited to visit a site on Dartmoor to survey Marsh Fritillary. There were reports of exceptional numbers in the good weather we were having, and I had high expectations. Unfortunately we arrived in overcast weather, and other than a stunning peacock, we onl...

Heath Fritillary Back in April, I went out to Hawkcombe wood in Exmoor to survey HF larvae, which bask on leaves during sunny weather. When we arrived, it started to rain and hail, and it didn’t stop for some time. We persisted and looked for larvae amongst the leaf litter, and weren’t disappointed...

Silver-studded Blue Another local species for me, just a few km away from home. A few weeks ago, I met up with Marcus Rhodes - a PhD student at Exeter Uni, working on butterflies and how they respond to microclimatic variation. He’s done some incredible work on SSB, and I wanted to learn more about...

Holly Blue The alley down the side of my house is a good sun trap for butterflies, where they patrol the Cherry Laurel and Ivy hedges looking for action. Amongst the Speckled Woods, Brimstones and Large Whites are some boisterous Holly Blues, which leap into action when disturbed. Just outside the ...

Purple Hairstreaks. Luck has it that less than 50m from the Elm, is a magnificent Turkey Oak, where I came across 4 second instar larvae on the lower hanging branches. These were another first for this area, without a record of PH until this year. I lost patience in searching for PH eggs on these o...

Catching up I’ve accumulated a few things over the past few months that I thought may be worth sharing. White-letter Hairstreak Here in East Devon, we have very few records of WLH, despite there being some Elm here and there. I recorded the first ever WLH in my town during the winter, when I found ...

Huge congrats Dave - an absolutely fantastic shot and well deserved winner!

Well done to all other winning entries - some really great photos in there and a nice bit of variety too.

Thanks all for the kind comments on my shots - and a particular thanks to Pete, Ben, Guy and Vince for judging.

Two male Green Hairstreaks in flight at Devils Dyke, Sussex (23rd April) Clouds of Adonis Blues at the foot of Anchor Bottom, Sussex (22nd May) Silver-studded Blue males in pursuit of a female at Iping common, Sussex (14th June)

Silver-studded blue I was out on the Pebblebed Heaths in East Devon chatting with some transect walkers about the status of the SSB populations in the area. There has been a lot of data collection going on over quite a long period of time, which means that they should be able to establish some idea...

Have been sitting on this since July, but only just remebered that I had it to share... Very interested to learn how others go about determining the sex of Black Hairstreaks based on underwing morphology. I've read about various characteristics being used, but it's something I've struggled with. Wou...

Thanks for putting the time in to this - a really enjoyable read and a great insight into one of your trips.

There's too much for me to pick out and compliment in there, but I do especially love the Lycaena and Agriades spp.. Big fan of the polyptych photo arrangements too!