Pauline

[Wurzel]

Cracking OT Pauline - how do you get so close? Have you been developing Ninja skills over the winter?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

You mean like these ones Mike?

You are very perceptive David - this is certainly not the first time you have commented on an aspect in one of my photos that I haven't even noticed myself - puts me to shame Thank you for pointing it out.

Thanks you for your comment Trevor. You are doing incredibly well on the butterfly front in your neck of the woods

Thank you too Buggy. I have looked at the list of OT abs and there are quite a lot of them but Vince has suggested which one it may be. You could well be right about the bird too as I am not very good with Warblers. I had something in the garden quite a few years ago which I thought might have been a Warbler - they are poor photos but perhaps you can ID?

Cheers Wurzel - I don't think they expected to be approached by someone paddling along in a ditch and were probably keeping an eye out in the other direction for migrant birds:lol:

[MikeOxon]

You mean like these ones Mike?
....
I had something in the garden quite a few years ago which I thought might have been a Warbler

Exactly! Aren't they lovely tiny things - very well caught in your photos. I Believe those are Pyrausta purpuralis and P. nigrata

Your birds are probably Chiffchaffs - best identified by their monotonous call. They are very similar, visually, to Willow Warblers, which have a long trill of descending notes. They are easiest to see in Spring before the leaves are on the trees and are, in fact, some of our commonest birds during the summer but well-hidden in the hedgerows.

Mike

[Goldie M]

Hi! Pauline, you don't do things by half do you, wading in water I saw an Orange Tip has well but no way was I wading across a Pond Your OT does look unusual, great shot as well.

By the way I thought of you yesterday I saw a Large White , they must be out and about around here now. Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you Mike, both for the compliment and the ID

I definitely don't do things by halves Goldie Always give it 100% . You are right about the Large Whites - mine seem to be on the brink of emerging. In fact, I could swear the pupal cases are changing shape, seemingly getting longer and broader, more defined. Vince gave me a great tip a couple of years ago which is to take photos of the pupa at regular intervals and then it is possible to compare the shots and detect subtle changes so I do try to use the camera as a tool in this respect. Trouble is, all my Large White are in a cage and access for photos is almost impossible so I am having to rely on memory .......!

6.00 am this morning found me making my way down to the fox compound as usual. As I entered I was startled by a fox running from behind the fencing, for a split second thinking it was one of mine, but of course it was one of the wild visitors. Saffron, my vixen, expects a cuddle each morning so she was keen to jump onto my knee as I perched on an old log from where I have a good view of the garden. It is relatively peaceful at this time of the day apart from the bird song, and today a male Blackcap was sat in the old apple tree, just feet away, singing his heart out. It is a while since I have seen one in the garden. It was a chance to reflect on recent events, not least having stumbled across my mother’s obituary on the internet the other day – it was dated 5 years ago but I had not been told. My thoughts were interrupted by some raucous Starlings, squabbling over possession of a few white feathers on the lawn, courtesy of my Mallard who pulls out tail feathers from my flock of white doves if he can catch them. He is very territorial at this time of year and protective of his mate, a Khaki Campbell, who provides me with a delicious breakfast most mornings. It is soon time to settle Saffron in her bed and continue with feeds, medication and cleaning out, hopefully leaving a couple of hours to spend relaxing in the company of a few butterflies. Yesterday the butterflies were Grizzled Skippers (no Green Hairstreaks yet) bringing my total species for the season so far to 9 – not even double figures and it’s nearly May!

[Goldie M]

Thats a fantastic Grizzled Skipper Pauline, of course I'm envious Goldie

[David M]

Aah! Khaki Campbells!

We have four of them, Pauline, and they lay prodigious numbers of eggs for a duck!

[Pauline]

I know you've wanted to see one for some time now Goldie and I'm sure this will be the year

Best sort of eggs you can have David IMO - and a good looking duck too My last pair lived for 21 years and produced eggs right up to the end

I shall split this update on the WLH into 2 parts but before I begin I would like to start by quoting myself from Page 96 of my diary ‘When it comes to rearing I always think there are 3 main things to consider - keep them safe from predators, keep them at the right temperature and give them the right food. Sounds simple but it really isn't unless you are knowledgeable and experienced’. I bitterly regret the outcome with the WLH and I would urge anyone to consider very carefully before embarking on rearing.

Nevertheless, I have continued to monitor and learn from their development, using the technique with the camera outlined above, to record the pupa as it became apparent emergence was imminent. Changes are subtle (a slight change of colour, a protrusion becoming more prominent, a fracture line developing) but can be detected by close inspection:

Taken at 10.42

Taken at 10.45

Taken at 10.54

Taken at 11.06

Taken at 11.33

Taken at 12.07

Taken at 12.46

Taken at 13.51

Taken at 14.49

Many more photos were taken over this time frame. Watching a pupa for 6 hours is only marginally more interesting than watching paint dry - but the end result is always worth it.

I recorded earlier that all of my WLH cats, without exception, were intent on pupating in the soil. I only managed with some difficulty to get one to pupate on a branch despite this being their location of choice according to various authorities. Rather than allowing them to pupate underground (which with hindsight I should have done) I removed them from the earth and put them in the position I thought they were meant to be in. Clearly another mistake. I am not usually interested in rearing the same species twice as there is so much out there to learn and experience. However, if I were to find discarded WLH eggs next season I would be tempted to repeat the exercise with a view to checking out this particular aspect and also obviously with the aim of a successful conclusion.

[Pauline]

Part 2:

[MrSp0ck]

Great pictures, the last one says found the spot to expand those wings. I bet the expanding was over very quick too.

[Goldie M]

Great shots Pauline, did it have some colour flow from it when it was finally out? ( Just a little) I'm thinking back to my Painted ladies, when they pupated they'd a slight red colour come from them, I thought this was blood at first and I was a bit bothered, then I realised it was colour, I turned them loose in May, In Kent, I took them to my daughters there.
They certainly enjoyed the mixture of Sugar and water I gave them at first, then I gave them some Banana and Orange slices which I changed each day to keep things clean. I had four in total. I enjoyed every day watching them, I've not done it since but it was great to see nature at work.
What food do your Hair Streaks have Pauline
I'm sure You'll give lots of pleasure with your Photos and we all learn from our Mistakes, I've made enough of them myself Goldie

[bugboy]

Sorry Pauline, I missed your Warbler pics earlier. Agreed with Mike, either Willow Warbler or Chiffchaff.

Great shots of the WLH, and you now have uppersides of a live animal! Such a shame the emergence timing went array

[Pauline]

Thank you Martin. The wing expansion did not take long at all but at this critical point I was distracted, only briefly, as my vixen had started fitting and needed my attention. It wasn't for very long at all but long enough to miss most of the wing expansion. For completion I am enclosing a few shots I managed at the end of the process and the finished result:

Thank you Goldie. I think you are referring to meconium which is excreted as a waste fluid and the colour can vary depending on the species.

I appreciate the comment and ID Buggy and share your regrets.

[MrSp0ck]

I like the egg in the shot too.

[bailey1409]

Hi Pauline

Just to say what a pleasure it is to visit your PD. There are lots of super images, whether it is cats., eggs, emerging leps. or butterflies out in the wild that you seem to be able to capture in fantastic close-up. Together with your new interest in moths and not forgetting the news of your patients.

Fascinating behaviour shots, looking forward to the next episodes in their life stories.

Where do you find the time for all of these interests?

Cheers

Maurice

[Goldie M]

I did wonder if different Butterflies had different colours Pauline, you learn some thing every day

I've always been more interested in the Butterfly itself I must admit, although I find the different stages the BF goes through very interesting it's the the beauty of the BF it's self that fascinates me.

The different markings and colours, shapes and sizes, their habits etc, I could go on and on and the end product like your lovely White Hair Streak Butterfly, what could be better than that.

Incidentally I hope all your animals are well Pauline Goldie

[Maximus]

Lovely WL Hairstreak emergence sequence, Pauline. There's a lot of waiting around in order to capture the moment of emergence, but it's so rewarding.

Mike

[Pauline]

That's the actual egg it came out of Martin!

You may recall quite a long while ago Maurice when we met up at MHD and you gave me my first photography lesson, explaining the camera settings and observing me as I took a few shots. I remember how intimidated I felt then with you looking over my shoulder Both yourself and Mike F have given me a great deal of help since then so I am relieved you are pleased with the results . I am glad the variety in my diary adds interest too.Thank you for your comment - it is much appreciated.

I know exactly what you mean Goldie as I used to be exactly the same - and then something happened and I started to see beauty and interest in the cats and the pupa. I now find all the stages incredible. I forgot to answer your question about food. I have purchased a product specifically for butterflies called Nektar-Plus. Not cheap but is highly recommended.

Thank you Mike. I know you've been there and I can feel the empathy . It can be a bit of a juggling act trying to keep an eye on it with so much other stuff going on but occasionally I get lucky. Yesterday was one of those times it didn't work out. One of the many cats around here was after my Doves so I had to desert my post to shut the Doves in the aviary. When I returned I'd missed the start but managed to get these:

It was quite breezy outdoors and the soft flimsy wings were being buffeted about so I brought the butterfly indoors to dry off.

[Goldie M]

You've got great patience Pauline that's why you get such great results, Some thing I lack

Photos again fantastic, if I don't see any WlHS ( tried for three years ) at least I've seen yours Great sequence of shots.

You've not mentioned the Rabbit for a while, is it alright Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you Goldie - you really shouldn't get me started on the animals here . At the weekend I stopped Lucky's medication but she seems fine. Took these half an hour ago as she washed herself - see her tongue?

... and another one for you Goldie: this is meconium from a WLH so you can see the pale pink colouration (in the fork of the branch). Interestingly, the same butterfly produced more on an Elm leaf about 10 hours later.

I have had to attend to other priorities and have missed a couple of butterflies emerging recently but Mike has kindly done another animated sequence of an emergence I did witness. This is exactly the same creature that he did the sequence for when it emerged from the egg. Thank you Mike:

WLH_optimised.gif (192.78 KiB) Viewed 464 times

Yesterday I guessed another emergence was imminent but after watching the pupa for 2 hours I had to take delivery of an important package - special butterfly food. I guessed that the pupa was only an hour or two away from being a butterfly but I reckoned the sooner the others got some 'proper' food the better. I was only away from my post for 5 mins but when I returned I had missed it - again!!! This was all I got: