Holly Blue - Favourite Photo of 2018

[Wurzel]

Holly Blue - Favourite Photo of 2018

Week 8

So we enter into December and the start of Winter and the time of year when looking back becomes ever more enjoyable.

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

I saw my Holly Blue in my Daughters garden, she'd put water into a paddling pool for the dog, and the Holly Blue was at the edge in the water splashes seemingly enjoying the water but keeping well out of the dogs way It was the 26th Of July and very hot in Kent Goldie

[Medard]

I find Holly blues to be very difficult species to photograph,here is one I am pleased with.Taken in the Isère department France. 28-06-2018

[bugboy]

I can't choose between the three images below. The first one simply because it's a stunning female posing perfectly for me

The second was an attempt to out millerd Millerd when I stumbled across a trio mud puddling males

and a third image from my local patch where I found once again the Goats-rue to be a magnet to the local female population. Eggs and larvae littered nearly every budding flower spike. This image shows two larvae of different instars and an egg.

[Rosalyn]

I also find Holly Blue difficult to photograph, most of mine have a washed out appearance. I'm quite pleased with this one at Monks Wood. Looking at the other pictures I'm hanging around waiting to start a transect on a hot August day.

[MikeOxon]

For my 'favourite', I return to a fortuitous encounter with a mating pair, which I spotted outside my 'office' window while I was processing some earlier butterfly photos. I've previously described the encounter in detail in my diary.

I selected this particular shot because it shows both the mating pair and another 'hopeful' trying to get in on the action.

garden, Abingdon - 20th April 2018
Olympus E-M1-ii with 100-400mm lens - 1/800s@f/11 ISO 640

Mike

[millerd]

Hmmm. Tricky...

Between mid-April and mid-November, I counted over 600 sightings of Holly Blues on my local patch. Peak daily counts approached 30 on 22nd April and 3rd May (first brood), and on 14th July, 4th August and 19th August (second brood). A handful of third brood individuals appeared from the end of September until mid-November. They were the most frequently seen butterfly of the year.

The first brood were reasonably cooperative, with plenty of opportunities to get some nice open-wing shots. These two are both from 3rd May.

The second brood appeared towards the end of June, and the hot weather meant that they very rarely opened up at all. This female from 31st July was a rare exception.

Nor did with they didn't come down low all that often, with the exception of males taking minerals from damp ground. Later on, both sexes took to nectaring on fleabane, but almost always in the shade: I must have seen dozens doing this during early August.

This photo has seven or eight in it I believe.

Finally, the 14th November third-brood individuals became perhaps the most memorable of the whole year: brand new, open-wing amenable butterflies.

Dave

[David M]

600 Holly Blues in a year is quite some going, Dave. I bet you had a job on to select the images in this posting!?

[CallumMac]

I didn't quite have Dave's success with Holly Blues this year but nonetheless saw as many as I can remember seeing in a single year. The highlight was this individual, which visited my garden on 23rd July (towards the end of the heatwave) to drink, shortly after I turned the hosepipe on the flowerbeds.

[Neil Freeman]

I saw plenty of spring brood Holly Blues but the summer brood did not seen quite as numerous around my patch.

As usual the photos I did manage were taken in my garden...I very rarely see them settle when I am out and about.

Holly Blue spring brood female - Coverdale 13.05.2018

Holly Blue summer brood female - Coverdale 09.08.2018

Holly Blue summer brood underside - Coverdale 09.08.2018

Cheers,

Neil.

[Chris Jackson]

Strangely enough, my only photo this year was from a botanical garden right in the centre of Granada, Spain, in August.
This garden was part of the university.
Its good to see butterflies in built-up areas.

Chris

[David M]

I was pleasantly surprised at how common this species was after 2017's wonderful showing. I saw plenty in the spring but far fewer in late summer, with this faded female posing nicely in Pembrokeshire on 16th August:

[g4vpm]

I was seeing Holly Blues everywhere this year. Didn't get many photos though, and these are my best two. The first was in our garden on July 1st. The other was at Old Down, Basingstoke on July 31st.

[Wurzel]

Holly Blue

With open wing shots and some French Holly Blues I thought I was going to struggle with the decision making process when it came to this species but actually it was really easy to choose the individual. Much more difficult however was choosing the actual shot of said individual. This was because the particular Holly Blue was seen at Godshill in early August and it was the first time I experienced the mudpuddling behaviour which meant that I took many, many photos. In the end I went for this one as it really caught the most subtle blue tinge to the underside which was shown to its best.

Have a goodun

Wurzel