Bugboys mission

[David M]

You certainly put in some marathon stints, Paul. Those Brown Argus in particular are lovely.

You'll be able to take a bit of a rest as soon as this impending warm spell has finished.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, I know what you mean
Thanks David. A rest and shorter working days will give me a chance to catch up with this diary! Until then though, I can hear LTB’s calling my name!


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July 2023

Thursday 20th, another work lunchtime wander with my camera, nothing unusual but the Gatekeepers like everywhere else were having a good season.

Later in the afternoon I was in the greenhouse with a couple of colleagues when a female Red Admiral flew in, clearly looking for some nettle. There happened to be a small nettle plant growing in one of the pots so I held it up into her flight path, and much to my colleagues amazement, she landed on it and quickly deposited an egg. I took some pictures the next day, my colleagues were (rightly) amazed at the intricate detail revealed .

[Wurzel]

Great to see the partial ab.excessa Bugboy There seemed to be more of this variety around this year, but generally with smaller spots- perhaps they had to share the paint round more butterflies

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel. I actually don’t see many excessa in my part of the world in an average year. This does make sense if you believe the theory that it’s an adaptation to cooler, wetter climes where they’re forced to spend more time sitting around basking so being more exposed to predator attacks: more ocelli = they can potentially survive more attacks.


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July 2023

Sunday 23rd. sunny days were a bit hit and miss this past July so I took full advantage of this day with a few hours at Bookham, well I did intend it to be a few hours but in the end I was there for a good six of them! I spend a good portion of it loitering around the patches of Creeping thistles again which had proved very productive this summer. Today was no exception.

It was also time for my first hunt around in the shadier parts of the wood looking for this years crop of White Admiral caterpillars, I found six 1st and 2nd instars in the usual spots plus an egg.

Close to them I found an ovipositing Silver-washed Fritillary but try as I might, I was never in the right place at the right time every time she reappeared to get a clear shot.

SWF were well past their best now, and females outnumbered males by some margin, but one of the males was a nice aberration and worthy of my attention despite his somewhat shabby appearance.

A single Purple Hairstreak made a brief appearance, a female sniffing around some Oak boughs and a freshly minted Brown Argus.

I spent the last hour looking around Effingham Common where some patches of Knapweed were drawing small gangs of Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown, whilst Small Coppers had the Ragwort to themselves.

[Francis Kelly]

Hi Paul
I have taken the liberty of featuring you on page 8 of the latest Surrey Skipper.
Hope that's OK
Best wishes
Francis Kelly
Editor
https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-y ... don-branch

[bugboy]

Hi Paul
I have taken the liberty of featuring you on page 8 of the latest Surrey Skipper.
Hope that's OK
Best wishes
Francis Kelly
Editor
https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-y ... don-branch

Thank you for informing me however, informing me after the fact didn't give me the opportunity to let you know I wouldn't be happy for you to use a picture I wasn't aware of and be misrepresented in an article about a contentious subject. I would kindly ask that in future you could ask permission before publishing any article.

[bugboy]

July 2023

Wednesday 26th was a two site day. I’d already seen the first few reports of Brown Hairstreak on social media so another trip to Bookham was in order, with fingers firmly crossed that this year would be better than last year for them.
Gatekeeper season was still in full flow and with fresh ones still emerging, picking out any early male Brown Hairstreaks amongst the hundreds on the wing wasn’t going to be easy.

Up in the Ash master tree things were also problematic, Purple Hairstreaks seem to enjoy them here just when the male Browns are due to emerge.

Most years the hunt is made a little easier due to the Hairstreaks addiction to Hogweed flowers which few other butterflies show much attention to. However that had mostly gone over this year so attention was drawn to the usual second choice, Thistles and there were non to be found. The Thistle patches in the wood were still drawing in good numbers of butterflies, although the range of species were diminishing, SWF and Skippers were becoming thin on the ground.

I’d planned to go onto Box Hill to look for some Silver-spotted Skippers in the afternoon, but it was as I was making my way to the station after bumping into Bookham Commons wildlife photography stalwart Colin Kemp, that I noticed a sandy brown flag sat upon a thistle. With the target acquired many pictures were taken by us. There were actually three here but only one allowed pictures, but this did suggest a good season was in the making, it being my grand total of last year seen in 10 minutes on the first proper hunt for them .

There was a decent support cast along this path, some fresh second brood Small Coppers were also sitting around begging to be photographed, one of whom was very dusky

[Wurzel]

Great to see the Brostreaks at Bookham - I will have some time up that way next year (the girls are seeing Taylor Swift at Wembley ) so I might tap you up for some advice nearer the time
It did seem like a good Brostreak season this year though how much of this was down to there not being a heatwave during their main flight I’m not sure- they could have been out in good numbers last year just didn’t show later in the morning when it was so hot

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, there are many many more are to come! They’re well spread out at Bookham but in a good year, such as the one just past, they are very easy to find. I’m pretty sure the dearth of them last year was the result of the heatwave frying all the caterpillars and pupae. This years warm, damp spring had the opposite effect and helped a good proportion of them to do very well.


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July 2023

Wednesday 26th part 2. We had the Brown Hairstreak for a good 15 minutes before he scarpered over the hedge which was my cue to leave and see if the Silver-spotted Skippers were out on Box Hill, short answer, yes! It was still very early days for them though here, a few fresh males were zooming around, a stiff breeze making following them as they danced through the swaying grass stems a near impossible task. I wandered the slope for around 3 hours where, using the law of averages, I decided if I took enough pictures some would be in focus.

Female Dark Green Fritillaries could still be found, still looking better than the last males I was seeing on my previous visit here.

A female Meadow Brown probably qualifies as a minor ab. possibly two bioculata and addenda.

Second Brood Small Blue and Brown Argus were represented by rather nice individuals too and a lone Peacock proved irresistible.

When looking for SSS here I also always keep an eye out for another of the sites specialities, and one that is much rarer than the Skipper, the Straw Belle moth. It’s readily disturbed during the day and half a dozen flew up from under my feet.

Male Straw Belle

Female Straw Belle

[bugboy]

July 2023

Saturday 29th. The last post for July once again comes from work. This lunch time wander produced a mating pair of Small White

A fresh female Large White who had already ripped her forewing.

A Comma

And the best example of an excessa Gatekeeper I’ve seen for a few years

[Wurzel]

That is a cracking ab.excessa such large spots make it worthy of the name
The technique that you used for the Silver Spots sounds very familiar - ‘shoot it and see’ but it paid off

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That really is a striking Hedge Brown ab, Paul. Additional markings on the unfs too - never seen one like that.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, I had a feeling you might like that one!
Thanks David, the boldly marked excessa usually do have the spots on the underside too, but 9/10 they are usually concealed in one way or another.


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August 2023

Friday 1st. Since my last visit to Bookham, the interweb had been awash with Brown Hairstreak sightings, many from Bookham so I had high hopes for today. For the first hour there was no sign in the usual spots, but there was still plenty to point my camera at, much of them freshly minted.

Of particular interest were a handful of freshly emerged Small Copper, amongst them a rather fine blue badger.

This years hotspot, a large area of Blackthorn that was cleared a few years ago and was now a sea of shin deep re-growth, had already drawn a few enthusiasts and it was here I found a freshly emerged male just waiting for the perfect moment to take his maiden flight.

Things were still warming up, so I went for a wander to some other spots which in past years have proved fruitful. None were found but a female Large White and an unusual looking Meadow Brown made the diversion worthwhile.

As a prelude to what was to come, on my return to the main hotspot a slightly battered male fluttered past me and landed by the side of the path, allowing a couple of shots.

[Wurzel]

Nice Blue Badger and pathological Meadow Brown Bugboy:D Looking forward to the next post where I’m expecting a deluge/bombardment of Brostreaks lol

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, a deluge would be a good description, and not the first this year either!


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August 2023

Friday 1st cont. When I got back to the main hotspot I found several more people had arrived. Luckily more Hairstreaks had also turned up and there were lots of happy people, there was pretty much one per person. Creeping Thistle was the tipple of choice here this year, after the usual favourite Hogweed had already finished flowering, and they were pretty easy to spy from a fair distance once you got your eye in, even with half their wings missing!

Shortly after I returned Millerd also turned up, having already found a few of his own on the way. Joining in with the party he spied a freshly emerged female nestled low down. She was open winged initially, the orange splodges looking like headlights but as we closed in to grab some shots she snapped closed giving me just a few seconds to grab some underside shots before vanishing over the hedge. I didn’t register at the time but she turned out to be ab. uncilinea where the inner hindwing streak curls up to for a ‘J’.

To add a little variety, some Purple Hairstreaks tried to join in the party (obviously completely overshadowed) and I found a female Common Blue.

Gatekeepers were still very numerous, to illustrate this I tried getting four in one shot, it looked better before I pressed the shutter!

A repeat visit was very much needed but I had to wait five days due to that annoying thing work getting in the way!

[bugboy]

August 2023

Sunday 6th, time for another deluge of Brown Hairstreak. But first a short trip to the gloomier parts of the wood since it was a slightly gloomy start to the day. The White Admiral caterpillars were growing nicely, at least the ones that hadn’t been picked off by small woodland birds anyway, there were several ‘abandoned’ leaves. They all looked to be second and third instars.

3 sharing a sprig.

Back out on the scrubby plains, things were starting to brighten up and I found a few things worthy of my attention.

It was surprisingly quieter than on my last visit as far as other photographers were concerned at the main hotspot, still more for me I suppose! It was getting close to noon when I spied the first of the target species, a rather nice female with a hint of ab uncilinea about her who wasn’t planning on going anywhere, even when I accidentally disturbed her, she just fluttered around and came straight back.

Nearby was a male equally as engrossed in his Thistle.

Time to go and look at the other hotspots and this is where things started to get a bit silly…. In a good way. At another patch of thistles I found two more very fresh males and a minute’s walk further down the path some late flowering Hogweed had attracted the attention of a pair

After spending some time with them I moved on to see what I could find along the path that runs down Banks Common, often a very productive place, but I was stopped in my tracks by another three males.

Tbc.

[Wurzel]

More cracking Brostreaks Bugboy, a veritable bombardment of them (I prefer this to deluge as it's alliterative ) Also an interesting Hedgie - ab.excessa on one side and like the paint ha ran on the other

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That's quite some sight to see three Brown Hairstreaks feeding in such close proximity, Paul. I've only ever seen one female nectaring in Wales and I've never seen males do it at all...never mind a group of them.

Remarkable (though probably quite normal in your part of the country).

[millerd]

A very pleasant reminder of that period of the summer at Bookham where it became difficult not to see a nectaring Hairstreak, Paul. I don't know if their habits have changed, but nectaring (and easily approached) males have been the order of the day in this location for several years now (and females too) and I no longer assume I will need to peer achingly up at the top of ash trees to catch a glimpse of a male. I wonder if the loss of ash trees to disease is partly responsible?

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, bombardment it is, and it was far from over!
Thanks David, yes is seems to have become pretty much the norm at Bookham. A mystery as to why but I’m certainly not complaining.
Thanks Dave. Indeed it is a pleasant reminder now that the weather has turned decidedly damp and dreary. I’m not sure why they now come down in droves. there’s still plenty of large Ash trees dotted around although I’m sure that will change over the coming years sadly.


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August 2023

Sunday 6th cont. As you can imagine, with three all together at my disposal, many many pictures were taken. The downside was that the florets were a few inches above head height so I had to hold my camera at a less than ideal angle, added to that it was rather overcast and the Hogweed was growing in shade which rather limited my camera settings, the vast majority of pictures were unceremoniously binned as soon as I looked at them. There were enough useable ones though.

I stayed with them for about 20 minutes before moving on to check the path along Banks Common. I found no more along there but did another circuit of the site, adding another one to the days count, taking me to double figures. Returning to the group of three and nearby pair on thistles I couldn’t resist more pictures. To give a time frame for these events, the first picture of the two on the thistles was taken at 12:32, the last picture I took of the trio was 2 hours later, still feeding!

The days total was currently settled at ten but there was still more to come. Back at the main hotspot I added another seven, seventeen in one day is by a long way my best day with this species. The final seven included a world first for me, a Brown Hairstreak interacting with Fleabane!

There were other butterflies around but by this stage they really weren’t getting much of a look in! A Hornet dealing with a wasp prey did distract me near the end of my day.