millerd

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - more (and maybe even better) Purple coming shortly... However, there were some White Admirals to show off before that.

When the Emperors are in full swing and all eyes are watching for them, White Admirals can get overlooked, especially as finding any that haven't been scarred by their bramble-loving habits becomes more and more difficult as the season progresses. On 29th June, as the number of folk with only Emperors in mind grew, I found myself the only one interested in other butterflies.

Early on, I started with a few shots of one on the bramble flowers.

Then, with everyone else further up the track clustered around an Emperor that was resolutely not opening its wings (and I had already photographed from - for me - too much of a distance)...

...I found myself with a very new male White Admiral in a similar pose.

The butterfly was as glued to that bit of track as any Purple Emperor, entirely approachable and did not move for some while. Having taken a lot of photos, I realised that there were one or two others in the same area, and my eye was drawn to a particularly large one sitting fairly close by on the foliage. It looked in excellent condition...

...and looking at it now, I think it may have been a female.

That leaves the Purple Emperor shots for the last post of the day from Chiddingfold.

Dave

[millerd]

29th June, Chiddingfold part four: Purple Emperors

The first imperial arrival was between nine and half past, and the butterfly spent a while on the ground...

...before heading into a nearby bit of foliage. Here it set about imbibing sugars from the copious amounts of honeydew coating the leaves.

It was very active here, giving constant flashes of purple as it moved about - I think those who had been close to the butterfly when it landed may have come away with some amazing shots of full purple regalia. However, the butterfly returned to the ground and remained restless this time - providing a variety of views and angles.

After this spell exploring the track, the butterfly once again headed onto the greenery.

There then followed a bit of unusual behaviour which I have witnessed a couple of times before, but which was impossible to capture on camera. The Emperor returned to the ground, but quickly disappeared into the grass and low vegetation at the edge of the track. It could just be made out in the shadows, still foraging for minerals in the ground litter under the cover of the leaves. Eventually it emerged and finally made for the tops of the trees - it had kept us entertained for most of an hour.

There was now a lull in Emperor activity, but several other enthusiasts joined the party. It was during this interlude that I wandered elsewhere, looking at the other species flying. However, when I returned a bit later, another Emperor had appeared.

This one spent lengthy periods on the ground over the next ninety minutes, but afforded its growing group of fans very few opportunities to see its trademark iridescence.

It retreated to the trees once or twice as well.

A few more views of this individual.

Quite a day! However, I think this is my favourite amongst the many Purple Emperor shots taken during the morning,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Fantastic set of Emperor and White Admiral shots Dave You're right about things getting short shrift when looking for Emperors - the times I've come home with barely anything on the memory card as I've spent most of my time craning my neck upwards stuff em that's what I reckon now Did you happen to catch any of the groups names as I think I can recognise a couple of them (Karl, Calvin)?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - the Emperors and White Admirals did me proud that day - especially the latter, which I largely had to myself while everyone else's attention was elsewhere. I'm a bit egalitarian with butterfly species - they all deserve their day in the spotlight!

So, on Sunday 30th June it was back to my local patch. Howeve, this was anything but an anticlimax, as despite lower temperatures and less sunshine the day was chock full of butterflies and 13 species were represented. There were several highlights too as well as the hundreds of Meadow Browns which continued to pop up from the grass at almost every step.

To start off with, the first Gatekeepers had appeared. I found three altogether, all males.

Next were the latest Marbled Whites to join the newly established colony.

a bit of context

Both Small and Essex Skippers were now in full flow, particularly the latter, and were starting to spread out across the grassland.

Small Skipper...

...and Essex.

There was a particularly bright new individual.

It was good to see that all three White species were now back again, but it was the GVW that stood out.

After my recent misgivings about Commas, already proved unfounded, there were a few nice examples around today.

However, the species of greatest concern is the Small Tortoiseshell. I had seen only a handful post-hibernation, and had yet to see any of a summer brood - until today. There was just one, basking on the ground under bright but cloudy skies.

Things have come a long way since the days when this species hung off flowers like colourful Christmas tree ornaments...

Also seen aside from those mentioned above: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Small Heath and Speckled Wood.

Dave

[millerd]

So that was June. I posted the local (Heathrow) weather stats for the month in the June sightings thread, but for convenience, here they are again.

The average daily high for June 2024 here was 22.0 degrees, compared to the 30-year average (1991-2020) of 21.57.

Sunshine hours were 206, compared to the 30-year average of 208.

Rainfall was 12.4 mm, compared to the 30-year average of 47.25.

The first half of the month was cool (almost every day below 21 degrees), including a string of five 17 degree days on the trot. By contrast, the second half was much warmer with every day (except 30th) 22 degrees or higher, including two days above 30 degrees. The result of this dichotomy was a month that was almost spot on average, just a shade above the norm and only the coolest since 2019.

Sunshine was also mostly in the second half of the month, but again overall was around the average of nearly 7 hours a day.

However, the standout feature of the month was the lack of rain - only around a quarter of the long-term June average

Comparing the butterflies with last year, most species were very much the same in terms of numbers and dates of first appearance. However there were exceptions.

Small Tortoiseshell: Just one second brood example right at the end of the month. In 2023 they appeared mid-month albeit in single figures.
Large Skipper: Very few seen in 2024, and never more than one in any single spot.
Brown Argus: In 2023, numbers exceeded those of the Common Blue - in 2024 this was completely reversed, even though the Common Blue numbers remained pretty well the same as in 2023.
White butterflies: The three Whites were largely absent throughout the whole of June 2024, but new examples started to appear well before the end of June 2023.
Small Heath: In complete contrast, numbers of this butterfly this year were more than double those for June 2023, and in fact the highest for some years.
Marbled White: Numbers have gradually increased year on year and were the highest yet in 2024 - they have clearly established themselves as newly-emerged examples were seen.
Meadow Brown: Always abundant almost from the outset, if anything there were even more around this year than last.

With the rather cool and often cloudy and wet start to July, it will be interesting to see what effect this has on things (remembering that July 2023 was nothing special weatherwise either).

Dave

[trevor]

A for your final Emperor shot, so much better on a leaf rather
than a gravel track or worse! Great to see the Small Tortoiseshell, still only
seen two so far this year, and that was post hibernation.

[millerd]

Thank you, Trevor - it was great to get a few different takes on the Emperors, and I was particularly pleased with that last one. It just shows - every year gives something a bit different, and you never quite know what to expect. Curiously, having posted that Tortoiseshell from 30th June last night, I found another one this morning! Nowhere near the other, and just the one, but a welcome surprise nonetheless.

Monday 1st July. The start of a new month, and the start of a long run of very similar days characterised by depressed temperatures, mostly only a few hours of sunshine and on some days quite a bit of rain. As I type this on 15th, that run still continues - though it is a bit warmer. However, by staying largely local, I've been able to see butterflies every day so far this month and (mostly thanks to Meadow Browns!) in respectable numbers. I suspect that at least in part this is down to the fact that at this time of year, the sun is at its highest and the UV levels are highest. The height of the midday sun also means that it travels through less cloud at its high angle and the butterflies can feel its strength through the cloud. They are therefore active in conditions that at other times of the year would ground them completely.

1st: a high of 21 degrees and just three hours of sunshine. My local walk produced 14 species, including at least 200 Meadow Browns and another distant sighting of yesterday's Small Tortoiseshell.

Highlights of the rest:

In fact two of the Meadow Browns proved of interest, demonstrating the common congenital aberration resulting in bleached wings.

Another had fallen to the clutches of a crab spider.

Dave

[millerd]

Tuesday 2nd July: A high of only 18 degrees and just three hours of sunshine - but the depressing-sounding conditions did little to reduce butterfly activity on my local patch. 13 species were seen, including towards the end of the afternoon when I went out again deliberately to look for them, half a dozen Purple Hairstreaks in the line of oaks and ashes next to where the A 3112 joins the J14 roundabout on the M25. There may well have been more, but I saw two separate groups of three butterflies glinting in the sunshine as they darted around the treetops. I await some more calm sunny evenings...

The late afternoon stroll also revealed just how many Red Admirals there were around. This is the time of day when the males go into battle, having spent the day after a spot of early breakfast nectar sitting around in the trees and bushes. I saw a series of dogfights with two, three or four butterflies involved, and added to the ones I'd seen elsewhere earlier in the day, I counted 15 or 16 individuals. None stopped for long.

During the day, I saw nearly as many Commas, too, though no more Small Tortoiseshells.

One of them was unusually small - about the size of a Gatekeeper, for which I initially mistook it. The small wasp in the photo might provide a size comparison, if I knew what it was...

I counted five Marbled Whites today, still enjoying the novelty of a pool of them on my local patch to dip into.

This time of year here is also all about Skippers - Small and Essex anyway. The latter continued to outnumber the former (or maybe were just easier to get close enough to to allow identification.

Small

Essex

Essex

Essex

My earlier walk had included a look at the spot on the SE corner of the A3044/A3112 roundabout where several years ago now there had been a tiny colony of Essex Skippers. I'd not seen them recently, but today they were back, right next to the traffic.

Essex

Essex

One or two other shots from the day.

Considering how many there are here, it must happen sometimes...

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking Essex shot Dave - no problems with the ID there Also really like the look of the Marbled Whites when taken from beneath - lovely to see I'm struggling to get out at the mo but hopefully I'll be able o make up for that come Shipton time...not far off now!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel! I seem to spend a lot of time taking shots of skippers locally to try and establish how many of each there are... After the Smalls started just one day ahead of them, the Essex have swiftly outpaced them as they always do here.

I'm looking forward to the Annual Shipton Brown Hairstreak Festival - I hope you get a chance to have a couple of recces in advance and get them all nicely set up for us...

Wednesday 3rd July was a bit warmer at 20 degrees, but the Heathrow sunshine recorder stuck firmly at zero all day. However, the UV levels in the middle part of the day encouraged the butterflies out. Not really expecting to photograph much, I decided to do one of my regular counts, but somehow one or two shots were taken (the skippers for ID purposes of course... ). The results:

Meadow Brown 267
Essex Skipper 30*
Gatekeeper 15
Small Skipper 12*
Small Heath 10
GVW 9
Red Admiral 8
Marbled White 3
Comma 3
Small White 2
Speckled Wood 2
Large White 1

*Worked out by dividing the overall total of 42 in the ratio of what was definitely confirmed, i.e. about 5:2.

The one Large White seen appeared not to want to be flying at all, and twice found spots to roost. You don't usually think of big white butterflies and camouflage, but this individual unerringly found pale leaves to rest on that almost exactly matched the pale greenish ground colour of its underside.

If I hadn't been watching it flying, I doubt I'd have found it. The GVW were a bit more obvious.

Marbled Whites you feel should be camouflaged, but among all the Meadow Browns, they rather stood out.

I was quite surprised to see a Comma, as they do prefer the sunshine...

...but Gatekeepers aren't so fussy it seems.

Neither were the two Skipper species, carrying on as normal except perhaps a bit more slowly. Small first...

...and then Essex.

All those that aren't obvious were verified by other shots that really aren't worth posting.

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

... A high of only 18 degrees and just three hours of sunshine - but the depressing-sounding conditions did little to reduce butterfly activity on my local patch...

Therein lies the difference between my patch and yours Dave. 'Only 18 degrees' would be a reasonable temperature for many days around here this year, we have often seen 15 or 16 degrees at best on overcast days during which not even the Specklies in my garden have been seen. On days like this the only butterflies see are the odd Ringlet or Meadow Brown that I put up out of the grass and which only fly a short distance before hiding deep down again.
My daughter in Emsworth enjoys similar average temperatures to yours, we have often noted the difference on our trips down to see her. Jane speaks to her most days on the phone and she is often enjoying a nice warm sunny day while we are stuck under depressing cloud here.

Anyway, another great selection from your patch.

Cheers,

Neil

[millerd]

... A high of only 18 degrees and just three hours of sunshine - but the depressing-sounding conditions did little to reduce butterfly activity on my local patch...

Therein lies the difference between my patch and yours Dave. 'Only 18 degrees' would be a reasonable temperature for many days around here this year, we have often seen 15 or 16 degrees at best on overcast days during which not even the Specklies in my garden have been seen. On days like this the only butterflies see are the odd Ringlet or Meadow Brown that I put up out of the grass and which only fly a short distance before hiding deep down again.
My daughter in Emsworth enjoys similar average temperatures to yours, we have often noted the difference on our trips down to see her. Jane speaks to her most days on the phone and she is often enjoying a nice warm sunny day while we are stuck under depressing cloud here.

Anyway, another great selection from your patch.

Cheers,

Neil

Thank you, Neil.

I have to say that it hasn't been particularly sunny during the first couple of weeks of July down here, but only a few days have had highs lower than 20 degrees (two 18s and a 19). However, the average July high here these days is just shy of 24 degrees, so 20 degrees is really cool! We have also had a month and a half's worth of rain already this month (though mostly at night). Despite all this, there have been reasonable numbers and variety of butterflies - so far...

The forecast for Thursday 4th July was for sunshine, though unspectacular temperatures. I decided to catch up with the Dark Green Fritillaries at Box Hill while this window of opportunity was open, and set out early to try and avoid some of the traffic. This did mean it was quite chilly to start with, but at least it slowed the butterflies down a bit - though they soon warmed up as the sun got higher. There were good numbers of males, both on Burford Spur and round the corner on the slopes to the east of the viewpoint...

...and I also disturbed a series of females from their hiding places in the long grass. They would then sail off into the distance with the wind. I managed to spot one ahead, but my super-stealthy approach was thwarted by a male which had also managed to spot her. I didn't see either of them again. However, in the end I caught one slightly more out in the open and which remained undisturbed long enough to photograph.

There were lots of Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns too, plus a few Small Skippers, a Ringlet or two and a couple of new Gatekeepers. After all the exertion of frantically following fast-flying Fritillaries, I rewarded myself with some of nature's bounty - and bizarrely received some quizzical looks while I was picking them.

It seems these days people are unaware that there are such things as wild raspberries...

Dave

[millerd]

Later in the day on 4th July, I spent a short while on the nearer parts of my local patch after going out to vote. After seeing one or two of both types of Skipper...

...I found a female GVW trying the white camouflage thing with a bindweed flower. It didn't quite work...

That left the typical late afternoon sunshine specialists along the wooded paths, the Red Admirals and the Commas. One Red Admiral took up position at the top of a tall nettle stalk.

Another example seemed to have particularly prominent blue markings.

Two Commas appeared to be the summer hutchinsoni form...

...but another looked much more like the standard version (or starski, as it has been unofficially dubbed ).

Dave

[Wurzel]

I definitely think that you have a popular 70's cop show on your hands there Dave, I'd be looking round for a Huggy Bear Cracking DGFs from before- I've still to find them, I'm so behind this year

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

The Smessex skippers all look like teddy bears, Wurzel!

You'd better get a wiggle on with the DGFs - There are some lovely fresh females about, but the males I saw yesterday at Box Hill were getting a bit tired from whizzing about the hillside and being chased off the flowers by Meadow Browns.

Friday 5th July stayed passably warm at 22 degrees, but the sun disappeared again except for a scant hour's worth spread through the day. Once again, my local lepidoptera didn't appear particularly bothered, and there were good numbers of both Small and Essex Skippers. It goes without saying that Meadow Browns were in their hundreds, and Gatekeepers were quickly building numbers as they always seem to do.

As Bugboy alluded to elsewhere, deciding which Skipper is which is tricky, even with close views. Some are definitely Essex..

....some are Small...

...and some are not so obvious. I think this is a Small Skipper as I have a blurred shot from a different angle that supports this assumption.

Then we have the conundrum that I posed in a separate thread, when it appears that this mating pair might possibly be one of each. They were first seen in the background of a shot of a definite male Small that was attracted to the female, no doubt.

Close-ups of the antennae of the two protagonists didn't help much.

However, the consensus in the end from m'learned friends on UKB was that they were a pair of Small Skippers.

Also seen today was a single new male Common Blue, likely the first of the summer brood.

Small Heath numbers were tailing off a little after their peak at the end of June, but they are almost continuous from May to September.

I would normally say the same about Speckled Woods, but I have seen only a handful since mid-May after a cracking start in April. This new one was a welcome sight.

There were Marbled Whites again - though the three I saw were a bit worn.

One had noticeably scalloped edges to its wings.

Dave

[millerd]

Saturday 6th July was a cool day (18 degrees max today), and the sunshine was fitted in around showers, some of which were heavy. My local excursion was brought to a close by the prospect of one of these...

That ominous formation was headed directly for me, and actually paused takeoffs at Heathrow until it had passed through.

Curiously, Commas seemed to be the most prominent butterfly today during my somewhat truncated walk.

This one appeared to be a female, investigating the hop leaves with a view to laying.

The usual suspects - Skippers, Gatekeepers, GVW and Red Admirals - made up the numbers on the photo front today.

There was an unusual amount of blue on the forewings of this Red Admiral

Dave

[millerd]

Weatherwise, Sunday 7th July was more of the same - cool, short spells of sunshine interrupted by the threat of showers, or once or twice the actual thing. As ever, though, my local patch was able to provide a bit of interest.

Numbers of GVW were rising, with both males and females seen.

One female was skulking around close to the ground, and upon investigation was found to be depositing eggs.

GVW don't seem to lay single eggs: from my (limited) observations, they seem to come in pairs.

Another new Common Blue was good to see, but just the one.

There were now more female Gatekeepers among the increasing numbers of males.

Brand new today were the first of the new brood of Peacocks. It would great to see as many as I did here at this stage of 2023, but that would be a lot to ask. Just the two today as a taster...

The Commas are still a glorious sight, patrolling the hedges and overseeing the paths...

...a role normally undertaken by Red Admirals, though this one appeared to have been sidetracked by a buddleia (as is traditional per the butterfly books).

Also seen today: Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Small White, Large White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking Peacock Dave, looks a little char-grilled around the edges As for the Smessex Skippers in cop - I'm not touching that with a 60ft pole Soon be hunting for Brostreaks - much easier to ID

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Brand new Peacocks often look a little singed round the edges - splendid butterflies too, and quite a few of them around at the moment.

Very wise not to pontificate on that pairing, Wurzel - I'm still not 100% certain either way on that. You never know, their offspring might actually be genuine Smessex Skippers...

Monday 8th July showed a slight warming (all of 20 degrees), but still lacked much sunshine. Unsurprisingly, my local walk (not a lot of point venturing further at present) produced similar outcomes to previous days. Nevertheless, there's always something to pique the interest, and today the GVW stood out from the pack.

One butterfly in particular stood out - a sparkling new female which was a beautiful pale lemon colour underneath, enhanced by the relatively understated black scaling along the veins.

All three golden skippers were present today, including what has turned out to be the last Large Skipper of the year here. Not a good year for them (not just here, but everywhere by the look of it).

Small

Essex

Large

Large

Having not seen any yesterday, three Marbled Whites turned up today. One was a female I'd seen before...

...another was a different female...

...and the last a new male.

One or two other things...

Dave

[millerd]

Tuesday 9th July was perhaps the worst day of the relatively cool and dull spell at the start of July - it rained sporadically all day and the sun failed to appear at all. I managed to find only five species prepared to fly a little in such conditions: Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Small and Essex Skippers (tiny enough to dodge the raindrops?), and GVW. Very poor light made taking photos a bit of a thankless task with my camera and I ended up with a lot of fuzzy dim blurs - which are distinctly unhelpful when trying to ID skippers... I came away with just one half-decent shot of anything, a fresh female Gatekeeper that had ventured out in the open.

Dave