June 2012

[Philzoid]

Alright Philzoid? You lucky get!

ThanKs Wurzel I suppose I am really, but the real joy is knowing that the colony is still there

[David M]

How much has the site changed since last June? Is it still effectively unmanaged or are there fences, trenches and/or signs of disturbance everywhere?

[NickB]

Unexpected long sunny periods brought out several Speckled Wood, OTs (M&F), Small White, with a couple of Holly Blue, and my first Common Blue this year in the Cemetery, a female. Hope she finds a mate...

[Philzoid]

How much has the site changed since last June? Is it still effectively unmanaged or are there fences, trenches and/or signs of disturbance everywhere?

It has hardly changed to be honest. If you feel bad about climbing a small fence you should bear in mind that there is another un-restricted entrance at the top of the site. Dog walkers are often seen here. The trench whilst it causes consternation to my 8 year old daughter is a simple step over. The land has not been ploughed or any scrub cleared ... in fact the only real difference is that the vegetation is lush, which is reflection on the weather this year compared to the drought like conditions of last.
For me the only surprise is the lateness of the Fritillaries and the low numbers too. I was told that people with nets were seen at Wrecclesham and when challenged they said they were looking at Cinnabar moths Perhaps collectors have caused the more than decimated population this year?

BTW NickB love the photo of the female Orange-tip in flight
Also, I've noticed that all the pictures of female Common Blues I see these days have a fair degree of blue in them. In fact I can't remember the last time I saw a 'brown' female myself ... perhaps a challenge for someone to get one posted?

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Philzoid,

I have also noticed the 'blueness' of the female Common Blues so far this year.

This one is the 'brownest' I have seen so far, posted in my diary a couple of days back.

Common blue female - Great Yarmouth north dunes 30.05.2012

Cheers,

Neil F.

[NickB]

BTW NickB love the photo of the female Orange-tip in flight

It was entirely by accident. She's actually just thrown herself off the flower, as I got too close, again ....
...(taking my 24-70mm wide-angle macro out with me these days...)
Even the female CB I saw today was quite blue....

[David M]

I was told that people with nets were seen at Wrecclesham and when challenged they said they were looking at Cinnabar moths

I wonder whether these people are actually involved in the local breeding programme. After all, this species is relatively easy to breed and all it would take would be a few gravid females.

Perhaps that's why the colony has persisted?

[Philzoid]

I wonder whether these people are actually involved in the local breeding programme. After all, this species is relatively easy to breed and all it would take would be a few gravid females.

Perhaps that's why the colony has persisted?

I hope you are right there David and I'm jumping to conclusions . Perhaps that was an honest answer .. .cinnabar moths .... Or, if they were doing it for the reason you state wouldn't honesty is the best approach Why would they want to hide that it was a local breeding programme (perhaps I'm naive here?)

As I understand it Wrecclesham Glanvilles has only just become common knowledge last year although the colony is reputed to be 10 years old. It might be that this has attracted collectors, not necessarily people with nets but collectors of (gregarious) larvae. This then might explain why after a 'good year in 2011' the numbers appear to have crashed?

Still, it's all speculation . I hope in the next couple of visits I'll be seeing that numbers have picked up .

Phil

[Philzoid]

This one is the 'brownest' I have seen so far, posted in my diary a couple of days back.

Have to agree with you there Neil, that's the Brownest Common Blue female I've seen in a while (but sill no chance of getting it mixed up with a Brown Argus )

It was entirely by accident. She's actually just thrown herself off the flower, as I got too close, again ....

These accidental shots are great though . In the past I've picked up quite a few (rough ones not quality images) and often thought about doing an ID challenge of blurred images, for a winter month posting.

Phil

[Mark Tutton]

Hi All - I too have noticed that nearly all the CB females to date have been very blue. Got quite excited about the first one but to date I have only seen a couple of brown ones over quite a large number of sites and good numbers of females.
Following the May comments about the lack of Speckled woods I have been seeing reasonable numbers more recently - on the rare days the weather has been favourable!!!
If there is any chance of sun at the weekend i may try and get to Wrecclesham if I get a chance - will let you know what I find.
I am also going to Oxford for work early next week so might try out for Black Hairstreak but the weather is looking poor. Anyone know if any BH's have been seen yet?
I'm not sure if its my imagination but there seem to have been far more reports of people with nets this year than I recall previously?
I came across two instances last year one young chap attempting to collect Dukes at Butser Hill and another very well equipped chap in Alice Holt forest with a long reach net who quite openly told me he was trying to capture Emporer females 'for his breeding stock.'
All very dissappointing in these enlightended times?
Good Hunting Mark

[MikeOxon]

These accidental shots are great though

I was lining up for a shot of a Glanville Frit. at Sand Point when another muscled in on the shot! Too slow a shutter speed, unfortunately, but quite an interesting accidental shot.

Sand Point - 28th May 2012
Nikon D300s with 300f4+1.4X TC - 1/500s@f/8 ISO400

Mike

[Neil Freeman]

Following the May comments about the lack of Speckled woods I have been seeing reasonable numbers more recently - on the rare days the weather has been favourable!!!

The slight gap in seeing Speckled Wood around the end of May is perfectly normal for me.
Having a few resident in my garden, I notice a week or two between the last of the first brood disappearing and the first of the second brood showing up. Due to our weather the gap is not always very noticeable and in fact some years there is a bit of an overlap with faded first brood individuals hanging on in there with fresh second brood.

The first brood are the ones that overwintered as pupae with the second brood being those that overwintered as larvae, hence the comparitively short time between them.
I believe that the Speckled Wood is the only UK butterfly to overwinter as either a larva or pupa, could be wrong here, there may be others.

Cheers,

Neil F.

[Willrow]

Yesterday afternoon I decided to take a break from my gardening chores and have a stroll around one of my local patches Parc Penallta, the morning had been very unsettled and the showers had been quite heavy, now the showers had died down and by mid-afternoon the sun was trying it's best to exercise (it does'nt get much practice these days ) I'm forever the optimist and my optimism was rewarded by my first sighting of the year of a male Large Skipper, this was followed by a Dingy Skipper and half a dozen Green-veined White and a few Small & Large White the only other species seen was Small Heath and they were in reasonable numbers, but sadly no other species were seen, I had to keep convincing myself that it really was one week into flaming June it's unnatural for it to be so butterfly-less!!! Furthermore I had not a glimpse of any dragonflies or damselflies...

As consolation there was a rather splendid show of Southern Marsh Orchid throughout the Parc and they complimented the masses of buttercups perfectly. I was back in the garden again before teatime...but Saturday promises to be a much kinder day...

Bill

These are most likely to be Southern Marsh Orchid, but then I'm no Orchid expert...

The breezy conditions made photography quite difficult.

Pristine male Large Skipper, but only one was seen!

Quite a few Small Heath were out and about during the afternoon.

[David M]

You did well to see any butterflies yesterday, Bill. Batten down the hatches because south Wales is going to be subjected to some abnormally harsh filth over the next 24 hours. 3 inches of rain forecast over the hills with 60 mph winds.

This is fast turning into the year without a summer.

[Willrow]

This is fast turning into the year without a summer.

Can't remember a 'proper' summer in South Wales since 2006 David, we've had the odd week here and there since then, but on the whole we've had a pretty miserable time of it over the past five years or so, both summers and winters have been cr*p But I'll restate my mantra...'Remain Optimistic & Remain Positive cos' it's the best option, it can't go on indefinitely!!!

Bill

[David M]

Highly enjoyable late morning/early afternoon spent at Old Castle Down/Alun Valley near Bridgend.

I was desperate to get out after the storms recently, and it looks like the butterflies needed the same kind of relief. There were plenty about, including some species seen for the first time this year.

Over two dozen Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries, including this mating pair:



Speckled Woods were out in force, and I saw my first Meadow Browns of the year as well as my first Large Skipper. Surprise of the day though was seeing 3 Dark Green Fritillaries, though as usual they were impossible to approach and I had to employ my zoom:



The marsh thistles are only just flowering but this species will hunt them down:



Total numbers seen were:

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary 25-35
Speckled Wood 20-30
Small Heath 20-30
Meadow Brown 4
Common Blue 3
Large White 3
Dark Green Fritillary 3
Large Skipper 1
Brimstone 1
Small Tortoiseshell 1
Red Admiral 1

[Hoggers]

Heath Fritillaries are out in growing numbers at East Blean Wood

I watched these two fluttering their wings at each other,one raising its ( her? ) abdomen, before they settled down quietly together

I also saw these two and noticed a difference in the underwing pattern: can anyone out there say whether this is a male and a female, and which is which?

[David M]

Hoggers, the Heath Fritillary in your fourth photo seems abnormally dark. Is this normal in that area?

PS: If Heaths follow the same pattern as PBFs and SPBFs, then the female will generally be the one with the more heavily marked underside.

[Hoggers]

It was rather dark but I don't know if that is normal,I'm afraid David. Thanks for the information regarding the pattern: I didn't know if it was natural variation or a difference between the sexes.

[David M]

It was rather dark but I don't know if that is normal,I'm afraid David. Thanks for the information regarding the pattern: I didn't know if it was natural variation or a difference between the sexes.

I don't think it's necessarily a default guide to identification. To be honest, whenever I see mating pairs, I usually assume that the female is the brighter of the pair.

This works well in most situations since an unmated female isn't generally going to spend much time holding onto that status. Females are actively pursued by males which usually emerge a few days prior and spend time defending territoties - it goes without saying that they're likely to be more faded and battle scarred when they finally get to copulate. In fact, many females are pounced upon before their wings are properly inflated after pupation.

With British Fritillaries though, I've noticed that females tend to be more heavily marked both on the upperside and the underside. I have no real experience of Heaths (seen them just once in Somerset - although I saw hundreds in France last year as well). Tie that in with the fact that they are generally fresher than the male that mates with them and I think you can safely say that in well over 80% of cases, the female will appear in better condition than the male.