Maximus

[David M]

I've just bought some Honesty in the hope of attracting Orange Tips but I'll look out for Green Veined Whites near it too after reading that commentary.

[Maximus]

Thanks Philip, glad you like the Green-veined White pics, they're lovely butterflies.

Just as soon as it was placed in the garden she jumped on it, a wise buy David.


Our recently planned visits to various places in search of butterflies have been pretty much weather dependant, so today, being no exception, we set off for Chiddingfold Wood based entierly on the Met. Office forecast. However, when we got there at 11am we realised they'd got it wrong, and instead of the sun they had promised, it was overcast, grey and cool! We had come to look for Wood Whites, and as they require warm conditions to fly in, things were not looking too promising! We walked right through to Oaken Wood without seeing a single Wood White, so retraced our steps until we arrived at Tugley Wood. Having reached the road at the Tugley Wood entrance we decided to then walk back along the ride, by which time it had brightened up slightly and raised our hopes a little. It was by now about 2pm, and we'd walked approximately 300 yards back up the ride when suddenly I spotted a Wood White sitting on a small bush at the edge.

Our second and third Wood Whites followed shortly afterwards..

In all we saw 5 Wood Whites, lucky in such cool conditions

Chiddingfold ride

We also saw several Orange-tips which were posing very nicely on stichwort..

Threre were many Nightingales singing along the edges of the rides, which added a tropical sound to the woodland.

Woodland ride

In total we saw 5 Wood Whites, 4 Orange-tips, 3 Speckled Woods and 2 Peacocks. We also saw 4 Buzzards flying over the woodland.

[Pauline]

Great Wood White shots Mike but aren't they making us work for our photos this year The OT's were really well-spotted too - I likely walked straight past them, too busy looking for Whites in trees

[Lee Hurrell]

That all looks familiar! I saw 7 at Chiddingfold Forest on Monday.

Perhaps it was a good job it was grey with no sun - lovely photos, Mike.

Best wishes,

Lee

[Maximus]

Thanks Pauline, there certainly was some leg work involved to get those photos and we just tripped over the Orange-tips

I'm sure you have walked that path many times Lee glad you saw 7 on the Monday. Sometimes a lack of sun can be of assistance



After checking the BBC weather online at midnight on Wednesday, we decided to visit Rake Bottom at Butser Hill, as the forecast for Thursday was about the best it was going to be weatherwise for a while, and we wanted to see some Grizzled and Dingy Skippers. We got to Butser around midday and, although there were a number of dark clouds threatening rain, it was quite clammy and hardly any breeze, which made a pleasant change.
It was a tricky journey up the path trying to avoid the mud and deep puddles, but we managed it somehow, and were rewarded by the sound of our first Cuckoo of the year. We met a lady coming in the opposite direction who said she'd been looking for butterflies herself, but had only seen one Duke of Burgundy, a couple of Grizzled Skippers and not a lot else. She blamed the dull weather on the lack of butterflies, but felt sure we would see something if we had the patience to stay long enough for the sun to put in an appearance.
We had a look around the area just inside the entrance gate, but all we saw was the odd Orange-tip and a couple of male Brimstones on the wing. We made our way further into the valley and looked among the tall grasses as we did, eventually spotting a roosting Grizzled Skipper perched on a tall grass stem. It was then that the sun came out and we were treated to the sight of many more Grizzled and a few Dingy Skippers buzzing through the undergrowth, along with a number of Green Hairstreaks nectaring on the Bugle, Violets and Wild Strawberry flowers.

While we had full sun we decided to go back down to the area near the entrance gate and search among the Cowslips for any Dukes that might have materialised. When we got there I spotted a Duke almost immediately, flying rapidly along the grass verge. Fortunately it settled on a blade of grass enabling me to take some photos. On closer inspection I noticed she was a very fresh and vibrant Duchess..

Meanwhile, Cathy had climbed a little way up the bank and found a handsome Duke perched on a grass blade..

A bit later on, at about 6pm, whilst watching for a Dingy Skipper to settle for a photo halfway up the bank, Cathy spotted what she thought was a Duke perched on a bramble. On closer examination she realised that it was not just one, but two Dukes ... A mating pair! Cathy then gave me a shout and I hurried up the hill to join her and managed to get these photos..

When we left them they were still coupled.

As we made our way back to the gate we could hear two cuckoos calling, one at either end of the valley. We were also surprised by the sighting of these two UFO's flying low across the hilltop

What lengths some people wll go to to see mating Dukes

What a fantastic day we had. In total we saw 6 Duke of Burgundy (including the mating pair), dozens of Grizzled Skippers and about half as many Dingy Skippers, 8 Green Hairstreaks, 4 Orange-tips, 2 Green-veined Whites, a few male Brimstones, 1 Peacock, 1 unusually large Small Tortoiseshell (the same size as the Peacock) and 6 Burnet Moths. We also were lucky enough to spot this Common Lizard..

[Wurzel]

Stunning shots Mike - I don't think I've seen such a good looking Duchess The Wood Whites are a lovely sequence I hope to catch up with them this year - I love the way they fly looking so fragile that they almost dropping out of the sky

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Thanks for your positive response Wurzel.

[Pauline]

Just catching up with your diary Mike - smashing mating pair, well spotted Cathy. Love the Grizzled Skipper too.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Mike,

Some lovely photos in your last couple of posts, love the mating pair of DoB...and the Wood Whites...and all the rest

I am still on 9 species, think I will have to get one of those hang glider thingies and head south

Cheers,

Neil.

[Maximus]

Thanks Pauline - Cathy has a good eye for them

Cheers Neil, 9 species you may be on, but you have posted some great photos of of them I've a feeling you will manage without the flying contraption




We are at present rearing both Purple and Brown Hairstreaks. All of the Purple Hairstreak but one, are in the process of or have already pupated.
The Brown Hairstreak larvae are contained on 3 potted Blackthorn plants, 6 one one plant, 5 on another and 2 earlier instar larvae on the last. We decided to put them together after keeping our Purple Hairstreak larvae in pairs, which caused no problems and in fact they were invariably found together even though they had plenty of twigs to choose from.
The Brown Hairstreak larvae also appear to co-exist without problem, even given the number per plant. We have noticed that they also tend to group together, but during the day they rest individually on the underside of their own nearby leaf.

35 days old

35 days old

Three in this photo, one is out of focus in the background

35 days old

The two earlier instar larvae at 15 days old

15 days old

[Neil Freeman]

...I've a feeling you will manage without the flying contraption

Thanks Mike, I'll probably manage ok...but wouldn't it be fun to scout out habitat from one of those things

Interesting stuff following your hairstreaks development and great photos of them

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Brill images Mike - no wonder I've never seen them

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

It would give a great birds eye view Neil, but we can do without it glad you like the Hairstreak development and photos.


Thanks Wurzel, its just a question of getting your eye in



This morning we noticed that one of our reared Brown Hairstreak larva was making its way down the Blackthorn plant. I took some photos as it was presumably on its was down to commence pupation.

It disappeared under the Oak leaves and we left it to find a suitable place to pupate.

This evening when we returned home Cathy spotted one of our second instar Brown Hairstreak larva sitting on the rim of the pot containing the Blackthorn plant. I gently picked it up on some tissue and placed it back onto a leaf which it immediately climbed underneath and commenced feeding.

Hopefully he'll remain on the plant until it's his time to pupate and not go exploring his environment again

[David M]

Great images, Maximus. This forum has really become an important inventory for early stage images over the last year or so.

Fabulous stuff.

[Maximus]

Thanks David, I agree that this forum is an important medium for showcasing all stages of butterfly development.


Today in the garden we saw eight species of butterfly, a couple of which I managed to photograph.

Large White

Green-veined White

Orange-tip (female)

We saw Small White, Green-veined White, Orange-tip, Speckled Wood, Peacock, Holly Blue, Brimstone and our first Large White of 2014.

[Wurzel]

Lovely shots of the whites Mike I sometimes think that the Green-veined White was misnamed - the Smoky White would have been better

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Cheers Wurzel, Smoky White would have been a great name


This weekend has been spent in the garden catching up on some of those jobs that have been put on hold. Fortunately we have Garlic Mustard and Honesty which have attracted the attention of female Green-veined Whites and also Orange-tips. The Green-veined White ova are yet to hatch but yesterday several of the Orange-tip ova did.

Orange-tip ovum on underside of Garlic Mustard leaf

Ovum under flower

Ovum under leaf

Ovum on stem

I was quite surprised to see ova on leaves, I thought this was GV-White territory!

Lava inside egg - close to hatching

At this point we had to go out and knew what would happen, and so on our return...

Newly hatched larva

Earlier on during the afternoon a male Orange-tip paid a visit to our Bowles-Mauve and spent a while nectaring...

... and I was lucky enough to catch him in flight

[Neil Hulme]

I love that O Tip in flight Mike - great capture!
BWs, Neil

[Butterflysaurus rex]

I agree with Neil, that one's a real cracker Mike

B'saurus

[Neil Freeman]

Ditto the OT in flight Mike

The Garlic Mustard in my garden has not done that well this year, just a few scraggly plants which have been ignored so far. It is as if the females OTs know that the plants are not up to scratch.

Cheers,

Neil.