May 2014

[kevling]

Having enjoyed my favourite butterfly on the wing recently, I made it my mission to observe the Orange Tip in it's earlier life stages. Whilst walking in Ipswich, I found some eggs and then a small number of caterpillars in what I believe to be the their first or second instar.
Due to the windy conditions, the final larvae photo is a little blurred, but it does show an egg in the same shot.

Next comes the tricky part of finding a chrsyalis. I'll do that after I've found Shergar and Lord Lucan


Kind Regards
Kev Ling

[sahikmet]

Hi, Yesterday at Aston Rowant lots of Common Blues and Brown Argus. A few small and large white and Speckled Wood. Two Brimstone. One Green Hairstreak Cheers Sezar

[adrian riley]

Does anyone know if there is a sightings page for Northamptonshire? I'm hoping to try and see Wood Whites there this year but as yet I'm having trouble tracking whether they've emerged and where to be looking.

http://ebasic.easily.co.uk/049036/013039/northants.html (part of the Beds-Northants BC site http://www.bedsnorthants-butterflies.org.uk/)

"May 16th: Thirty plus Wood Whites were flying in Sywell Wood, with egg-laying noted on both meadow vetchling and bird’s-foot trefoil. "

If you look on www.bugalert.net you will find current sightings details for all species of Butterfly and Dragonfly throughout the British Isles.
Adrian Riley

[adrian riley]

Yikes! I'm deeply concerned lots of species seem to be very early this year...
Making my quest for all 59 extremely difficult!
Only just bagged Glanville Fritillary...next week earnmarked for Ireland and Scotland...and with no Small-Pearl Bordered yet...and people are saying Heath Fritillary has been out for weeks...Swallowtail already available in Norfolk...its all scary stuff!
Looks like my timetable is right out the window...

Just to add to the panic; Chequered McSkipper is now on the wing throughout its range!!!!!
Adrian Riley www.bugalert.net

[dave brown]

jasonbirder wrote:Yikes! I'm deeply concerned lots of species seem to be very early this year...
Making my quest for all 59 extremely difficult!
Only just bagged Glanville Fritillary...next week earnmarked for Ireland and Scotland...and with no Small-Pearl Bordered yet...and people are saying Heath Fritillary has been out for weeks...Swallowtail already available in Norfolk...its all scary stuff!
Looks like my timetable is right out the window...

Same thing appears to be happening in the Orchid and Dragonfly world. If it carries on at this speed the season will be over before we realise.

[Willrow]

Cerne Abbas, Dorset. Just back from a family break in delightful Dorset and having to try and put my natural history tendencies to one side for a few days relaxation was hard so I craftily worked in a 'splendid view' walk around the 'The Giant' and surprise! surprise! there just happened to be loads of Marsh Fritillary out and about on the lower reaches and I was also able to point out several Duke of Burgundy to my wife, who was overwhelmed to at last see such an iconic species Lots of habitat management has been undertaken on the hill and we watched as a JCB type vehicle made short work of scrub removal, it will prove interesting to return in a couple of years and see the benefits.

The hillside is considerably more friendly for the walker than many other downland sites I could mention and I can recommend a visit to any butterfly enthusiast visiting the area. Other species seen during our casual stroll included; Orange-tip, Small White, Green-veined White, Large White, Speckled Wood, Dingy Skipper and a fly-past Red Admiral which incidentally is the first I've seen this year. Surprisingly not a blue was seen, but then again we were only there for the 'spendid view' ...

Kevling my apologies for belated info request, I'm reliably informed that Duke of Burgundy are out on Prestbury Hill.

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

[Ian Pratt]

Torrential rain and storm -force winds on the Isle of Wight until mid afternoon today, when everything calmed down and the sun shone. I managed to get to Bonchurch to see some good GFs, one small white , some male and female common blues and my first two hummingbird hawk moths this year.

[David M]

Good effort to catch the Hummingbird Hawk Moth at rest, Ian.

[Ian Pratt]

Good effort to catch the Hummingbird Hawk Moth at rest, Ian.

Thanks David, they are normally quite flighty!
Ian

[MrSp0ck]

There is a guided Walk at Hutchinson's Bank 25th May for those interested and not too far away. 11am Start from Farleigh Dean Crescent. There was one Glanville seen on Wednesday and a different one on Friday. [one was Male and one Female], so there is a chance that they will be seen on the walk if its sunny.

[Lee Hurrell]

I saw a Glanville at Hutchinson's Bank on Friday too. I was with a chap smoking a pipe when I saw it, later I met a chap with glasses who had seen one also. So possibly two seen on Friday.

Loads of Common Blue, Small Blue, Dingy Skipper, Brimstone, 1 Brown Argus and a mating pair of Buff Tip moths.

[Hoggers]

Four Painted Ladies at Dungeness today

Happy Hunting,

Hoggers.

[MrSp0ck]

There is a guided Walk at Hutchinson's Bank 25th May for those interested and not too far away. 11am Start from Farleigh Dean Crescent. There was one Glanville seen on Wednesday and a different one on Friday. [one was Male and one Female], so there is a chance that they will be seen on the walk if its sunny.

Some people on the walk saw Glanville at Hutchinson's Bank today, some in the afternoon sunshine, and a few people failed to see any today, I had one feeding on Sainfoin about 3.30pm. Estimate about 3 Glanvilles today.

At Denbies Hillside this morning a [male/female adonis blue, 80% male 20% female] i took a few record shots of it but it was too windy to get better ones.

I will be putting these on my blog later.

[nomad]

Nice female Adonis Blue - Cotwolds.

[Philzoid]

Sunday 25th
Due to the atrocious weather this week this late report is not likely to look too out of place on the sightings board.

Without the kids in tow I met up with Wurzel at a sunny Bentley Wood's eastern clearing to see the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. It was that crossover time when you encounter both species with old stager sandy coloured Pearl-bordereds mixed in with fresh deep orange Small Pearls (making picking them out in flight a doddle). However there were a few Pearls still in tidy condition. Also seen were Brimstones; Dingy Skipper and Broad-bodied chaser dragonflies
In addition a forest Duke had been sighted but I missed out (again).

Pearl

Small Pearl

Moving on to a Wiltshire hill site we were barely out of the car when a Green-veined white turned up. Nice start . Moving onto the hill our next species was a Green Hairstreak followed by the main speceis we'd come to see: Marsh Fritillary and a whole host of other winged insects jinking around in the grass: Dingy Skipper; Brown Argus; Common Blue; Small Blue; Garden chafer beetles; Burnet Companion; Yellow Shell and Five-spot Burnet moths.

Female Marshie

Five-spot Burnet f. minoides

Such was the wealth of species on show it was hard to drag ourselves off the hill for lunch despite more thicker cloud blowing in and causing long lulls in the activity. Further searching rewarded us with Small Heath; Adonis Blue; Grizzled Skipper Large Skipper and Wall Brown.

Male Wall Brown

Eventually sated and with Wurzel needing to get back (despite being spared two specific days of his holiday period for such purposes they were not full days (should be able to bank Tuesday though Wurzel )) we made our way back to the car and were rewarded with a further three species including my first Red Admiral of the year . As it flew by we both shouted Red Admiral before it dawned on Wurzel that I was now one up on him for the season (Wood White) .
The other two were Small White and Holly Blue.

I returned to Bentley for the elusive underside Small Pearl-bordered shot. With the sunshine back the late afternoon was the time to get them roosting and I wasn't to be disappointed. In addition I was given a further treat when someone found a forest Duke to round off another fantastic day .

Forset Duke nectaring on Wood Spurge

Browner than the downland ones I think

In total I saw 21 species (includes Small Tortoiseshell larvae) which is just one shy of my single day record . Notable exceptions were Peacock; Orange-tip; Large White and Small Copper which would've put my count out of reach for some time

Phil

[Jack Harrison]

27th May Ariundle Wood for Chequered Skipper.

I drew a blank as did another enthusiast. I was about to drive off when he came rushing back to show me a photo just taken of Chequered Skipper. We went back to where he had seen it but no further sightings. I will be returning to Ariundle next week to search again. Apparently best spot is between the car park and start of the heavily wooded section.

GV Whites in their hundreds today, circa six Speckled Woods and two tired Peacocks.

Jack

[dave_b_james]

I've just had a great weekend with some great looking butterflies. Here in Northants the best day of the weekend weather wise was Sunday so I headed up to one of the best sites round here for Wood White - Sywell Wood. Almost straight away Wood Whites could be seen flying along the main ride just off the A43 north of Northampton and a lot of them were great looking specimens. I think the recent bad weather followed by this sudden very sunny day must have started an emergence as some of them had very crinkled wings and they seemed to be everywhere, on flowers, on bushes and in the grass. They were also proving to be very photogenic too! In the past I've had some very frustrating days trying to get pics of them but today they seemed quite content and very approachable - even having one rest on my finger.

Wood White, Sywell Wood, Northants

Wood White, Sywell Wood, Northants

On the bank holiday Monday the rain started to pour and the weather forecast said it would carry on all day. Me and a couple of friends then decided on an off the cuff visit to Norfolk with Swallowtails being the main target species. We drove from Northampton to Strumpshaw and after getting directions to the doctor's house we were soon rewarded with close up views of incredible looking Swallowtails. One very nice looking one spent nearly an hour on the flowers in the borders and we got some good shots.

Swallowtail, Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk

Swallowtail, Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk

Swallowtail, Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk

Swallowtail, Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk

Swallowtail, Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk

After spending a few hours taking pics we reluctantly left and headed to Holt Country Park with the hope if seeing the Broad Bordered Bee Hawkmoths I'd heard so much about. We were very surprised to find them in the car park and in the small clearing just off it. Taking pics was a challenge but a bit of perseverance got some decent shots in the end. I have to say being a relative newcomer to this today was the first time I'd had the opportunity to see the Swallowtails and it was an experience I don't think I'll forget in a hurry!

Broad Bordered Bee Hawkmoth, Holt CP, Norfolk

[Willrow]

In total I saw 21 species (includes Small Tortoiseshell larvae) which is just one shy of my single day record . Notable exceptions were Peacock; Orange-tip; Large White and Small Copper which would've put my count out of reach for some time

Great report Phil, adding those species would certainly have made it a day to remember, there's always a next time that 5 Spot Burnet was a real bonus find - well done!!!

Some super images on your report dave_b, cracking Swallowtails...I'm green with envy

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

[Wurzel]

Great report Philzoid - it's saved me writing a post - I can just upload my photos and put "what he said" Going back for the Small Pearls paid off, cracking shots Large Blue next or Secret Squirrels??

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Philzoid]

that 5 Spot Burnet was a real bonus find - well done!!!

Thanks for that Bill . It was Wurzel who spotted the Burnet, (he tends to spot more things than I do these days ) but with me being a bit of a moth man I thought I'd get some shots and check it out.

Great report Philzoid - it's saved me writing a post - I can just upload my photos and put "what he said" Going back for the Small Pearls paid off, cracking shots Large Blue next or Secret Squirrels??

I couldn't imagine you not doing a report Wurzel and such were the days' sightings there's plenty left to talk about . As for our next trip: I think for me it has to be Large Blue as I've missed seeing them the last couple of seasons

BTW Fantastic shots there dave_b_james. Looks like you didn't have to work too hard for the Swallowtails (Last year I had to walk halfway around the fen in blazing hot sunshine to get mine ). The Broad-bordered Bee Hawk is an excellent shot .