Maximus

[Maximus]

Thanks Mike

Thanks Wurzel, hope you got to see some SSB's


A quick visit to Alice Holt forest today gave us three new species for 2014.

Beautiful Camilla

Ringlets with varying amounts of spots on the forewing..

Meadow Brown..

..and Speckled Wood..

We also saw 2 Silver-washed Fritillaries but did not get a chance of a photo. Our total count was 2 White Admirals, 2 SWF, 4 Ringlets, 5 Speckled Woods, 2 Red Admirals, 1 Large Skipper, 2 Meadow Browns and 1 Small Tortoiseshell.

[Maximus]

Today we saw some local freshly emerged male Marbled Whites, and what stunning butterflies they are. These are the first of this species we have seen in 2014

[Neil Freeman]

Today we saw some local freshly emerged male Marbled Whites, and what stunning butterflies they are...

Hi Mike,

I agree, There is something about the simplicity of black and white that is really appealing. Marbled Whites are my son Chris's favourite butterfly.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

I too agree Mike - stunning butterflies, and excellent camera fodder Thanks for the good wishes Mike - they seemed to pay off with my first Marbled Whites, Small Skipper, Ringlets, Silver Studs, DGFs and Lulworth Skippers this weekend - any chance you can do me the same favour for Large Blues and Purple Emperors?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

I agree, There is something about the simplicity of black and white that is really appealing. Marbled Whites are my son Chris's favourite butterfly.

Couldn't agree more. Marbled Whites are SO distinctive but at the same time they are highly beautiful and redolent of long, midsummer days when the grass is long and nature is in its prime.

They are ephemeral flying chessboards and I never get tired of seeing them.

[Maximus]

Hi Neil, I'm not surprised they are your son's favourites, simply black and white and gorgeous


Great camera fodder Wurzel, my good wishes extend to Large Blue, to add to your tally


I agree David, i'll never tire of seeing Marbled Whites, midsummer butterflies at thir best




Silver-studded Blues are now beginning to emerge in greater numbers with some beautiful females now to be seen..

..and also some freshly emerged males now on the wing..

Nice to finally meet you Philzoid

[Willrow]

Some really lovely images on your recent reports Mike its great to catch up with them.

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

[Wurzel]

Great Silver Studs Mike I love the oily sheen that you see on the females

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Thanks Bill, your a real gent

Thanks Wurzel, I love that sheen on the females too



Blue Heaven


We'd been planning a trip to see the Large Blue at either Collard Hill in Somerset or Daneway Bank in Goucestershire for a while and, spurred on by the reports of others on this forum and the recent spell of good weather, we decided to throw caution to the wind and take our tent with us on a trip to Daneway, situated in a beautiful location in the Cotswold Hills. We arrived early Monday evening, having driven in scorching sunshine and 26 degrees C, only to find it bucketing with rain and a drop in temperature to 16 degrees C, necessitating an hour's wait in the car for the weather to improve enough to erect our tent! The campsite is in a field adjacent to the Daneway Inn, a fantastic 17th Century pub serving a well kept pint of Wadworth's 6X !! After a good night's sleep we were awoken early Tuesday morning by the wonderful dawn chorus. We were then up and outside the tent, cooking breakfast on our camp stove in the early morning sunshine, which we wolfed down in a hurry as we were keen to get onto the reserve. As we entered Daneway Bank through the gate a few yards up the road from the Inn, we found ourselves on the stunning south facing hillside filled with wild flowers, practically each one accommodating a busily nectaring butterfly. There were dozens of Marbled Whites, Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Large Skippers, Small Heaths, and the occasional manic Dark Green Fritillary bombing through the landscape at top speed. Although we were surrounded by all these gorgeous butterflies, we'd specifically come to see the Large Blues, and so moved on further into the reserve. It wasn't long before we were rewarded with the sight of our first Large Blue of the day, nectaring on some Wild Thyme on the other side of a wire fence. The scorching sunshine meant conditions for getting a good photograph of the butterflies were challenging, but we eventually managed to find a few obliging individuals...

Female ovipositing on Wild Thyme

Female ovipositing on Wild Marjoram, we found the egg in the floret afterwards

This individual had very much reduced spotting on the forewings!

The second day began as hot as the first, and we found conditions on the bank very similar to the previous day. However, at around 2pm some thin cloud coverage cooled it down a little giving some hazy sunshine. This changed things dramatically, as now the Large Blues began to fully open their wings..

Daneway Bank

Despite being fodder for the numerous resident horseflies at Daneway Bank, we thoroughly enjoyed our two days there, especially having seen the Large Blues, which we hadn't seen since 2012 on a visit to Collard Hill

[David M]

There's an interesting degree of variation in those specimens, Mike. The almost 'blind' one is particularly appealing.

[Nick Broomer]

Hi Mike,

great photos of the Large Blue opened wing shots. Your photography skills has certainly done this beautiful insect justice. Excellent stuff.

All the best, Nick.

[Wurzel]

Brill Mike , great sequence of shots and the degree of variation is really interesting I didn't suspect that they'd as much. I need to look into Daneway Banks for next year as Collard seems to have had a bad few years

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Mike,
Some really stunning shots there - you did very well! . That aberrant specimen (ab. alconides?) is an exceptional butterfly. Some of the other open wing shots warrant comment in their own right. Brilliant set of pics.
BWs, Neil

[Pauline]

Hi Cathy, Mike

When your diary went quiet I thought you must be away looking at some very special butterfly and you have managed to get some very special shots which certainly do it justice - I always find the Large Blue a difficult butterfly to get a decent photo of so you must be feeling very pleased and rightly so

[Maximus]

Yes David the variation is great, and the individual with reduced upper forewing markings I now know to be ab alconides

Hi Nick how are you doing? We miss your input into this forum Thank you for your great comments

Thank you Neil for your very positive feedback, it's much appreciated, and thanks also for the ID of the ab. alconides. The photos were taken over two twelve hour days and involved loads of legwork

Thank you Pauline, you are right, we snuck away to see the very special Large Blues and are extremely happy with the photos we got




Having had a chance to sort through the photos, here are a few more of both Large Blue and some of the other butterflies we saw at Daneway..

ab alconides

ab alconides

[Maximus]

Today we visited a local heathland site where there is a colony of Silver-studded Blues and found some lovely females which had recently emerged. Although it was windy we managed to get a few photos..

[Maximus]

We decided at the last minute on a trip to Chiddingfold this afternoon to try and break our duck and find a grounded Purple Emperor. Unfortunately the weather was overcast when we arrived at the Botany Bay entrance but we pressed on regardless. A few hours walking the forest rides revealed plenty of Ringlets still flying in the cool conditions, some Large Skippers, our first Small Skippers of 2014 and a couple of White Admirals and Silver-washed Fritillaries. At about 4pm it brightened up so we made our way back to the triangle area where we had met a young chap earlier in the afternoon. He was not there but as I looked down the ride I saw him waving his hands in the air. We made our way quickly along and found him already photographing a grounded male PE. The PE was on the ground for 45 minutes giving us all ample time to take photos, and even a passing dog walker did not disturb him! Eventually, however, he took flight, spiralling up into a nearby Oak, leaving us more than satisfied at our first fully grounded sighting of 'His Imperial Majesty'.

[millerd]

Nice photos, Maximus. That's neither of the butterflies I saw there the day before, but the perch on which he is sitting looks very familiar... A popular venue.

Dave

[Pauline]

'All things come to he who waits!' - wish I'd hung on another 30 mins. Great shots that saved you the trip to fermyn

[Pete Eeles]

Hi Mike,
Some really stunning shots there - you did very well! . That aberrant specimen (ab. alconides?) is an exceptional butterfly. Some of the other open wing shots warrant comment in their own right. Brilliant set of pics.
BWs, Neil

Totally agree with Neil - superb photos and that aberration is something else!

Cheers,

- Pete