Janet Turnbull

[kevling]

Janet,

Playing catch up with your diary. Nice to read about your trip and enjoying the photos. I particularly like the Blue Spot Hairstreak and Morrocan Orange Tip (would like to see one of them myself).

Regards Kev

[Janet Turnbull]

Thanks Kev - the Blue Spot HS was a thrill for me too. The Moroccan Orange-tips haven't come out as yellow as they were in the flesh though.
Janet

[Wurzel]

More fantastic shots Janet - my personal favourite has to be the Spanish Gatekeeper I would also question your second shot of Marsh Fritillary - I have no experience to base this on of course but could it be Spanish Fritillary, I'm probably wrong but the wing markings look different on the second shot to the first?
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Janet Turnbull]

Thank you Padfield - I'm quite taken that my Southern Brown Arguses are are proper species!
Wurzel - I'm open to opinion from people in the know regarding the Marshie. From the Wiki I would think mine doesn't have the row of white spots with the black centre on the ventral hind wing that a Spanish Frit should have - but it could be my photo doesn't show it properly.

[David M]

I would say that your Marsh Frits are the beckeri form, Janet, but part of me wonders whether your Meadow Brown might be Dusky Meadow Brown. It has that 'stonewashed' look to the hindwing underside.

[Janet Turnbull]

Still catching up on my travels...
I booked the Chase the Wild Goose hostel in Banavie, a mile or so north of Fort William, as it was the only place at a reasonable price anywhere near Allt Mhuic. I will admit to being a little nervous of driving the distance up from Manchester but in the event I need not have worried. A stop every couple of hours to refuel on coffee and I was fine. It rained for the whole journey, which was a bit dismal, but it produced a spectacular waterfall at Ballachulish, Glencoe.

Paul hadn’t slept the night before, having flown back from Ireland and landed at 1am, so he dozed for much of the journey.
We reached the hostel just after 5pm and checked in. There wasn’t a great deal to do so we went to the less expensive of the two nearby pubs for a bite to eat. And then it was an early night.
Next morning we set out for Allt Mhuic which was reputed to be a real hotspot for the Chequered Skipper. On the way we diverted to Glen Loy as Bugboy’s intelligence told us there was another good place there. We drove up the forest track to where the streams crossed it and parked up. We walked slowly along the track searching for the butterflies. The first insect I saw turned out to be a Swift moth.

I took some photos of luxurious moss and stands of foxgloves, and a soldier beetle on a fern.

We did not find any chequered skippers so we decided to continue on to Allt Mhuic.
A little further along the road there was a more official-looking turn-off to Glen Loy, so we drove up and parked just before a bridge over a burn. The sun was beginning to show, Paul noticed the presence of Clouded Border moths

and remembered they shared a similar habitat to the chequered skippers, and sure enough found most of the chequered skippers for me before I 'got my eye in'. I was astonished to learn that they were all as individual as a fingerprint - not that I could tell the difference. They were warming up on top of the ferns and were very well camouflaged.

Across the bridge there were several different kinds of orchids, among them a white Heath Spotted orchid

and a Small White orchid, which I had never seen before.

I found a colony of Chimney Sweeper moths. They flew low in the vegetation and did not settle for long on anything, making it difficult to get a focus on them. Eventually I managed a couple of half decent shots.

Paul meanwhile had seen some Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries so I went along the lane and whilst searching for them found a silver ground carpet

and a Common Blue which was nectaring on buttercups. Further along the road a SPBF made its appearance and we followed it until it tried to hide in the grass, where we managed a shot of it.

After munching our lunchtime sandwiches we set off to find Allt Mhuic, but had not gone far when I realised there was something amiss with the car. We had a flat rear tyre. The road was narrow but I pulled into a biggish passing place and we turfed everything out of the boot to get at the spare wheel. However, try as we might we could not loosen the wheel nuts. Just then a gardener’s van came by (how lucky was that?) and I flagged him down. He got the nuts undone with sheer brute strength and we learnt about the magic nut and where to find the socket…
Having helped us change the wheel, this angel guided us to a garage in Fort William where I was able to buy a new tyre. We had a while to wait and the garage didn’t need the car, so we drove back up to Glen Loy and spent another happy hour finding CSs

and I tracked a Small Heath,

a Common Heath moth,

a Brown Silverline

and a Clouded Buff.

Time was up and we trailed back into Fort William to collect the wheel. The garage boys put it on for me and we set off – finally – to Allt Mhuic. It was 5pm.

On arrival we met a group of butterfly hunters who were just leaving – they had seen only three all day. Paul told them about Glen Loy. We walked along the track and almost immediately he spotted a CS but they were very few and far between and my only capture was of a Common Heath moth

and a slow worm, which was a pleasant surprise.

Back at the car park we saw a pipit which may have been a Tripit or it could have been a Mipit.

[bugboy]

You got some excellant images there Janet . I think we'd still be there if the angel in a white van didn't come along!

[Janet Turnbull]

I think we'd still be there if the angel in a white van didn't come along!

Yes - he definitely saved us! What an escapade

[Janet Turnbull]

The next day was spent along Glen Loy. On the way we were surprised by a Hercules which suddenly hove over the hill - definitely our biggest sighting! It was cooler and overcast, but there were still skippers to be found.

We wandered further along the road past the bridge until we came to a damp meadow. We spread out to explore, and suddenly Paul was excitedly shouting across to me that he had found an SPBF – and there were many of them, happy to pose.

They were not the only inhabitants of the field and I also found a Silver-ground Carpet

and a large beetle which Paul pointed out

It began to drizzle and I was starting to think about sandwiches when I narrowly avoided stepping on a fabulous Goldenring dragonfly as it nestled in the grass near a Heath Fragrant orchid

Just then we were joined by two more couples who were butterflyers (how can you be so far out in the sticks and yet six people with a common interest arrive at the same time?) They had had no luck with the skippers but Paul found two for them within minutes.

Third Day
The third day we went a little south, to Appen, hoping to find Marsh Fritillaries, but the weather was against us and they didn’t come out to play. The first thing I noticed was a grub wrapped round a grass stalk

We did see a couple of sleepy Small Heath,

one or two Skippers,

a strange insect which I hadn’t come across before

and a gorgeously fresh Green Veined White.

I thought this was a GVW when I took the photo - but is it?

We motored along to the coast and found a shrivelled raisin bug

and a green beetle

but on the shore was a beautiful Ringed Plover

The journey home threatened to be as wet as when we drove up, but we decided to take a chance and see if we could find any Mountain Ringlets on Irton Fell in Cumbria. The clouds never parted and the MRs remained firmly hidden.
We had to give up at 6pm when the cloud came down so much that I began to fear we might have difficulty finding our way back, but looking back we could see the cloud was just enveloping the MR habitat.
An exciting drive over the Hardknott and Wrynose Passes followed, after which the sun came out fully… but despite Paul’s entreaty to go back to Irton Fell we continued with the journey back to Manchester. In full, glorious sun. All the way.
It was a great trip (apart from the MRs, which would have been the icing on the cake) and it was good to have Paul’s company – without him I doubt if would even have found the Skippers; I learned a great deal from him. His knowledge of the butterflies and the best places to find them seems encyclopaedic and his version of the trip is well worth reading.

[millerd]

That's definitely a very heavily-marked GVW, Janet. Lovely pictures of the Skippers, and also the last two shots of the SPBF are splendid.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Janet, looking forward to the next installment That's a brilliant place to have to spend time waiting for a tyre - I'm normally left in a small shed with old copies of Autotrader

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[MikeOxon]

An amazing trip and you certainly made the most of it. It looks as though Glen Loy is holding its reputation as one of the best places in that area for Chequered Skipper, whereas Allt Mhuic seems to be in decline.

Your photo of the GvW looks like the Scottish sub-species thomsoni, or possibly britannica, (which may both be the same ssp.) Thomsoni is described in the 'species' pages, on this site, as having the following characteristics:

1. On the upperside, the veins of the forewings, and sometimes hindwings, are heavily suffused with black. This is especially true in the female.
2. On the underside of the hindwings, a small proportion of adults have a yellow, rather than white, ground colour, which may be tinged with orange. This is especially true in the female.
3. The underside is generally darker, with the dark scaling on the veins appearing more black than grey.

I'm particularly envious of your Small White Orchid, which is one of the species still missing from my own photo collection of UK Orchids.

Those Mountain Ringlets are extraordinarily 'weather sensitive'. I've been on Irton Fell on a cloudy but reasonably warm day and seen nothing, until a small break in the clouds lets the sun shine through. Suddenly, the fell-side is buzzing with them, only for them to disappear like magic, when the clouds close again! And you tackled Hard Knott and Wrynose after everything else. I'm impressed

Mike

[Janet Turnbull]

Having found out about Irton Fell and the MRs, courtesy of Bugboy, I returned to the scene with my husband the following week. The forecast was good, but when we arrived it was overcast at the fell and at first there was a disappointing lack of butterfly activity. We walked up the path and just about where the butterflies were supposed to be, I noticed a Silver Hook moth as it tried to hide in a tussock.

A few minutes later a Small Heath settled on some grey lichen

The sun almost shone for a moment and I saw a small dark fluttering. We watched with bated breath until it settled and sure enough, it was a Mountain Ringlet

Alan tired of wandering about so he offered to stay put while I climbed up to the next colony. The sun came out fully and the MRs and Small Heaths were flying freely

Looking back along Irton Fell. Sellafield can just be made out on the skyline at the right.

I walked on up to Greathall Gill but there did not seem to be a greater abundance than I had already seen but I did not stay to explore, having left Alan for longer than intended, and I met him halfway down, watching damsel flies hovering near a rivulet by the path.

He was as thrilled to have seen the MRs as I was. A very successful outing, but I was almost embarrassed to set this in the diary, knowing how disappointed Bugboy was the previous week.

[bugboy]

Just

[Janet Turnbull]

Just

Yes. I'm sorry!

[Wurzel]

Fantastic stuff Janet It will be a fair few years before I get to see that species

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Janet Turnbull]

Went up to Fernilee Reservoir in the hope of seeing Dark Green Fritillaries and Ringlets, but must have been just too early. In the triangle of grass by the car park I found a caterpillar but cannot identify it.

However it was Mayfly day and there were a lot of them along the path beside the reservoir, enjoying their brief moment of glory in the sunshine after spending two years under water.
I climbed the hill to the east of the reservoir and found more Mayflies, Meadow Browns and an unidentified (moth?)

[Janet Turnbull]

Fantastic stuff Janet It will be a fair few years before I get to see that species

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I see the Warwickshire branch of BC is having a weekend in Cumbria 14-16 July 'Butterfly enthusiasts welcome!' to see MR among others
Janet

[Janet Turnbull]

Next up was a visit to my cousin's farm outside Priors Marston, Warwickshire. On the way we called at Fossdene Meadow. It was fearsomely hot and although there were dozens of Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites they were too excited by the heat to stay still long enough to photograph. However I discovered that they calmed down a little where there was a few metres of shade at the edge of the meadow. I was tracking a Burnet Companion when a bright orange Fritillary zoomed by and alighted momentarily on a knapweed but it did not give me an opportunity to see its underwing.

The following day was Cousins Reunion and was a very sociable day catching up with the family. I was not able to get into the farm fields until the following day - still extremely hot - and found Large Skippers and what I am almost sure was an Essex Skipper. By the fishing lake were some dragonflies which I think were Scarce Chasers, and in the meadow planted with wild flowers there were more Ringlets and Meadow Browns and a moth which I cannot identify.

[bugboy]

Just

Yes. I'm sorry!

It was like torture seeing those pictures pop up on your diary!

Your unknown caterpillar is a sawfly larvae.