Pete Eeles

[Padfield]

The Spanish festoon egg on the right is a wonder to behold, Pete! Those fern designs … There’s nothing like that on the caterpillar, or at least not on the instars I’ve seen.

Guy

[Wurzel]

A stunning array of species there Pete I'm with Guy that Festoon egg is absolutely awesome

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks chaps - I have to thank Max for diligently following a few females while we worked out the foodplant - which were really very small on a sun-drenched hillside! The chevrons seen within the egg are, I think, simply the hairs that are found on the first instar larva - here's a photos of one that Max managed to capture: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLnMEgYXoAA ... =4096x4096

You see something similar in the Swallowtail and Duke of Burgundy, for example!

Swallowtail

Duke of Burgundy

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pete Eeles]

June 19th - 26th - Italian Alps

My most recent trip, with Ben Greenaway, was to the Italian Alps - this was our 3rd trip to the area; we've seen a normal year, an advanced year and, this year, an absolutely bonkers year that was well behind 'normal'. The weather also wasn't the best, although we did make the most of things by focusing not just on adult butterflies, but also immature stages (more on that in another post), ecology, larval food plants etc. Some images below.

Southern Swallowtail

Southern Swallowtail

Southern Swallowtail

Almond-eyed Ringlet

Apollo

Blue Spot Hairstreak

Puddling blues, Southern Grizzled Skipper and Geranium Argus

Black-veined White

Clouded Apollo

Geranium Argus - on Geranium!

Heath Fritillary

Large Blue

Large Blue

Pearly Heath

Purple-edged Copper

Purple-shot Copper

Rock Grayling

Scarce Fritillary

Turquoise Blue

Weaver's Fritillary

Fire Salamander (thanks Ben!)

Forester moth

A beetle needing ID

Ditto!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

Hi Pete. For your beetles, try Gaurotes virginea and Oreina cacaliae. There are several species of Oreina in my books, but this looks the best, and can be blue or green.

Wonderful alexanor piccies!!

Guy

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks Guy - much appreciated! The colour contrast of the male/female beetles was absolutely stunning - a photo doesn't really do them justice!

Yes, alexanor was really playing ball that particular day, and all thanks to Ben for finding this site in the first place!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Wurzel]

There are some right corkers in there Pete The Southern Swallowtail and the Purple-shot Copper would have to battle it out for top-spot in my opinion

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks Wurzel!

As promised, here are some of the immature stages found during the Italy trip. Some of the group have definitely become as obsessed with finding these as Ben and myself!

Apollo

Heath Fritillary on Foxglove

High Brown Fritillary

Knapweed Fritillary

Lackey moth

Lackey moth

Marbled Fritillary

Orange-tip

Small Tortoiseshell

Spotted Fritillary

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pete Eeles]

Brimstone-fest

Prompted by a Twitter post by Max Anderson, I've had a good search of my Alder Buckthorn using a UV torch, which lights up any final-instar Brimstone larvae and pupae. Despite finding no larvae during the day, I've now notched up 3 pre-pupation larvae and 7 pupae, one of which (a female) emerged yesterday morning! UV searches really are a game changer when it comes to certain species and stages.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pete Eeles]

Stockbridge Down - and hope!

I spent a couple of hours at Stockbridge Down this afternoon and, while butterfly numbers are definitely supressed compared with previous years, I did come away with a sense of hope that our butterfly fauna will recover. My expectations were low since I thought I'd find singletons of almost everything, but came away very happy indeed!

Chalk Hill Blue, normally seen in their hundreds, were in their 10s; I probably saw 50 adults in total - although the females are only just starting to emerge, with a single pairing witnessed. Dark Green Fritillary are coming to the end of their flight season, with half a dozen females seen, including one ovipositing. Peacock seem to be doing extremely well, with at leat 50 seen, making the most of the Wild Marjoram. It was also nice to see a few Painted Lady.

Brimstone are now emerging and around 20 very fresh individuals were seen. Other sightings included a few Marbled White that are still hanging on, both Small and Essex Skippers (although no Silver-spotted Skipper were seen, despite a thorough search), Comma, several Silver-washed Fritillary, and numerous Gatekeepers and Meadow Brown.

Common Blue, which seems to be having a pretty poor year, was also seen, including a mating pair. A few Brown Argus were also seen. And, until today, I had not yet seen a Small Copper this year, but one turned up just as I was leaving the site. It was almost as if this tiny jewel was personally telling me not to worry!

Brimstone

Brimstone

Brown Argus

Chalk Hill Blue

Chalk Hill Blue

Chalk Hill Blue

Common Blue

Painted Lady

Peacock

Small Copper

Cheers,

- Pete

[Wurzel]

I was thinking something along these lines the other day Pete - there's so much munch for hungry caterpillars that hopefully next year will be a bounce back - fingers crossed Cracking shots - especially the female Chalkhill, a subtle beauty she is

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks Rich!

It was really interesting to watch a Brimstone fly 'into' a garden Acer this morning to get out of the sun, it would seem. On closer inspection, I found another two on the same bush! They all eventually flew off after their sojourn!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pete Eeles]

I've had an interesting week or so, with it coming up for surveys of various species, not least White Admiral based on larval searches. I'm now in my second decade of such a 'hobby' and, while this may sounds deadly dull, is surprisingly good fun, especially if you find what you're looking for in new areas! Here's a larva with its characteristic 'pier':

And today, while sorting out various bits and bobs, I came across this fine chap/chapess. Apparently, Elephant Hawk-moth are having a very good year!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Sylvie_h]

Hi Pete,

How do you find all these lovely pupa ? Is this just instinct or chance ? I've myself been looking for pupa but have been unlucky so far even if I am sure they are somewhere... very frustrating. The worst bit is to see a butterfly laying eggs, I make a mental mark of where the eggs are, then see the caterpillars when I return to the spot, see them growing and then look for the pupas but cannot find any. If you could explain, that would help...
Sylvie

[Pete Eeles]

Hi Sylvie,

That depends very much on the species, and understanding their life cycle and ecology.

Taking White Admiral as an example, then if you know a wood where they fly, then revisiting at this time of year and looking for eggs and larvae on Honeysuckle growing in the right conditions isn't as difficult as it seems. I then mark the branches they're on, either with a piece of green string or yellow masking tape (!), and revisit during the winter and into spring. The number that make it through to adulthood is very small (2%), as it is in the wild generally. But following the larvae each week and observing where they've moved to (they're well camouflaged and will move some distance) and, on occasion, I'll find where they've settled to pupate.

Some species, however, are very difficult, especially grass feeders that will wander. Their pupae are also very distributed and often nowhere near where the egg was laid!

Some are also very easy, such as Red Admiral, which will pupate in nettles in the same bed where their eggs were laid.

Patience and perseverance are also needed!

I would have to say, however, that pupae are probably the most difficult stage to find for most of our species.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pete Eeles]

A breezy morning doing a Marsh Fritillary larval web survey. Numbers are down this year, but not by much, so at least one species seems to be faring ok in this dreadful year! Interestingly, the main colony uses Devil's-bit Scabious, but has managed to reach some chalk scrapes where it is using Small Scabious, where this photo was taken.

Meanwhile, back home, I've found a few more Elephant Hawk-moth larvae that are using Bedstraw as their foodplant.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pete Eeles]

I've recently returned from a 2-week holiday to Mauritius, which lies to the east of Madagascar, which turned out to be the paradise I was hoping for! Despite it being their winter (they only have 2 seasons - summer and winter), the array of wildlife was quite astonishing. However, this was a family holiday, with the first week spent near Chamarel in the rainforest that remains in the south west of the island, and the second week spent in the north of the island, which was a more typical holiday destination (sun, sand, etc.)!

The first week was a real highlight, with an astonishing array of all manner of wildlife. Aside from the butterflies (Mauritius has a modest count, with several endemics), the birdlife was quite something, and watching the bats each evening was a real treat. The view from the end of the accommodation was pretty good too

Despite the <30 species of butterfly found on the island, what was found was a real treat, with some favourites below:

African Grass Blue (Zizeeria knysna)

African Grass Blue (Zizeeria knysna)

African Grass Blue (Zizeeria knysna)

Brown Playboy (Deudorix antalus)

Brown Playboy (Deudorix antalus)

Brown Playboy (Deudorix antalus)

Common Leopard (Phalanta phalantha)

Eagris sabadius

Henotesia narcissus

Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous)

Papilio manlius

Papilio manlius

Papilio manlius

Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus)

Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus)

Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus)

Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus)

Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus)

Pyrrhiades pansa

Royal Blue Pansy (Junonia rhadama - male

Royal Blue Pansy (Junonia rhadama - female

Zizula hylax

The bird life was also quite something - with several species happy to share breakfast, and coming to the breakfast table!

Echo Parakeet (Psittacula eques)

Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis)

Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

Striated Heron (Butorides striata)

Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus)

But it was the "flying foxes" that really made the trip for me!

Mauritian Flying Fox (Pteropus niger)

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

Wow! Of the butterflies, I think Papilio manlius takes the prize, being a Mauritian endemic. But that picture of the smiling Mauritian flying fox is just wonderful.

Guy

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks Guy! Yes, the Papilio manlius was quite special, especially since it was only ever a large butterfly flying at speed for the first 5 days! I eventually found a 'hotspot' and got the bites to prove it, but found one (this one!) nectaring and managed to fire off a few shots - although, like many Papilios, it always fluttered its wings as it fed. What a beast, and so glad to have connected with it.

The bats were just incredible and I have hundreds of photos, including some at rest and feeding on fruits. But watching them fly up the hillside in early evening was such a spectacle and a real joy that will live with me for quite some time.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Benjamin]

Fantastic stuff Pete - so glad it was such a success! What a view from the hotel! Great photos of everything.