April 2025

[Jack Harrison]

18th April. A mere 9.5 degrees C albeit bright sun.

White butterfly through garden, most likely GV White. But what a low temperature to be active.

Jack

[David Lazarus]

A transect walker recorded singles of Green Hairstreak, Holly Blue, and Wall on the 16th during the same walk at Benfleet Downs. So, of course, as I was not limited to only recording butterflies that come into an imaginary 5-metre cube, I thought I would give it a try - surely, a good chance of seeing at least one of them?

A lovely 5 1/2 hours spent in mostly full sun and sheltered within the trails through the wooded parts of Benfleet Downs, I recorded another 150 or so, again mostly whites with Green-veined White topping the charts with 40+ - some good-looking ones amongst them. I particularly like the second one but he has a slight nick unfortunately:

Green-veined White male x 2
Benfleet Downs 18/04/2025

And finally, in among them were some confirmed sightings of Small White which have been few and far between. So rare, I even run after them to take their photograph for some reason:

Small White male
Benfleet Downs 18/04/2025

Small White female
Benfleet Downs 18/04/2025

Only a handful of Small White, but 20 or so Large White - the freshest ones not stopping for a photograph, or the few Brimstone that were left:

Large White male
Benfleet Downs 18/04/2025

There were also around 20 or so male Orange-tip that were far too busy searching for a female - I could not find one. Just like yesterday at Langdon Hills, whites made up around 2/3rds of the overall count. There were good numbers of Speckled Wood too. By mid-afternoon I had completed my survey and was left searching for the elusive three in all the most likely places, joined by the usual late afternoon sunbathers:

Comma male x 2
Benfleet downs 18/04/2025

But numbers are down now, as are the Peacock although there were still over 20 including nectaring females

Peacock female
Benfleet Downs 18/04/2025

and the usual territorial sunbathers, some still looking pretty good

Peacock male
Benfleet Downs 18/04/2025

And the highlight of the day was coming across a male courting a female at 2 o'clock in the afternoon to give me a break from looking up at trees and shrubs. He was very persistent, vibrating his closed wings, tapping her with his front legs - courting went on for at least 20 minutes, so long I sat down and watched. He had three attempts, she walked away each time into some plant litter and eventually he gave up much to my frustration as I was waiting for a Peacock in cop shot.

Peacock male & female courtship
Benfleet Downs 18/04/2025

Obviously local knowledge is valuable as well as a smidgeon of good fortune, as I struck out again.
Green Hairstreak 0
Holly Blue 0
Wall 0

Just the usual suspects then.

[bugboy]

Initially I had planned to go for the Chiltons Dukes, but the weather forcast put me off so I headed east which seemed to escape the majority of the cloud for the longest amount of time. On Two Tree Island found a bonus 3 Small Tortoiseshells and over on Hadleigh Country Park I caught sight of my first Wall of the year. Still plenty of Peacock and Comma and lots of Whites who all seemed to be the Green-veined variety.

[millerd]

...A lovely 5 1/2 hours spent in mostly full sun and sheltered within the trails through the wooded parts of Benfleet Downs...

You definitely had the better of the weather over in Essex compared to me over here to the west of London. Round my way, the promising early sunshine quickly gave way to ever-thickening cloud - though it has only just decided to rain.

Before the cloud spoiled things I managed to find eight species, with (like you) GVW being the most numerous.

One curiosity was adding a ninth species to the list well after the cloud had sent everything else into hiding - two Red Admirals were flying energetically around (in similar spots well apart that frequently host the species). One did pause to sit on the presumably still warm ground.

Other highlights were a couple of Holly Blues...

...and a fresh Speckled Wood, looking noticeably darker than the ones that emerged earlier in the year.

Other species seen today: Small White, Large White, Orange Tip, Comma and Peacock.

Dave

[essexbutterflyer]

Obviously local knowledge is valuable as well as a smidgeon of good fortune, as I struck out again.
Green Hairstreak 0
Holly Blue 0
Wall 0

Just the usual suspects then.

Are holly blues actively avoiding you David?! This is getting quite ridiculous now

Thankfully in my haunts they are doing alright, with the first garden one today . Also two again in Harrow Lodge.

Also seen at Harrow Lodge today: many GVW, many Specklies, 2 Peacock, 3 Orange-tip, 2 Large White, 1 Comma and longhorn moths!

The park has previously shown to have early Meadow Brown (at least for my area) so I am beginning to wonder if any spring grassland species will also be early.

[essexbutterflyer]

Still plenty of Peacock and Comma and lots of Whites who all seemed to be the Green-veined variety.IMG_0300.JPG

GVW seem to have really taken off recently and I'm left confused over where all the Small Whites have gone

[David Lazarus]

Are holly blues actively avoiding you David?! This is getting quite ridiculous now

No, come on, I am a friend of butterflies - surely not?


I haven’t taken a look yet to compare with previous years but it looks like the big winner this Spring here in Essex is the Green-veined White, and of course, overwintering Peacock.

The big losers [or is it the time of emergence, especially compared to neighbouring counties?] is Holly Blue, followed, I think, by Small White - maybe I am wrong there but it just feels like I am not seeing very many in comparison to the other whites, including Orange-tip.

But of course, the biggest loser is myself as I haven’t the ability to track down a Holly Blue

Or Green Hairstreak,
And now I have to add Wall [at Two Tree Island, and now Belton Hills Nature Reserve, Paul ]

Edit: OMG what about the needle-in-a-haystack, the endangered and elusive, Essex Grizzled Skipper

[essexbutterflyer]

At Harrow Lodge Park today a surprising 5 Orange-tip, 3 Holly Blue, 2/3 Comma, 3 Small White and 1 Red Admiral. Also 3 Peacock, many GVW, many (many!) Specklies, 2 Large White. No GH again despite extensive searching.

The Orange-tips have timed their emergence very nicely with garlic mustard bloom. Not a Cuckooflower in sight so I believe the Orange-tips here rely largely on garlic mustard.

All GVW egg-laying females seen seem to prefer foodplant(s) that are low on the ground, what this is I'll have to double check, but it was interesting that they didn't seem to care about the garlic mustard.

[Butterfly_Julian]

A wander around Essex Wildlife Trust The Naze lunchtime, stiff breeze of the sea and 13c. Wasn't expecting much but got our first Essex Holly Blue along with Peacock, Red Admiral and Comma.

Holly Blue

A weeks early then the last 2 years

[David Lazarus]

A wander around Essex Wildlife Trust The Naze lunchtime, stiff breeze of the sea and 13c. Wasn't expecting much but got our first Essex Holly Blue ...
A weeks early then the last 2 years

That's great Julian [for you] ..... I know you didn't mean to rub it in.

I see Brian saw his first Holly Blue along the Eastcliff path yesterday too - so north-east Essex Holly Blue season has begun, let's hope it is a good one.

[Bertl]

I haven't really been out looking for butterflies up here in Aberdeen but I had some peacock butterflies in my garden. Also here is a green veined white butterfly in the garden today. It's not my usual macro shot as I had a long Zoom lens... but not too bad

Cheers

Bert.

[Butterfly_Julian]

It's been really quiet up here for butterflies been cold and windy David.
Really surprised you hadn't see a Holly Blue yet
You seem to being plenty of everything else, still early in the season.

[David Lazarus]

I knew it wouldn't be too long before I caught up with one of the new arrivals. A couple of Red Admiral made it to the ivy wall hotspot, and as it was 4.45 pm I was able to sneak up to both of them while they were preoccupied. The first one, I think a female, was a little too high up nectaring on the blossom of a Wild Cherry cultivar Prunus avium sp.

Red Admiral female
Meadgate Park 19/04/2025

Red Admiral male
Meadgate Park 19/04/2025

A good afternoon in full sun and 15C, when sheltered from the cold easterly breeze. I was surprised I managed to see 40 butterflies with Green-veined White and Speckled Wood numbers increasing locally to make up half of the total. Both males and females were around, over half of the Speckled Wood were female.

Green-veined White female
Sandford Mill 19/04/2025

Speckled Wood male
Meadgate Fields Open Space 19/04/2025

Speckled Wood female
Meadgate Fields Open Space 19/04/2025

And I found a place locally that actually had some Small White, a couple of nice, nearly all-white males:

Small White male x 2
Sandford Mill 19/04/2025

There was also a single male Brimstone, a couple of male Orange-tip, half-a-dozen Large White & Peacock, and a single late afternoon sunbather. The overwintering species are noticeably starting to diminish in numbers locally. Of course, I went out for a short walk thinking it was too windy for much to see. I went to search for Holly Blue, and after giving up on the ivy search, turned my attention to Small Tortoiseshell in parts of the floodplain I had yet to walk, but no joy there either. Suddenly, three hours had gone by and it had turned into a lovely Spring evening with Red Admiral nectaring on pure white Cherry blossom.

edit - I have been very fortunate, Julian, but choosing my sites wisely depending on the weather. The only mistake I made was to try out Friday Wood-Abberton Reservoir in a chilly north-easterly breeze. It really has set back your area - and I am frustrated that I have not found a good day to visit the Pits and The Naze. Soon hopefully - it is supposed to be a seaside resort up there!

[bugboy]

East was forecast to be best today so Tilbury & Mucking marshes to see if the Walls were out. They weren't but there was an abundance of GVW and Speckled Wood. Also a good few Orange-tip and I nearly trod on two Small Tortoiseshell and one Adder!

[Testudo Man]

Good Friday, could have been Great Friday, if only i had been quick enough to capture a pic of a fresh Brown Argus, but it took flight an was whisked away by the wind!...The dueling Green Hairstreaks made up for missing the Brown Argus though, 10 species seen on the day, but all were low numbers, nice to see a couple of female Dingy Skippers out an about too.
Local Kent site visited. No images are cropped, 2 camera setups used, cheers Paul.

Green Hairstreak.

Dingy Skipper (female).

[essexbutterflyer]

Not much sun today, but my second Orange-tip emerged. Whilst releasing it another male flew by which I would like to believe was the first one I released a couple of days ago.

[David Lazarus]

And.......... I am off and running with my first Holly Blue of 2025, exactly one week after my first sighting in 2024 despite a much warmer Spring with plenty of days of full sun. And it was my trustworthy local park that provided a momentary glimpse of the butterfly as it flew passed me, so no photograph. Actually, it is 6 days prior to me seeing a Holly Blue at Meadgate Park in 2024, so maybe I should not be overly concerned.

Holly Blue 1 .

This took place at 4.10 in the afternoon when the sun peaked through the cloud cover. I took the opportunity to dash out to the local park where within the 10 minutes of sun I recorded a male Orange-tip & Large White, as well as the aforementioned Holly Blue, and further down a Peacock and the two Red Admirals from yesterday still on the cherry blossom.

Earlier in the day, I went out at 10 o'clock as full sun was promised before the clouds would arrive in the early afternoon. Not enough to travel far, so I walked the same route as yesterday in better conditions and recorded a reasonable 60 sightings of 9 species with 20 plus Peacock, 10 plus again of Green-veined White and Speckled Wood - disappointingly the clouds came and ruined a really good day after 3 hours at Sandford Mill with a pair of Green-veined White. I am not sure if they were taking a break or were post-copulation [looks like the former - maybe a rejection]:

Green-veined White pair courting
Sandford Mill 20/04/2025

Earlier in the day at Meadgate Fields Open Space, only the Speckled Wood were out. I watched aerial displays by courting couples on two occasions, and found a few females, before the Green-veined White joined them.

Speckled Wood female
Meadgate Fields Open Space 20/04/2025

As I was waiting for it to get warmer, I searched the Cuckoo Flower Cardamine pratensis and surprised myself by actually finding one ovum even though I had not yet seen a female Orange-tip there. It is the white form of Cuckoo Flower.

Orange-tip ovum on Cardamine pratensis
Meadgate Fields Open Space 20/04/2025

I then started the trek circling around Baddow Meads eastwards via Manor Farm & The Mill Carp Fishery reservoirs to Sandford Mill, and then back down the River Chelmer to home. I have just discovered this local butterfly site - very impressive so far, especially for Spring species. Searching primarily for Small Tortoiseshell in better site conditions than yesterday, I am pleased to say that this time I was successful.

Small Tortoiseshell 33 [since the 19th March locally within Baddow Meads. 42 in total within Essex]

Small Tortoiseshell
Manor Farm 20/04/2025

Another satisfactory day locally - I am going to take some photographs of the habitats I have found, especially the banks of a stream that are super-ideal for all Spring species, and post it in my PD with a description of the site. The only species that the riverbanks do not favour are Brimstone, but I found it at last - finally, I have discovered where the Alder Buckthorn Rhamnus frangula is growing locally, at the Mill Carp Fishery reservoir where I saw three female Brimstone and a male. Wow, only took me 4 years!

Happy days

[essexbutterflyer]

And.......... I am off and running with my first Holly Blue of 2025, exactly one week after my first sighting in 2024 despite a much warmer Spring with plenty of days of full sun. And it was my trustworthy local park that provided a momentary glimpse of the butterfly as it flew passed me, so no photograph. Actually, it is 6 days prior to me seeing a Holly Blue at Meadgate Park in 2024, so maybe I should not be overly concerned. Anyway, happy days.

Holly Blue 1

I just noticed the record on iRecord and came here to congratulate you . Let's hope that the following months prove to be better than the prior weeks.

[David Lazarus]

I just noticed the record on iRecord and came here to congratulate you . Let's hope that the following months prove to be better than the prior weeks.

Thanks Zayed, indeed. I am hoping that they will be in sufficient numbers this Spring throughout Essex to recover.

Next weekend I would recommend a visit to the sea wall along the Thames Estuary Path just south of EWT Thameside Nature Discovery Park - I have a feeling the Spring Festival might begin given the weather forecast. Hopefully, 20 plus Wall to go with the Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, and Peacock. Perhaps some early grassland specialists, if we are lucky, as that part of the sea wall is a sun trap.

Maybe even a Holly Blue if we are really lucky

[millerd]

Sunday 20th April started well with sunshine, but the cloud arrived at lunchtime and rather dampened down the day. I managed to find nine species, but unusually one of them wasn't a Comma. Highlights of the day were Orange Tips, with a chalky-white female and a snoozing male taking the honours.

Once it had clouded over, bearing in mind what day it was, I conducted an Easter egg hunt...

there are three on this leaf...

Other species today: Large White, Small White, GVW, Brimstone, Red Admiral, Peacock, Speckled Wood and Holly Blue.

Dave