www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Cheers Mike I've still got two posts to do and then I'll be on my Pearls - and then there's three more to do after that and I might finally have caught up

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Your'e not the only one,Wurzel,i still have my Cornwall report to finish,and i'm just back from Surrey and Sussex...

We'll get there Essex and then there will be other trips to write about

The Devenish 02-05-2014

After the success of my quick stop-off at the Devenish a few previously I looked at the skies and decided to race the clouds and make another quick stop-off. I’d usually just restrict my stops to Larkhill but it’s been very quiet so far there this year and after one of the paths was levelled last year I’m not sure how productive it’ll be this year? I’d like to be proved wrong so I’ll call in a few times to keep an eye on the place but for now The Devenish is my number one stop off.

As I pulled into the car park there was a Green-veined White and the Warden and so I completed his questionnaire on the hoof as we made our way through the wood and the small field to the side of the Down. The Warden hadn’t seen any Grizzlies so I hoped that the couple from the other day would still be around. A Brimstone floated along the top of the Down as we started our ascent but we only needed to walk up a third of the way as there was Grizzlie flying low across out path. It landed to my right and behind me and the Warden managed to spot it as it landed. I approached it cautiously and then realised that I was photographing a different Grizzlie than the one I had been directed too! Photos taken, much needed break from work taken and questionnaire completed we headed back across the field lingering long enough to watch a male Orange-tip do a few fly-bys on patrol.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

They are lovely shots of Grizzlies Wurzel, especially no 2. It is pin sharp and nicely composed. I certainly haven't managed to get one as good as that.

Love the latest pictures Wurzal, I've not had a chance yet to visit Gaits Barrow the weather has been so bad, so had to take photo's of what ever landed in my garden which wasn't very much So it's a pleasure to look at yours Goldie

Great Grizzlies Wurzel, I too like the second one, a cracking shot

Cheers,

Neil.

Cheers Pauline The butterfly itself adopted a pose that was perfectly perpendicular so all I had to do was kneel and click
Cheers Goldie Hopefully the fortnight of high pressure will turn out to be more than a rumour, fingers crossed
Cheers Neil That's one of the advantages of not having a garden - you have to make those sneaky stop-offs Another method of sneaky butterflying is detailed below...

Martin Down 03-05-2014

I’d planned to meet Philzoid on the Sunday for our now annual meet up at Bentley Wood for Pearls and so when I woke up to wall to wall blue skies on Saturday I wondered how I would wangle some butterflying? That’s the thing with this time of year – everything seems to emerge at once and you have to work around the unpredictable weather. Come August pretty much everything has emerged and there is a more relaxed feel to my trips. Then I remembered that I had already arranged to visit my parents in the afternoon and so we were stopping off for a picnic at Martin Down on the way – such foresight!

We pulled into the main car park on the Blandford Road and made our way along the path heading towards the rifle butts. As you come through the scrubs there is a little haven just off to the left of the main path which we’ve visited before and as it offers shelter form the breeze and springy, spongy grass that’s where we headed. While we ate various butterflies passed by just within my vision and every now and then I’d take a brief break from eating, saunter a few steps and take a few shots before returning to the rug to continue my lunch. So over the course of lunch I saw 2 Grizzlies, a male Brimstone and my first Dingy of 2014 While my wife relaxed in the sun I took a quick stroll with my older daughter and investigated the edges of the large island of scrub and Hawthorns that we’d set up camp in. On the left hand side there was another couple of Grizzlies and a pair of Brimstones and on the right hand side more Brimstones and also my first Small Copper of the year which didn’t stop. One male Brimstone did and it acted as a perch for a Nettle moth. A second thought about joining the first but as it settled the Brimstone had had enough and took off scattering butterflies and moths in all directions. I headed back and swapped daughters and after finding my second Dingy we both set off to the right hand side again hoping to relocate the Small Copper. Back at the scallop where the Brimstones had been there were a few whites and another pair of Brimstones, both males who started to pursue a female as she arrived. She wasn’t having any of it and quickly saw them off and the reason became clear as she started ovi-positing.

The Small Copper did a fly-by so I left the female to ensure the next generation and tried to follow the Copper. I’d forgotten just how active they can be as my last encounter before today was back in October when they were tired, cold and aged. Luckily this one settled pretty quickly but I could tell that it was nervous because it didn’t close its wings fully but propped them three quarters open for a quick take off. I think I can detect small faint blue spots on the hind wings? We then packed up and made our way back to the car and on way a Specklie landed on the path. It looked quite washed out suggesting that it has been out for a while yet this is only the second time that I’ve seen them this year. Have they been there all along just keeping their heads down while I’ve been to other sites or trapped indoors by renovations or the weather? Bentley tomorrow - will there be Pearls?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Love the Copper shots Wurzal, not seen one here yet.

we've just booked a cottage in the South Downs for the first week in July, I want to go to Bently Wood to see the PE, hope fully I will, is that a good time to go Goldie

Another great read. I particularly like the comment about the Brimstone sending butterflies and moths in all directions It's a bit like us having a fly the size of a bat land on us ...we'd be somewhat vexed to say the least.

Phil

Hi Wurzel, I've just caught up with your diary and those Grizzled Skippers are stunning! Absolutely beautiful!

Best Wishes,

Hoggers.

Wurzel wrote:Cheers Neil That's one of the advantages of not having a garden - you have to make those sneaky stop-offs :wink...

Ahh! yes, for me its my garden and for you its your sneaky stop-offs Unfortunately for me, my route home from work is through typical sub-urban streets so there is nowhere really for me to stop-off, however briefly.
There are a couple of local spots not far away but that would mean going in the opposite direction and take a lot longer which would be pushing my luck a bit.

Great reports, keep 'em coming

Neil

Cheers Goldie I normally visit Bentely for PE's during the last week of July (as that's when work finishes) but they might be about from the satrt of July
Cheers Philzoid It was slightly vexed indeed The Marshies are now building
Cheers Hoggers Those shots were down to the butterfly deciding that it wanted to pose, mind you not a patch on a Taras ab
Cheers Neil The sneaky stop-offs are in full swing now that the weather is improving.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Bentley Wood 05-05-2014

I’d been watching reports of Pearl Bordered Fritillaries coming in from first the east of the country with envy. Then the colonies in the South West started emerging and my envy grew but also the anticipation. The Wiltshire colonies are always about a fortnight or more behind the first emergers so I eagerly checked the county site and Alan Thornbury’s blog. All was quiet and the weather reports ranged from not really favourable to miserable but Philzoid and I are made of sterner stuff so we arranged to meet at Bentley Wood on the Sunday anyway.

The morning came and the weather was much better than they’d said – shock horror the Met gets it wrong but even more shock horror – it’s better than they predicted! As my older daughter and I got there first we thought we’d have a quick mooch around the Eastern Clearing to see what we could find. On the way I bumped into Jenks and a few Pearls flitted around while we chatted and caught up and then something small a dark buzzed by. We watched as it settled, it was a Bentley Duke. As Jenks didn’t have a camera I made a cautious approach and got a few shots. It would move about a metre away and then it settled perfectly. It then took a longer flight and we pointed it out to a few other people and I took a few more photos. It seemed to like this little area and so I left it be and a sudden shriek of joy from my daughter informed me that Philzoid and his daughter had arrived. Also around was False Apollo – who’d I’d met before but not as his UKB nom de plume – good to meet you again/for the first time Mike! We tried to relocate the Dukes but it was proving elusive so we had more of a walk around and focused in on the Pearls. They were around in very good numbers but as it was fast approaching lunchtime and the temperature was rising none were stopping for very long and definitely not in the classic closed wing pose that shows pearls off to the best effect. However I found them in a nice range of postures. I’ve seen really heavily marked individuals here before and this year I managed to get shots of the heaviest marked individual that I saw and it wasn’t that strongly marked. However one stood out as it had finer markings on the forewings. By now we must have a covered most of the ground in the Eastern Clearing and the girls were getting hungry so we headed to the ‘new’ bench for lunch.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lovely pictures from your Bentley expedition - and that's not the same Duke as the one we saw the next day. If anything ours was darker with less orange on the hind wings... But those Pearls positively glow! Beautiful.

Dave

Alright Wurzel.
It was a great day and i'm looking forward to going back in a week or two's time . just a shame I missed that nice fresh duke who definitely looks browner than the ones I encountered at Noar Hill the ay before. I wonder if that is something to do with their different habitats

I will check my pearl shots again but from memory most of mine fit into the 'light category'

Phil

Cheers Dave The light was just spot on that day - but that meant that the Pearls were well hyper
Cheers Philzoid Soon be Small Pearl time there - I'm sure I saw a report from Cornwall.

Bentley Wood Part 2

After lunch we had another walk around the clearing and despite more searching we couldn’t relocate the Duke it was looking like a needle in a haystack. So it was back to the Pearls. False Apollo had been busy photographing them egg laying so Philzoid and I decided to have a go as well while he went back to searching for the Duke. After a few shots of nectaring behaviour I settled down to try and catch some oviposting. The female would flutter around low to the ground and would make circuits around a likely looking patch. She would drop down and settled on the ground with her wings three quarters shut. After a short while she would shut her wings entirely and then would curve her abdomen round between her legs and would thrust it towards the area she was laying at. What was strange was that sometimes the target of her thrusting wasn’t a violet but a random twig or broken bit of Bracken? After the thrusting there would be a moment of recovery before she would take off and flutter slowly to the next likely looking area. I watched this behaviour with growing interest as I realised that as they were so active for the most part the field guide-esque closed wing shot wouldn’t happen unless I could catch a female just as she’d finished egg laying. Finally I got the shots I was after observing several more ovi-positing sequences and lots of annoying pieces of grass falling across my shot... However Pearls (possibly 20+) and Dukes weren’t the only things that we saw – the species tally for the day featured Green-veined and Large Whites, Brimstones and Orange-tip, a Comma and a couple of Peacocks. There were also Long Horn and Green Tiger Beetles and Tree Pipits performing their parachuting songs. The main surprise was the absence of any Specklies ...
Peacock All in all an absolutely cracking day back at brilliant Bentley!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lovely photos of the PBF I am very much looking forward to my first trip to Bentley this year!

All the best,

Alex

Great reports from Bentley Wood Wurzel

Regarding you observation on egg laying on random twigs and stuff, I watched similar behaviour last year in the Wyre Forest. I believe that these Frits often lay their eggs close to the violets as well as on them.

Cheers,

Neil.

Cheers Alex You'll love Bentley it's a great site start in the Eastern Clearing as this the main hotspot
Cheers Neil I wish I'd looked more closely now, I'll have to dig out my old hand lens for just such occasions

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I'm very envious of your PBF undersides, Wurzel. They just weren't playing when I was there!

Dave